User:EditingDaily2023/Karen Diver

Karen Diver
Karen R. Diver, a prominent figure in Indigenous governance, was born in 1958 and is currently 58 years old. She is the respected Tribal leader of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Minnesota, where she is recognized for her exceptional work in expanding economic development, healthcare, and education opportunities for the tribe. With numerous accomplishments in tribal sovereignty, racial equity, and indigenous rights, Diver is a leader in her field. Additionally, she is a renowned public speaker on tribal governance, rights, and U.S. government relationships. Diver served as the Chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band for two terms from 2007 to 2015, making her an accomplished and revered leader within her community.

Early Life
When Diver was young, her family relocated from Fond du Lac to Cleveland, Ohio due to an urban relocation program. As a teenager, she had to manage the responsibility of raising her young daughter while also pursuing her education.

Education
As a kid, Diver went to a catholic high school in Cleveland. She then received a tribal scholarship from the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in Economics, and a minor in communications. She later became a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2002, ultimately earning a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard in 2003.

Career
Diver was a two-term Chair of the Boards of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. She also served as the Vice-President of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT), of which she chaired the Finance Corporation, and as the elected chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from 2007-2015, placing her as the chair of the tribal government and the CEO of the reservation's corporate boards. Diver made multiple notable changes in her role, including expanding the land base, growing the employment base from 1,600 to 2,200, and pioneering a $13 million investment in Duluth's Center for American Indian Resources.

Diver left her position at the Fond du Lac Reservation to work under the Obama Administration. From November 2015 until January 2017, Diver collaborated with the Obama White House as Special Assistant on Native American Affairs and assisted with inter-agency efforts. Her efforts as a part of the Domestic Policy Council focused on creating policy and regulatory changes for 567 federally recognized Native American Tribes.

When Obama's term ended, Diver transitioned into higher education and severed as a faculty member for UMD's Masters of Tribal Administration and Governance Program. Diver then worked as a Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence for Native American Affairs at the College of St. Scholastica. Diver held this position from 2017-2019, leading initiatives focused on inclusive instruction methods and cultivating student's cultural expression. Driver was then the Director of Business Development for Arizona University's Native American Advancement Initiatives for roughly two years.

On May 28, 2021, Driver took the newly created position of Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Diver reports directly to University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, and collaborates with other members of the senior leadership team, including Senior Director of American Indian Tribal Relations, Tadd Johnson, as well as University resources such as the University's Office of Equity and Diversity.