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Learn about the positive impact of our workat Tribal Tech | Cowan & AssociatesContractSpotlightsOUR PERFORMANCE2023 - 2024

READ NOWSpotlightTribal Tech’s work with the Substance Abuse and MentalHealth Services Administration (SAMHSA)Since 2015, Tribal Tech has worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental HealthServices Administration (SAMHSA) grant program, Native Connections, to provideTribes and Native communities with tools and resources to address issues regardingmental health, substance misuse, and other behavioral health needs among Nativeyouth. The contract has three primary aims: substance misuse prevention, promotionof mental health, and suicide prevention. The Native Connections grant includes freetechnical assistance support to grantees nationwide. Every SAMHSA NativeConnections grantee is assigned a Grantee Technical Assistant (GTA) from the TribalTech team to support in successfully implementing their grants. The grantees are theexperts; we provide them with encouragement and recommendations to empowerthem. Our team aids with community engagement strategies, community readiness,strategic action planning development and implementation, community asset andresource identification, and policy and procedure development. Other areas we assistin include suicide prevention, crisis protocol and response training, trauma andwellness training, substance misuse prevention, and general mental health assistance.ContractThe Native Connections team alsosupports Tribal communities throughon-site visits where they spend two tothree days with grantees building skillsand resources. Throughout the year, theNative Connections team puts togetherRegional Learning Communities (RLCs)divided up by U.S. regions. RLCs allowgrantees to connect virtually, network,and share their grant experience,including project highlights.SAMHSA NC

Learn More!Visit the SAMHSA website tolearn more about our client.Recently, the Native Connections team held a webinar that discussed boosting Nativeyouth wellness through incorporating traditional games such as stickball and lacrosse.Many Native youths like playing sports, and the webinar allowed attendees to learn howto teach Native youth about their culture and history through these games, includinghow the equipment for the games is made and the context behind their designs. Thishelps boost their pride in their Indigenous identity and self-esteem. It also reaffirmspositive social and cultural values and who these youths are as citizens of their Tribes.We also have National Learning Communities,which follow the same format as RLCs, exceptthey are on a national level and are held sixtimes a year for all grantees. Aside fromlearning communities, our team also offersNative Connections webinars that covervarious topics, including suicide prevention,community engagement, communityassessment, how to engage with youth, andcrisis and post-mention policies. Granteesassist with presenting on these calls andsharing their success stories.As an agency, SAMHSA acknowledges and recognizes historical trauma amongIndigenous people and how Indigenous knowledge, culture, and traditions can be utilizedas strategies to prevent suicide, promote mental health, and reduce substance misuse.They recognize that cultural and traditional approaches innate to each specific Tribe andorganization are protective factors that can reduce and prevent substance misuse andmental health challenges among Indigenous communities. Throughout the contract cycle, the Native Connections team has worn various hats. OurGTAs have extensive personal experience helping grantees with trauma, enabling them toconnect and relate. This establishes trust and builds rapport with those whom we assist.Many of our staff have experience in prevention, behavioral health, social work, andcommunity health from a Tribal context. Tribal Tech hopes that our work with NativeConnections will offer future generations, families, and communities a good head start toa healthy life and environment.

SpotlightREAD NOWTribal Tech’s work withthe U.S. Navy’soverarching personnelbranch, OPNAV N1.Since 2007, Cowan & Associates hassupported the Navy’s overarchingpersonnel branch OPNAV N1. During thattime, Cowan has worked as part of theCommander’s Action Group (CAG) andOrganizational Analysis for OPNAV N1. TheCAG acts as the primary switchboard tointegrate and coordinate actions andproducts from the Chief of NavalPersonnel Enterprises for internal andexternal audiences. Under OrganizationalAnalysis, our staff works in the Manpower,Training and Education RequirementsDivision, where they collaborate withplanners and other stakeholders at Navyschoolhouses around the world to ensurethe Navy allocates the required amount ofinstructors, students, and other resourcesto each course each year to keep the fleetfully manned and ready for ships todeploy.Working in the CAG requires a greatunderstanding of current events,particularly at the Federal, Naval, andCongressional levels, to help shape anddrive the future narrative for the Chief ofNaval Personnel’s vision. Recently, theCowan team witnessed firsthand someof the ongoing conversations and workcrafted to improve everyday sailors' livesand provided recommendations onimpactful policies. A recentaccomplishment for our team includedtheir contributions in developing policiesrelated to pregnancy and mental healthin support of the Brandon Act. TheBrandon Act is a law that creates a self-initiated referral process for servicemembers seeking a mental healthevaluation and aims to reduce stigma byallowing them to seek help confidentially.ContractThe CAG has helped integrate and planfor several long-range and importantevents over the past couple of years.

