Who We ARe

(Tlingit)

SISC Interim Executive Director

N. Iris Friday previously served as the Board Chair of the Seattle Indian Services Commission and was a Native American Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She brings decades of experience advancing affordable housing and asset-building in Tribal communities across the country. A nationally recognized expert on Native housing and financial empowerment, Iris has also served in leadership roles with the Native Action Network, the Center for Women and Democracy, and the Seattle Tlingit and Haida Community Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Master of Public Administration in Tribal Governance from Evergreen State College.

(Inupiaq)

SISC Development Manager

Demarus Tevuk is an Inupiaq woman from Nome, Alaska and as a consultant she specializes in community engagement projects utilizing Indigenous research methodology for the Seattle urban Native and Indigenous community. Her work Indigenizes processes by centering cultural values and uplifting traditional knowledge. She is deeply committed to creating safe, welcoming, and healing community spaces for urban Native and Indigenous people.

Demarus serves as the Development Manager for the Seattle Indian Services Commission and she is a 2024 Housing Equity Accelerator Cohort member. As a member of sləp̓iləbəxw (Rising Tides) - Indigenous Planning Group, Demarus has conducted several community participatory research projects including the Native Neighborhood Community Study, Native Neighborhood Case Study on Community Wealth Building, Native and Indigenous Community Input Report - Seattle Transportation Plan, Native and Indigenous Foods Listening Session Report, and Indigenous Housing and Planning.

Demarus Tevuk is also an environmental educator with expertise in traditional ecological knowledge, native plants, and native pollinators. Demarus earned her degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington, and she enjoys sharing her capstone research on the definition of traditional sustainable values and sustainability from the Indigenous perspective. Demarus serves on the board of The Common Acre, a local non-profit that connects Black, Indigenous and People of Color to the land and culture. She supports The Common Acre’s camas prairie efforts at various sites in South Seattle.

(African American)

SISC Staff — Loaned Executive

Director of African American Initiatives Catholic Community Services of Western Washington

Kenny Pittman has been serving SISC in a volunteer role for at least twenty-years and SISC is extremely grateful for all of his support. As a loaned executive through Catholic Community Services of Western WA (CCSWW), Kenny shares his industry knowledge and experience in the management of non-profit organizations and public development authorities. Kenny has been supporting the efforts of the Communities of Concern Commission, Historic Seattle, and the African American Elders Program at CCSWW.