Fort Washakie, WY – The Wind River Development Fund (WRDF) is pleased to announce it has seated new officers for its board of directors: Roxanne Friday (Eastern Shoshone and Seneca) as President; Scott Ratliff (Eastern Shoshone) as Vice President; and Bryan Neely as Treasurer. Other members of the board include Roy Brown (Northern Arapaho), Heather SunRhodes (Northern Arapaho and Jemez Pueblo), and Clarinda Calling Thunder (Northern Arapaho).
This is the first time in the organization’s history a woman has been elected to the position of President and a milestone worth celebrating as part of Women’s History Month, which is observed every March to honor the contributions, accomplishments, and impact of women in American history.
“We are grateful for the strong commitment that our officers and board members have provided to Wind River Development Fund, as well as their dedication to creating economic opportunity for our community members. Seating the first woman as President of the board is a capstone for our recent accomplishments that highlights the significance of women leaders,” says Paul Huberty (White Earth Ojibwe), Executive Director of WRDF.
Roxanne Friday, who will lead WRDF’s board of directors as President for the next three years, was also the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church in the state of Wyoming. She has been involved with WRDF in varying capacities, including as Chief Financial Officer, for the last decade.
“I’m honored to be called upon to be the President of Wind River Development Fund. I have a lot of respect for all of the other board members, and we all work well together. We all respect each other’s opinions and decisions,” says Friday.
Friday’s top priority, working collaboratively with the other board members, will be to focus on economic development through strategies centered on growing small businesses on the Wind River Indian Reservation and surrounding communities.
“I think a lot of it has to do with education and training so people can realize their dreams of having their own business. In the community, I hear people say they wish they could open their own business. Wind River Development Fund can help bring those opportunities to them,” says Friday.
Friday believes the younger generation can have a lot of influence over the Reservation’s economic future. She says, “We have a lot of young people that could get things rolling. We want to see new growth, and education is really the key to help them become entrepreneurs.”
Friday commends the leadership of WRDF for the organization’s increasing growth and community impact in recent years. In 2025, WRDF deployed 11 loans totaling $1.8 million and delivered 462 hours of training and assistance to 239 people – all within the boundaries of the Reservation. WRDF now has 34 active loans in its portfolio.
“Wind River Development Fund has a good team that strives to do the best. I’ve seen this team really come together, and we are doing better today than we ever have before,” says Friday with a hopeful outlook for Wind River’s future.
Wind River Development Fund is a non-profit, Native Community Development Financial Institution located in Fort Washakie, WY. The mission of the Wind River Development Fund is to provide financial opportunities to stimulate economic development on the Wind River Indian Reservation, to promote self-sufficiency, self-determination, and an enhanced quality of life for the Reservation community.
For more information about the Wind River Development Fund and its affiliated organization Wind River Sage Fund, visit wrdf.org and wrsagefund.org.
