Tovey Named New CTUIR Executive Director

MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) officially has a new full-time executive director in tribal member J.D. Tovey.

The CTUIR Board of Trustees (Board) voted Tovey as executive director during its Feb. 3 meeting. Tovey had served as interim executive director since May 11 after the resignation of former Executive Director Donald Sampson on May 10.

“I want to thank the Board of Directors for having the confidence and faith in me and providing me this wonderful opportunity,” Tovey said. “Being named full-time executive director not only allows me to continue executing the Board’s governmental priorities to move the CTUIR forward, but I also get to continue giving back to the CTUIR and its people. Having been in this position on an interim basis I know the time and effort it takes. I was happy to step in when my predecessor resigned, and with the backing of the Board, I intend to keep things moving in the right direction.”

As directed by the Board, the executive director has the authority and responsibility to implement the Board’s legislative actions and provide for the delivery of programs and services to tribal members and reservation residents on behalf of the Board. The executive director provides management oversight and supervision for all aspects of tribal government and administration.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to congratulate J.D. on being the CTUIR’s new executive director,” Chairman Gary I. Burke said. “As interim executive director, he showed that not only can he handle the pressures that come with the job, but he thrived in the position, and we on the Board expect solid leadership from him in the future.”

Tovey, who holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Washington, joined the CTUIR as the Tribal Planning Office’s director in March 2014. He served in that capacity until October 2023 when he was named deputy executive director.

Prior to working at the CTUIR, he was a senior urban designer from 2004 to 2008 in Orlando, Florida, and from 2009 to 2014 he was at the University of Washington as a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship research fellow in the Interdisciplinary Program in Urban Design & Planning.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.