Meet our Board Members and Advisors

  David Jackson is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community (paternal) and ancestral ties to the Tohono O'odham Nation(maternal) in Southern Arizona. Mr. Jackson is a United States Marine Corps veteran who is an active member in his local American Legion Haskell Osife Antone Post 51.

After serving his country he went to work for his tribal community in the Tribal Building Safety Department. As an inspector,  He worked on  both commercial and residential projects for the Gila River Indian Community. One of his largest projects was a multi-million-dollar commercial expansion of the Gila River Casinos and Resort. He has worked with the EPA as the tribal point of contact for the case study on Code Adoption in Indian Country. As well as the tribal liaison for Arizona State University’s Tribal Community Indigenous Design Concepts for Housing.

He is an ICC preferred Education Provider. His training and education include being selected as the first Native American to become an ICC Board Shadow to Director Mike Savage of the International Code Council.  Currently Mr. Jackson is the Founder and Owner of the Code Advisory Group, a consulting and education firm that advocates for code adoption in Tribal Communities.

Daniel A. Burr, President of FSBC - Fire Safe Build Consultants, a Native American Owned Life Safety Building Code Consulting Firm with over 23 years of experience specializing in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Fire Code (IFC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Plumbing Code (IPC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Daniel is an enrolled tribal member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation, a Minnesota State Certified Building Official, and National Certified NFPA Fire Inspector I. FSBC - Fire Safe Build Consultants provides complete building code construction services such as helping in the process of structuring and adopting building codes in Tribal Governments, establishing and creating tribal building code administration departments, provide building code compliance inspections and plan review code compliance, and mentoring and training tribal members to become future building code inspectors.

Daniel has worked for Tribal Governments (SMSC), City Governments, Federal Governments (BIA), and Large in Scale Data Centers (Google).  Daniel's overall vision and primary goal is to help with Tribal Building/Housing Construction projects by improving substandard housing currently in design and increase construction quality throughout Tribal Nations. By providing safer built, cost effective, energy efficient buildings by using the best construction quality codes and standards in the industry today. Building Empowerment to all Tribal Governments through building codes to carry on for generations to generations to come.

Ellen White Thunder, Deputy Director for Lakota Funds, is advancing a model for workforce development in the construction industry to increase housing stock on the South Dakota reservations. Workforce development efforts include working on expanding a construction internship program, arranging technical assistance for tribal contractors, and assisting in developing a strategy to implement building codes on South Dakota reservations. She also oversees grant reporting, ensures compliance, and coordinates partner efforts. 

Ellen is also working to create strong partnerships with tribal and technical colleges in the state to ensure workforce development sustainability further. She is also increasing communication with tribes that have adopted building codes to get ideas on how other sovereign nations implement and enforce building codes. Ellen is also forging new relationships with large contractors with projects across the county to provide subcontracting and internship opportunities.

Ellen has a B.S. in Construction Engineering Technology from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.S. in Construction Engineering and Management from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Much of her previous professional experience has been in the construction industry; she has worked as a construction monitor, project estimator, and construction control inspector.

Ellen White Thunder is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

 Matthew Beaudet is an enrolled citizen and Elder of the Montauk Tribe of Indians. He is the co-founder and past president of the Illinois Native American Bar Association, served on the faculty of the Native American Educational Services (NAES) College and the National Judicial College's Tribal Judicial Center, and was elected as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention serving in both the Illinois Delegation and the Native American Caucus. He received the Illinois State Bar Association’s Community Service Award in recognition of his legal advocacy for the Native American community. He is the former building commissioner (code official) for the City of Chicago and became the first Native American to lead a City of Chicago department or agency. As first deputy building commissioner and continuing as building commissioner, he led Chicago's adoption of the ICC codes as well as reforming the permitting and inspection processes and dramatically reducing the time to permit and time to inspection. Crain's Chicago Business named him to Crain's Notable Executives of Color in Construction and Real Estate in 2022 and the Building Owners and Managers Association awarded him the inaugural Civic Partner Award in 2023.  He has held numerous senior positions in state and local government over the past thirty-five years under four Chicago mayors, two Cook County board presidents, and three Illinois governors.  He has been in private consulting since retiring form public service in 2024. Mr. Beaudet received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago, his Law degree from the John Marshall Law School, and has done numerous post-graduate course work including at the University of Oxford and the U.S. Emergency Management Institute. 

 Tawney Brunsch, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is the Executive Director of Lakota Funds, a Native community development financial institution (CDFI) serving the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Prior to joining Lakota Funds in 2008, Tawney worked with the Black Hills Federal Credit Union for eight years as a Branch Manager/Lead Lender. At Lakota Funds, Tawney has successfully led the organization’s achievement of key organizational benchmarks, including the chartering of the Lakota Federal Credit Union, expanding Lakota Funds’ lending area to the Rosebud Reservation, efforts to become an FSA-Guaranteed ag lender, and launching the Child Development Account (CDA) program, one of the first such programs in Indian Country. Nationally known for her community development efforts, Tawney serves on a number of boards and advisory committees including the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Advisory Council, the Community Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board, and the Native CDFI Network’s Policy Committee. Tawney remains committed to economic development on the Pine Ridge Reservation in her roles as Lakota Federal Credit Union Board Chairman, and the Board Treasurer of Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial, a fellow CDFI focused on homeownership lending. She has been a leader of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition since its creation in 2013, and currently serves on the Executive Committee, Policy Committee, and Veteran’s Committee and chairs the Physical Issues Committee.  

 Patti Daul is the Division Chief/Fire Marshal for the Pechanga Band of Indians fire department, with over 30 years of experience in the fire service. Her extensive career includes expertise in fire prevention, emergency response, and safety education. At Pechanga, Patti oversees the Fire Prevention Division of the fire department, which aims to provide comprehensive fire prevention services to protect lives, property, cultural resources, infrastructure, the environment, and economic development. Patti's dedication and leadership are crucial in maintaining a safe and resilient environment on the reservation. Additionally, she serves as the 2nd Vice President of the California Fire Prevention Officers (CFPO) Southern Division ICC Chapter, is a past president of the San Diego Fire Prevention Officers ICC Chapter, and holds an ICC Fire Inspector II certification, among others.