Direlle R. Calica, JD (she/her), Institute for Tribal Government
Direlle Calica is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She is of Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakama, Molalla, and Snoqualamie tribal descent. She is the owner and managing partner of Kanim Associates LLC, which is a Native American-, women-, and veteran-owned company located in Oregon with an office in Colorado. Kanim Associates LLC provides environmental, energy, entrepreneur, and art/culture expertise services to tribal, government, professional, and organizational clients.
Direlle has more than twenty years of experience as a legislative, policy, planning, and regulatory advisor, and she is a member of the Washington State Bar Association. She has worked in the field of tribal relations for the US Attorney’s Office (District of Oregon) and the US Army Corps of Engineers and has been an advisor to various Indian Tribes on external relations. Direlle also has extensive professional experience in intergovernmental affairs, hydro-system planning related to tribes, water management, environmental entrepreneurship, and tribal energy policy. She has also served as a White House Intern and as a Mark O. Hatfield Congressional Fellow in the US Senate. Direlle has also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Indian Law Program at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, where she received her Juris Doctorate with a focus on Federal Indian Law, Business and Natural Resource law. In addition to serving as an Oregon Native American Chamber board member, she serves as a member of the board of directors for the Northwest Energy Coalition, council member on the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, and she is a Bonneville Environmental Foundation director emeritus. Direlle is also faculty and director of the Institute for Tribal Government at the Center for Public Service, Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.