Buffalo, NY -Christina Jimerson didn’t plan her career path but through her advocacy for the Seneca Nation of Indians, she was elected into its leadership and is now a key advisor in the current administration.
Seneca Nation President Todd Gates asked Jimerson to serve as his special assistant in December 2016. “I was extremely honored to accept the position,” she says. “As the role of women leaders in the Nation continues to grow, it’s important to set an example of service in the community that our sons and daughters can be proud to fill.”
Jimerson focuses her time on policy work and external government relations for the 8,000-member Nation. She is also second vice president of the Board of Directors of the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA).
Her Canisius MBA, she says, serves her well providing Jimerson with the knowledge to analyze the financial impacts of policies and the ability to offer guidance on budget issues and financing.
Jimerson previously spent nine years at the Seneca Gaming Corporation. She worked her way up to become director of employee benefits where she oversaw the health and retirement plans for more than 4,000 employees.
She was elected to the Tribal Council for the Seneca Nation’s legislative branch in 2012 and served a four-year term. As a Councilor, Jimerson often traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with elected officials about matters important to the Nation, including advocacy for the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act, which passed in 2014.
For her leadership, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named Jimerson to its 2016 class of “Native American 40 Under 40.”