Learn More!Visit the Navy website to learnmore about our client.In support of the Navy’s training policy organization, our Organizational Analysis staffoversees the general military training of all sailors and all voluntary training. Cowan helpsmanage the Planning Board for Training, which determines which trainings are mandatedby Congress and which can be designated at Commander Discretion. Some recentaccomplishments for the training team include producing the FY24 General MilitaryTraining Instruction on time. Congress mandated this and required many meetings, briefs,and email coordination to get all stakeholders to sign off on the final product. Anotheraccomplishment is the OPNAV Instruction governing CeTARS (Corporate EnterpriseTraining Activity Resource Systems – a training course repository), signed by their admiraland distributed to the fleet. The CAG has helped integrate and plan for several long-range and important eventsover the past couple of years. Working in the CAG requires a great understanding ofcurrent events, particularly at the Federal, Naval, and Congressional levels, to help shapeand drive the future narrative for the Chief of Naval Personnel’s vision. Recently, theCowan team witnessed firsthand some of the ongoing conversations and work craftedto improve everyday sailors' lives and provided recommendations on impactful policies.A recent accomplishment for our team included their contributions in developingpolicies related to pregnancy and mental health in support of the Brandon Act. TheBrandon Act is a law that creates a self-initiated referral process for service membersseeking a mental health evaluation and aims to reduce stigma by allowing them to seekhelp confidentially.Cowan is currently working with the N1 Legislative Affairs team for the Chief of NavalPersonnel’s upcoming testimony to the House and Senate Armed Forces Committee. Also,the training team is working on the FY27 Student Input Plan and the FY25 General MilitaryTraining requirements. Our team looks forward to continuing to support OPNAV N1’s work intraining sailors, improving their lives, and ensuring that the Navy has everything it needs tokeep the fleet fully resourced.

Tribal Tech’s work with the Administration for Native Americans(ANA)Since 2012, Tribal Tech has provided onsitesupport services to the Administration forNative Americans (ANA), ANA is part of theOffice of the Administration for Children andFamilies (ACF) in the Department of Healthand Human Services (HHS). ANA providesgrants, training, and technical assistance forsocial and economic development topromote self-sufficiency and culturalpreservation among Native Americans.The contract provides integral support inthree key areas: Office of the Commissioner Support Tribal Tech supports ANA's Office of theCommissioner in meeting annual goals,handling the Commissioner's schedule andtravel, policy development, legal analysis,and creating HHS-wide Tribal programinitiatives in an annual report to Congress. Division of Program Operations SupportTribal Tech assists ANA's Division of ProgramOperations in reviewing and managing grantapplications, planning grant panel reviewsessions, and evaluating applications andbudgets. Our team administratively managesa large grant portfolio and provides ongoingtechnical assistance to recipients.Division of Program Evaluation and Planning(DPEP)Tribal Tech aids ANA's DPEP by planning andimplementing program evaluation, datamanagement, and developing Congressionalreports. Our team conducts project impactevaluation visits and supports the DPEPDirector's goals. In 2023, Tribal Tech implemented theEngaging with Native Partners series,organized events for Native AmericanHeritage Month, and facilitated the reviewand award of 42 new 2024 grants totaling$11,740,765. The grants focus on social andeconomic development, environment,language, and cultural preservation. Theteam also conducted 65 grantee outcomevisits throughout the U.S.

Learn More!Visit the ANA website to learnmore about our client.Lastly, the team developed a strategic plan for ANA's 50th-anniversary celebration in2024, highlighting the impact of ANA's grants and services on Indigenous communitiesover the last 50 years. Tribal Tech is proud to serve Indigenous communities throughANA's programs and looks forward to celebrating ANA’s significant contributions fromthe previous half-century.

