{"id":1285,"date":"2022-03-16T11:58:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T18:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spipa.org\/staging\/?page_id=1285"},"modified":"2025-07-16T12:24:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T19:24:03","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/spipa.org\/staging\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About SPIPA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLooking Forward Together\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mel Youkton<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Zelma McCloud<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In 1976, these Tribal leaders from the South Puget Sound region had the remarkable vision to join together to create SPIPA(South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency)  The original mission of SPIPA, as set forth by the founders: Mel Youckton (Chehalis), Zelma McCloud (Nisqually), Bill Smith (Skokomish), and Cal Peters (Squaxin Island, 1927-2011) was to “study, prepare, and recommend comprehensive Tribal plans; to aid in providing financial and technical assistance to participating Tribal communities; and to otherwise assist in such planning and development as may seem appropriate to promote the general welfare of participating Tribes.”<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 1992, the consortium welcomed the Shoalwater Bay Tribe as a SPIPA member. This unique model now provides intertribal planning, technical assistance and program management services to support each Tribe’s goal for their members.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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SPIPA Board of Directors<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe SPIPA Board, which meets once a month, sets policies and goals for the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA). <\/span>
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CHEHALIS<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Christina Hicks<\/strong>
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Rachelle Ferguson<\/strong>
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NISQUALLY<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Marie McDonald<\/strong>
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Joe Cushman<\/strong>
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SHOALWATER BAY<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kathirine Horne<\/strong>
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Lynn Clark<\/strong>
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SKOKOMISH<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tom Strong<\/strong>
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Jack-Lyn Smith <\/strong>
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SQUAXIN ISLAND<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Vicki Kruger<\/strong>
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Julie Owens<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Alternate<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Leadership Bios<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kyle Rogers, Executive Director<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kyle Rogers is a member of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.\u00a0 He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University where he earned a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Business Administration in 2009 and a Master\u2019s Degree in Public Administration in 2011. He began is professional career as a Grant Writer for the Shoalwater Indian Bay Tribe while serving as his Tribe\u2019s Alternate Delegate on the SPIPA Board of Directors.\u00a0 He began working at SPIPA as a Planner\/Senior Grant Writer in 2014.\u00a0 In 2015, he became the Deputy Executive Director and served in that capacity until being named the Interim Executive Director in 2023. He became the Executive Director in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>

If he is not working, Kyle prefers spending time watching and attending sporting events and vacationing in Mexico.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Keegahn (William) Martin, Deputy Executive Director<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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William is an enrolled member of the Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.\u00a0 Mr. Martin was born in Petersburg, AK, and was raised in Kake, AK.\u00a0 He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical Studies from East Coast Bible College, Charlotte, NC, and is a certified teacher through the Evangelical Training Association.\u00a0 He has over 16 years of leadership experience in the Public Assistance sector, including Site Manager for the Skokomish Indian Tribe, and Director of the 477 Division for Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
<\/span>Mr. Martin is the proud father of two amazing young ladies and prefers devoting all of his spare time to them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About SPIPA Mel Youkton Zelma McCloud Cal Peters Bill Smith In 1976, these Tribal leaders from the South Puget Sound region had the remarkable vision to join together to create SPIPA(South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency)  The original mission of SPIPA, as set forth by the founders: Mel Youckton (Chehalis), Zelma McCloud (Nisqually), Bill Smith (Skokomish), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1285","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAbout - SPIPA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spipa.org\/staging\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About - 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