Sarah Hicks, PhD Director
Native Village of Ouzinkie

Sarah (Alutiiq) is an enrolled member of the Native Village of Ouzinkie. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Goucher College, she earned a Master’s degree in social work and Ph.D. in philosophy from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. After leaving the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1997, Sarah joined NCAI, working in the welfare reform program. Sarah’s experience in leading NCAI’s welfare reform reauthorization efforts gave her a sense of the need for timely, credible data to inform policymaking at the tribal and national levels. She also saw first-hand the tension between tribes reacting to the policy proposals of others and the opportunities for tribes to develop their own, proactive policy solutions. In 2003, Sarah became the founding director of NCAI’s Policy Research Center. Her early experiences at NCAI led to Sarah’s commitment to the Policy Center’s core values of a tribally-driven research agenda, research conducted for the benefit of tribal communities, and a capacity-building approach to research. With guidance from tribal leadership and NCAI, Sarah sets the strategic direction for the Policy Research Center and oversees the Center’s work. She also serves as principle investigator on a number of the Center’s projects.

Peter Morris Director of Strategy and Partnerships

Peter Morris has been involved in Indigenous policy, research and advocacy for over a decade – both in his home country of Australia, and in the United States.  He currently serves as the Center’s Director of Strategy and Partnerships. His work includes: managing the day-to-day operations of the center, coordinating policy research related to tribal governance and economic development, and leading the Center’s outreach to funders, mainstream think-tanks and academic research centers. Peter earned his Masters degree in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona and completed his undergraduate work at the University of New South Wales. Peter has also worked as Director of Policy for First Nations Development Institute and Director of Scholar Recruitment at the University of Arizona. His research has been published in academic journals and he has provided advice on Indigenous policy to senior policymakers in Australia and the US.

Amber Ebarb Program Manager

Christina Redmond Daulton Program Manager

Christina joined the Policy Research Center in August 2008. For the past ten years, she has been a researcher and policy analyst on higher education issues, mainly focusing on access and equity issues, including the contributions of tribal colleges and universities to their communities. Prior to joining NCAI, Christina worked for the Institute for Higher Education Policy and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. She brings strong research skills from both her academic training and work experience, and has written a number of publications for both organizational members and policymakers to use as tools for advocacy and program development. Christina supports a number of PRC projects and works directly with tribal leaders and their communities in providing the data and tools needed to empower their communities in shaping their own future. Christina is originally from Passaic, New Jersey, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Education from the University of Delaware and a Master’s degree in American Studies from The George Washington University.

Erik R. Stegman Program Manager
Carry the Kettle First Nation (Assiniboine)

Erik grew up in Seattle. After receiving his BA from Whittier College in Los Angeles, he went on to earn a Master’s degree in American Indian Studies from UCLA, and a JD from UCLA School of Law. Erik has broad on-the-ground experience in Indian Country as a researcher, tribal court clerk, and through his work with tribal nonprofit organizations. This experience makes the PRC’s vision especially meaningful for Erik in supporting tribal communities to drive their own research and shape their own future. Currently, he manages the Communities of Practice [link to page] program and assists with communications strategy and development at the Policy Research Center.