SpotlightTribal Tech’s work with theCombined Federal Campaign (CFC)The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) isthe official workplace-giving campaign forfederal employees and retirees. Every year,federal employees are encouraged to cometogether to raise money and volunteer fortheir favorite charities. Since its inception,the campaign has raised nearly $8.7billion for charities and people inneed. Created by President Kennedy in 1961,the campaign was intended to streamlinefundraising in the workplace and allowemployees to give directly out of their payon an automatic basis.ContractREAD NOWTribal Tech was awarded and successfullyfulfilled a five-year contract in 2017. As ofnow, we are in the second year of anotherfive-year contract. We sub-contract to anAlexandria, Virginia-based non-profitorganization, Global Impact, which hasbeen involved in the campaign since itsinception. The contract with the U.S. Officeof Personnel Management involves threetask orders:

Learn More!Visit the CFC website to learnmore about our client.1. National Marketing: Includes key tasks in designing and developing campaignmarketing materials, the CFC national website, an online Learning ManagementSystem, and all communication pieces for the campaign, including newsletters, socialmedia, videos, and agency head memos. 2. Centralized Common Support Services: Creating and providing a national systemfor Helpdesk, Event Management, and a Customer Relationship Managementdatabase to track all relationships and contacts. 3. Local Zone Marketing: Campaign management, marketing, event management,materials distribution, and reporting. We train and motivate over 5,000 campaignworkers across the country and overseas, coordinate approximately 100 events permonth during the campaign, and develop two large national events with thousands ofviews from across the country. During the first five-year period, the Tribal Tech team raised over $150 million. Thisyear, our team has an internal goal of $50 million, and we are on target to reach thatgoal by January 31. Luckily, we have a team of over 20 passionate people who all lovethe campaign, knowing the charitable funds raised impact lives locally, nationally, andworldwide.

Tribal Tech’s work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).Tribal Tech has been supporting the workof the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA) as a subcontractor toAECOM since 2019. The partnershipbegan with Tribal Tech being brought onboard to help plan, organize, andprepare for the onsite meetingmanagement of the Hazard MitigationStakeholder Workshop alongside AECOMand FEMA staff. FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation StakeholderWorkshop was historically an annualsummit between FEMA and regional,state, and local officials. The workshopaimed to advance mitigation strategiesnationwide and improve capacity toaddress the impacts of natural hazards,effectively manage floodplains,implement Hazard Mitigation Assistanceprogram requirements, and provide toolsand guidance to support decision-making at all levels. The workshopwelcomed hazard mitigationprofessionals in a friendly environment todiscuss success stories and challengesin delivering the FEMA mitigationprograms. Workshop participantsincluded representatives from federal,state, tribal, territories, and localgovernments. Tribal Tech was very involved in theonsite management of the workshopsand activities, explicitly involvingworkshop sessions that included tribalparticipation due to our experienceworking with Indian country. Tribal Techstaff participated in the breakoutworkshop sessions by taking notes,managing, and assisting the presenterswith audio/visual technical support, andadministering the evaluation surveys.Another significant component of theworkshop preparation was theimplementation and management of asmartphone event app used by theattendees to navigate the conferenceenvironment and access speaker andworkshop information, all to streamlinethe experience and help reduce theevent’s carbon footprint. The 2019workshop was a great success which ledto the planning of event support andmanagement for the 2020 workshop.Unfortunately, this all came to a grindinghalt in March 2020 when FEMA leadershipcanceled the event in response toprojected infection rates during the onsetof the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdownensured that some time would passbefore collaborative contract supportwould begin to pick up speed again. ContractSpotlightREAD NOW

