Thomas Belt is a scholar and distinguished elder working for the Eastern Band of Cherokee.  He retired in 2018 as coordinator of Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Language Program.  His has worked tirelessly throughout his career to preserve and revitalize the Cherokee language and traditional culture. 

Mr. Belt was raised in a Cherokee-speaking family in Rocky Ford, Oklahoma. He later moved to the Eastern homelands in the early 1990s and continues to live on the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians where he first worked as a teacher in the Cherokee Central Schools.

As a teacher and scholar at WCU, he developed vital materials for teaching Cherokee language and prepared multiple cohorts of students to read, speak and teach Cherokee language themselves. He is most noted for his written and spoken works, and appearances in widely publicized documentary films that continue to be used by students, scholars and Cherokee community members.

In addition to his on-campus accomplishment, Mr. Belt worked closely with the American Philosophical Society and the Smithsonian Institution to develop and enact protocols for the treatment of Cherokee archival materials, in particular culturally sensitive materials in the Cherokee language. He also served as a consultant to multiple university programs, providing regular addresses and workshops at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford, Yale, Duke and Wake Forest regarding the importance and significance of indigenous languages and the worldview of Cherokee culture.

Principal Chief, Eastern Band of Cherokee

Michell Hicks, CPA, was recently reelected as Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians by an overwhelming majority. Hicks previously served 3 terms as Principal Chief and is a former Executive Director of Budget and Finance. Michell led the 15,000-member tribe through a period of remarkable economic development and cultural advancement.

During his time in office, Michelle has displayed significant foresight and resolve in the financial and strategic progress of the tribe. He has also established himself as a national leader in Indian country. Michell is a graduate of Western Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of North Carolina – Asheville. Michell and his wife, Marsha, reside in Cherokee with their five children: Savannah, Noah, Lynsey, Amaya and Marlee.

Senior Advisor, Office of Air & Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Pat Childers is the Senior Advisor for Tribal Program Management for the Office of Air and Radiation at EPA.   Pat has spent the past 40 years working with EPA’s partners in reducing air pollution.  In addition to the past 11 years of working specifically on Tribal air quality issues, his experience includes being the OAR representative with the Ozone Transport Commission, the Designated Federal Official for the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and conducting the Clean Air Excellence Awards Program for 9 years.  Increasing Tribal participation in these programs was one of Pats priorities.  Prior to that Pat worked for twenty years at OAR’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality as Deputy Chief of staff and numerous other functions varying from enforcement officer to Tribal and State/Local program coordinator.  A majority of Pat’s time was coordinating with coregulators and other officials on mobile source regulatory and voluntary measures. Pat looks forward to focusing his remaining years at EPA on Tribal air programs and advancing healthier environments in Indian country.