James Alan Parker

Enrolled Citizen Chippewa Cree

ONAC Executive Director

Mr. Parker provides the key management leadership of the Oregon Native American Chamber (ONAC). As the Executive Director,he is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the organization.

He is also the owner and President of J. Alan Enterprises, LLC. He is an innovative business owner with 15+ years of experience within the Information Technology industry and the skills to drive business growth, capitalize on new revenue potential, and manage all aspects of daily business operations. His expertise in client relations and needs assessment, pricing strategies, marketing, contract management, and administration.

His clients include tribes, government agencies, tribal organizations, and small businesses across the northwest.

Amber Faist (Coquille)

ONAC Technical Assistance Program Manager

Amber is an enrolled citizen with the Coquille Tribe and is based in Tualatin, Oregon. Amber serves as ONAC’s Technical Assistance Program Manager where she manages the implementation of ONAC’s TA Program as well as steering a team of State-wide resource navigators serving Native American entrepreneurs, Native serving organizations, and entrepreneurship networks committed to increasing the success of Oregon’s Vibrant Tribal Economies.

Amber is led by her unwavering compassion and commitment to supporting inclusive entrepreneurship and working towards a community that provides the resources and opportunities that all people need to thrive and prosper. Amber is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in Business Entrepreneurship and had experience working within rural and urban Native communities, Tribal Programming, as well as previously owning her own small business.

Michelle Ramey (Lummi Descendant)

Business Development and Resource Navigation

Michelle is an experienced business owner and Certified Business Advisor with demonstrated experience working within Tribal Administration, with Tribal youth, and Native-owned businesses providing technical assistance to emerging and established entrepreneurs that require support and assistance to overcome barriers. Her work passion is serving entrepreneurs and small business owners linking them with the tools to empower themselves to achieve big things. From the risk-taking and ambitious nature of entrepreneurs to the flexibility and tight-knit culture, there’s so much to love about small businesses. She is a relentless optimist who believes there is no failure…only lessons learned, feedback and growth.

Leslie Miller (Eastern Shawnee)

Programs Coordinator

Leslie has demonstrated non-profit experience through the management of grant-funded projects at the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), The Confluence Project, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. These positions also included opportunities for historical research, oral histories with tribal elders, and relationship building with tribal leaders from around the country. Leslie graduated from Reed College with a BA in History and received her MA in History at The University of Hawaii, Manoa. She is an Eastern Shawnee citizen and was born and raised in Portland. Like many Native people of the time, her grandmother, Hazel, and her sisters moved from their tribal lands in Oklahoma to Portland to work in the shipyards during WWII. Hazel met a local boy, Jim, married, and settled in Portland. They opened a small business in 1945 that Jim ran until his death in 1997.

Joni McSpadden (Cherokee)

Oregon Native Enterprise (ONE) Program Resource Navigator

Joni provides intake and resource navigation for ONAC members and works with tribal partnerships across the state on small business start-ups as well as existing businesses. Joni has a master’s degree in nursing education bringing educational and technical expertise to provide culturally appropriate business education to adult learners in the ONE Program. The ONE Program was developed by ONAC in 2018 and is a Native-led, story-driven business education course designed to provide basic business education to Native entrepreneurs.

Jen Procter Andrews (Coquille)

IBRN Resource Navigator

Jen is a Coquille Tribal Citizen who has been involved in her Tribe’s government activities since assisting with restoration efforts in 1989. Jen’s focus at ONAC will be connecting with small business owners and entrepreneurs to assist them in accessing the resources they need to grow and thrive in the Portland business community.
She currently serves as Secretary-treasurer on the Coquille Tribe’s Nasomah Health Corporation Board of Directors, the health insurance company serving her Tribe’s citizens and employees. She is also a member of the Coquille Culture and Education Committee and has been a practicing Clinical Hypnotherapist since 2008. Previous to her current roles, Jen has started and sold a pet care business and a birth education business in Portland.

Duane Lane (Yakima Descendant)

COVID Impact and Relief Resource Navigator

Duane is a Yakama Tribal Descendant living in SW Washington. Duane serves as a Resource Navigator for ONAC, specializing in farming and agriculture. Previously Duane developed and coordinated an agriculture/horticulture business incubator program through Wisdom of the Elders. The incubator program focused on regenerative farming techniques, incorporating biochar and water management practices into the fieldwork, and business development through ONAC’s ONE Program. Duane has an environmental science education and background working on urban stream, wetland mitigation projects utilizing Willamette Valley native plants. Duane is also an owner/operator of 1855 Plants, a native plant nursery that sells and installs native plants to interested private homeowners that would like to reduce their water usage, promote a more sustainable environment for the birds, and pollinators.