Commissioner Biographies
Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer
E. Sequoyah Simermeyer (Coharie) is the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination in November 2019 after which he was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to a three-year term. As Chairman, he is responsible for the federal regulatory agency’s daily operations including its eight regional offices as well as its national and local training and technical assistance efforts. He has the authority to issue civil enforcement fines and temporary closure orders for regulatory violations by gaming operations on Indian lands. As a member of the National Indian Gaming Commission’s three-member commission, he is responsible for regulating and ensuring the integrity of the more than 520 Indian gaming facilities, associated with nearly 247 tribes across 29 states.
Prior to joining the NIGC, Simermeyer advised the Chairman to the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In that capacity he helped draft legislative proposals and committee reports, prepared oversight and legislative hearings, and advanced the Committee’s work on priority issues facing Indian country. Simermeyer also served as Deputy Chief of Staff and as counselor to the Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.
Simermeyer graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, N.H., a Masters of Study in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, Vt., and received his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School, N.Y.
NIGC Vice Chair Kathryn Isom-Clause
Kathryn Isom-Clause (Taos Pueblo) is the Vice Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission. As such, she is one of three commissioners responsible for regulating and ensuring the integrity of the more than 520 Indian gaming facilities, associated with nearly 247 tribes across 29 states. Isom-Clause was appointed by the Secretary of Interior on March 14, 2016 for a three-year term.
Prior to joining the NIGC, Isom-Clause served as a senior counselor to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. In this position, she advised the Assistant Secretary on Indian gaming matters, including tribal-state gaming compacts, environmental compliance issues and revenue allocation plans. She also chaired interagency working groups on sacred sites and homelessness, and coordinated listening sessions and roundtables with tribal stakeholders. In addition, her portfolio included the restoration and protection of tribal homelands. Prior to joining the federal government, Isom-Clause provided legal advice and representation to tribal clients on a wide range of federal Indian law and policy issues important to Indian Country.
Isom-Clause graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, Mass. and received her Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law, N.Y.