{"id":39917,"date":"2024-08-19T23:21:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T03:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=39917"},"modified":"2024-08-19T23:29:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T03:29:18","slug":"national-indian-health-board-places-top-executive-on-leave-amid-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/08\/19\/national-indian-health-board-places-top-executive-on-leave-amid-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"National Indian Health Board places top executive on leave amid investigation"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Stacy<\/a>
National Indian Health Board Chief Executive Officer Stacy Bohlen, standing on far right at podium, is seen during NIHB’s National Tribal Health Conference in Washington, D.C., on September 28, 2022. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
National Indian Health Board places top executive on leave amid investigation<\/div>\r\n
Monday, August 19, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe top executive at the National Indian Health Board<\/a> (NIHB), the largest tribal health organization in the U.S., has been placed on leave following unspecified allegations.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nStacy Bohlen<\/a>, a citizen of the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians<\/a>, was placed on leave by the NIHB board last week. A public statement from the organization cited \u201callegations against our Chief Executive Officer (CEO).\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Board of Directors takes this matter very seriously and per NIHB policy has placed the CEO on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough investigation by independent counsel,\u201d William \u201cBill\u201d Smith, the vice president and chief of the Valdez Native Tribe<\/a>, said in the August 12 statement.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe fact that this matter is under investigation does not suggest that there has been a finding of wrongdoing on the part of our CEO,\u201d Smith added.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nA separate statement addressed to the \u201cNIHB Family\u201d is also circulating. It contains much of the same information about Bohlen\u2019s status, while also noting that a \u201cthird-party law firm has been hired to conduct the investigation.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe board met today as we take this matter very seriously,\u201d Smith said.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our presentations and listening session during the IHS Partnership Conference!…<\/p>Posted by National Indian Health Board<\/a> on Thursday, August 15, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut neither statement gives an indication of the nature of the allegations that have been made against Bohlen, who has worked at NIHB for more than 20 years, initially as executive director before the title was changed to its current one of CEO. A spokesperson for the organization declined to provide details when asked by Indianz.Com on Monday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe NIHB spokesperson also declined to reveal the name of the law firm that is conducting the investigation into Bohlen. Other tribal organizations, most notably the National Congress of American Indians<\/a> and, more recently, NAFOA<\/a>, have turned to outside counsel to look into allegations against high-ranking executives.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Officially, that’s all we are going to say \r\nbecause it’s under investigation,” NIHB Communications Director Ned Johnson told Indianz.Com, referring to the statement made public by the organization.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe lack of details from NIHB has tribal advocates in the nation\u2019s capital speculating about the reasons for Bohlen being placed on leave. Several contacted by Indianz.Com did not think that the allegations are of a financial nature.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI just can\u2019t imagine it being finances,\u201d one tribal advocate who has worked with NIBH in the past said. \u201cShe was pretty much by the book,\u201d the same person said of Bohlen\u2019s financial management skills.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n \"Anthony<\/a>

National Indian Health Board Director of Federal Relations Anthony “A.C.” Locklear, standing on far right at podium, is seen during NIHB’s National Tribal Health Conference in Washington, D.C., on September 28, 2022. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWith finances seemingly out of the picture, other advocates in Washington, D.C., wondered whether the allegations are related to management of staff. In the past, inter-tribal organizations have been hit with human resource complaints that led to high-profile ousters and even litigation. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nAnother person in D.C. who heard about Bohlen’s status early last week, almost immediately after the NIHB board took action, speculated that the complaint originated with an unspecified “staffer” who documented the alleged misconduct that’s now being investigated.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut Smith said NIHB’s work to advance health systems in Indian Country would not suffer while the investigation is underway. Anthony “A.C.” Locklear, a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe<\/a> who has been serving as the organization’s first-ever Director of Federal Relations since August 2022<\/a>, has been named as “acting CEO” by the board.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Our People deserve for us to continue the mission, and we will,” Smith said in the statement addressed to “Tribal Leaders, Member Organizations, and Partners.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\nJohnson said NIHB does not typically announce personnel decisions, although it did so when Locklear was promoted to his current position two years ago. The organization recently brought Amber Torres, the former chairwoman of the Walker River Paiute Tribe<\/a>, on board as the “interim” Chief Operating Officer (COO) but her presence wasn’t widely known until she testified before the U.S. Congress<\/a> last month.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Yesterday, #NIHB Interim COO Amber Torres testified before the House Natural Resources Committee\u2019s Indian and Insular…<\/p>Posted by National Indian Health Board<\/a> on Thursday, July 25, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAs COO, Torres succeeds Jamie Gomez, a citizen of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes<\/a> from Alaska, on but NIHB did not publicize Torres’s arrival or Gomez’s departure. Gomez announced on social media last month that she is serving as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Advancement<\/a> for her tribal nation.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut tribal advocates in D.C. who pay attention to the comings and goings at inter-tribal organizations say NIHB has seemingly been trying to fulfill a significant number of positions. In late May, NIHB sought applicants for an “Executive Assistant”<\/a> who would report to the CEO.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Lots of staff have left,” one person said of NIHB.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Statements from the National Indian Health Board<\/div>\r\nBoth statements from the National Indian Health Board about Stacy Bohlen being placed on leave were signed by William “Bill” Smith, the Chair of NIHB’s Board of Directors.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDear Tribal Leaders, Member Organizations, and Partners:\r\n

<\/p>\r\nLast week, the National Indian Health Board of Directors were made aware of allegations against our Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Board of Directors takes this matter very seriously and per NIHB policy has placed the CEO on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough investigation by independent counsel. The fact that this matter is under investigation does not suggest that there has been a finding of wrongdoing on the part of our CEO.

<\/p>\r\nThe vital work that NIHB does for Indian Country, however, must not be impacted. Our People deserve for us to continue the mission, and we will.

<\/p>\r\nA.C. Locklear, Lumbee, has been named Acting CEO, and the Board and I have complete confidence in him to lead during this time.

<\/p>\r\nIf you have questions about this matter, please email nihbcommunications@nihb.org. To contact A.C. Locklear, please email ceo@nihb.org.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAwA’ahdah,\r\n

<\/p>\r\nChairman Chief William “Bill” Smith\r\n

<\/P>

<\/P>\r\nDear NIHB Family,\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn behalf of myself and the Board of Directors, I wanted to inform you that we are aware of the allegations made against the CEO, Stacy Bohlen. The Board met today as we take this matter very seriously. The actions the Board has taken are (1) Stacy has been placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation, (2) a third-party law firm has been hired to conduct the investigation, and (3) A.C. Locklear has been named Acting CEO. Please note, the fact that this matter is under investigation does not suggest that there has been a finding of wrongdoing on the part of the CEO.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nI am in constant communication with A.C. and the Board will inform you of any further actions, as warranted.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThank you all for your dedication to Indian Country and the important work of NIHB.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAwA’ahdah,\r\n

<\/p>\r\nChairman Chief William “Bill” Smith","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The top executive at the largest tribal health organization in the U.S. has been placed on leave following unspecified allegations.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[5274,687,783,346,121,4189,410,36,7,5275,368,372,1407],"class_list":["post-39917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-national","tag-ac-locklear","tag-amber-torres","tag-ccthita","tag-dc","tag-employment","tag-jamie-gomez","tag-law-firms","tag-nafoa","tag-ncai","tag-ned-johnson","tag-nihb","tag-stacy-bohlen","tag-william-smith","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20\/stacybohlen.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-anP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39917"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39938,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39917\/revisions\/39938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}