Commissioner Biographies
Acting Chairwoman Sharon Avery
May 2024 to Present
Sharon M. Avery is the Acting Chairwoman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). She was appointed by the President effective May 15, 2024. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland recently appointed Avery to a three-year term as Associate Commissioner, effective May 6, 2024. As such, she is responsible for regulating and ensuring the integrity of the more than 500 Indian gaming facilities, associated with over 245 tribes across 29 states. Avery joined the NIGC’s Office of General Counsel as an Associate General Counsel in January of 2020.
Prior to joining the NIGC, Avery served as General Counsel for Tribal Operations for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan for 3 years. She also worked in the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan’s Legal Department for 7 years as a Senior Associate General Counsel and Associate General Counsel.
Avery graduated Cum Laude from Central Michigan University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2009 with a Juris Doctor degree and a certificate from the Indigenous Law & Policy Center.
Vice-Chair Jeannie Hovland
January 2021 to Present
Jeannie Hovland (Flandreau Santee Sioux) serves as Vice Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), where she is responsible for regulating and ensuring the integrity of more than 500 Indian gaming facilities operated by over 245 tribes across 29 states. She was reappointed for a second three-year term beginning May 6, 2024, after her initial appointment by the Secretary of the Interior on January 17, 2021. From May 2021 to July 2023, Hovland also served as Director of the NIGC Office of Self-Regulation.
Prior to joining NIGC, Hovland served as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), overseeing a $57 million annual operating budget dedicated to advancing self-sufficiency for American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Under her leadership, ANA administered discretionary grants supporting social and economic development, Native language revitalization, and environmental regulatory enhancement. She also established the Social and Economic Development Strategies for Growing Organizations (SEDS-GO) program, which provides funding to strengthen internal governance and build organizational capacity for tribes and tribal organizations.
In addition, Hovland served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Affairs at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a $58 billion agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She advised the Assistant Secretary on policies and initiatives impacting Native American communities, ensuring culturally appropriate strategies and responses.
Hovland chaired the HHS Secretary’s Intradepartmental Council on Native American Affairs (ICNAA), advising the Secretary on tribal issues across the department. She was instrumental in bringing national attention to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Native Americans through her roles on both the ICNAA and the Presidential Task Force, Operation Lady Justice. In October 2020, under her leadership as Chair of the ACF Native American Affairs Advisory Committee, ACF published Missing and Murdered Native Americans: A Public Health Framework for Action.
Earlier in her career, Hovland served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, offering strategic counsel on land leases, water access, land-into-trust matters, and energy and economic development.
Hovland’s deep commitment to Indian Country is rooted in her years of service in South Dakota, where she worked for U.S. Senator John Thune for nearly 13 years. As Tribal Affairs Advisor, she spent much of her time directly in tribal communities, advocating for community-driven solutions and contributing to important legislation such as the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008.