Lisa Sutherland serves as the Federal Navigator. She identifies and analyzes opportunities in real time.
Lisa was raised outside of Nenana in Anderson village. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Drake University and a law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Lisa is an expert on the federal budget process and steered hundreds of billions of dollars to every region of the state during her 25 years of handling Alaska earmarks for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. She drafted legislation creating the Denali Commission, Alaska Village Safe Water Program, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Community Health Aid Program, rural broadband programs, and led the Senate negotiations on the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation Act.
A highly respected telecommunications and federal Indian law attorney, Lisa is the architect of the AFN Navigator Program’s consortium application model, which has already secured $325 million for tribal communities and Native entities across the state.
Lisa and her husband live outside of Washington D.C. and have one son, who is a biomedical engineer. Her commitment to the Alaska Native community is unrivaled and was recognized by AFN through the Denali Award.