Susan Balbas
The co-founder and executive director of The Na’ah Illahee Community and a community organizer, Susan Balbas holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Teaching. From 2007 to 2012, she was a training and technical assistance specialist for multiple tribal youth programs for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice, and Delinquency Prevention’s Tribal Youth Programs through Education Development Center, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Boston. Susan carries valuable expertise in all levels of nonprofit operations and management. She has been an independent consultant working with tribes, artists, and nonprofit organizations; the Chief Development Officer at United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in Seattle; Development and Donor Education Coordinator at Changemakers Foundation in San Francisco; Executive Director at the NAYA Youth and Family Center in Portland; and Outreach Director at the Western Water Alliance in Seattle, where she was the primary researcher on water and related environmental issues. A mother of three and grandmother of three, Susan has studied extensively with herbalists, is an avid gardener, cook, and is a voracious reader of historical novels. She currently serves on the board of the Potlatch Fund in Seattle.