In 2022, Tribal Tech was invited back to continue working with AECOM and FEMA to helpstaff online meetings that supported the work of the Building Resilient Infrastructure andCommunities (BRIC) program that supports states, local communities, tribes, andterritories in assessing, researching, planning, and implementing hazard mitigationprojects to help reduce risks from disasters and natural hazards. The BRIC programguiding principles are supporting communities through capability-and capacity-building;encouraging and enabling innovation; promoting partnerships; enabling large projects;maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. AECOM and Tribal Tech began primarilysupporting the efforts of the non-financial Direct Technical Assistance program. Theseincluded a variety of support partners to the communities that had city, state, tribal, andother stakeholders to identify risks and seek assistance to produce successful applicationsfor scoping projects that may eventually lead to construction projects. Tribal Techspecifically provided meeting support to several tribes and communities that includedtribal partners. Now that this phase of support has run its cycle, Tribal Tech has now beeninvited back to help support the Inter-Tribal Emergency Management Coalition summermeeting scheduled to occur in Tulsa, OK, in mid-August 2023. Through this subcontract, wecontinue to support FEMA's excellent work with Indian country. Tribal Tech has been supporting the workof the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA) as a subcontractor toAECOM since 2019. The partnershipbegan with Tribal Tech being brought onboard to help plan, organize, andprepare for the onsite meetingmanagement of the Hazard MitigationStakeholder Workshop alongside AECOMand FEMA staff. Learn More!Visit the FEMA website to learnmore about our client.

Tribal Tech’s work with the U.S.Department of Labor (DOL),Division of Indian and NativeAmerican Programs (DINAP).SpotlightREAD NOWSince 2019, Tribal Tech has supported theU.S. Department of Labor (DOL) as aprime contractor. Tribal Tech supportsDOL to provide Training and TechnicalAssistance (TTA) for the Indian andNative American (INA) grantees fundedunder Section 166 of the WorkforceInnovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).Our team works specifically to supportthe mission of the Division of Indian andNative American Programs (DINAP) toprovide quality employment and trainingservices to low-income and unemployedAmerican Indians, Alaska Natives, andNative Hawaiians.DINAP administers and managesapproximately 120 federal grantsawarded to Native Americanorganizations, including federallyrecognized tribes, Native American non-profit organizations, Native Hawaiianorganizations, Alaska Native villages, andtribal community colleges.Tribal Tech is responsible for theseamless planning and logistics ofconferences, meetings, and trainings forgrantees. Our team identifies the eventvenue and coordinates with thoseinvolved to ensure AV equipment is setup and operating properly and theseating arrangements offer ample spacefor participants. Our team providesmaterials and administrative support forthese sessions, including scheduling,budget reports, and troubleshooting. Ourteam also supports virtual events byproviding Zoom links and backgroundassistance, such as chat monitoring, toensure programs operate accordingly.Contract

In addition to event planning, Tribal Techsupports the INA Community of Practicewebsite and monitors the DINAP website.Our team provides customer support tograntees on the web-based casemanagement system and the Legacysystem (Bear Tracks), including ongoingmonthly training events and trainingduring regional and nationalconferences. Our team also monitors atroubleshooting system that granteescan use to submit their GranteePerformance Management Systemissues. Notably, our team has developedtraining modules for INA workforceprofessionals, including curriculumdevelopment and certification.Tribal Tech continues to provide DOL DINAP with in-depth logistical support andinnovative solutions. For example, we instituted a monthly newsletter to keep granteesupdated on information related to workforce training and opportunities. During theCOVID-19 pandemic, we provided technical support for their events to pivot to hybridaccess. The team is currently working to provide materials and administrative supportfor a Native American Employment and Training Council Meeting (AKA Advisory CouncilMeeting) this month.Learn More!Visit the DINAP website tolearn more about our client.

SpotlightREAD NOWTribal Tech’s work with theU.S. Department of Justice(DOJ), Drug EnforcementAdministration (DEA).The Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) works with the Department ofJustice, the Office of National DrugControl Policy (ONDCP), and otherfederal agencies to address the ongoingdrug threats across the country withineach of the DEA’s 23 field divisions. Thesethreat categories include narcotics,stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens,marijuana/cannabis, steroids, inhalants,and synthetic drugs. Each DEA FieldDivision will identify the local drug threatthrough drug abuse trends andenforcement priorities. Through DEA’sNational Community OutreachEngagement Strategy (NCOES), eachfield division will be given the tools tohelp support and contribute to local drugabuse awareness and prevention effortswhile bridging local public safety andpublic health efforts through communitycoalition building, youth engagement,school engagement, workplaceengagement, and communicationorganization outreach.The DEA Operation Engage initiative is acomprehensive community-levelapproach to addressing the drugepidemic through prevention strategies,facilitating conversations, andcollaboration with local partners. Eachfield division office identifies the mostchallenging area within its region basedon drug threat data, designates a city orregion, and focuses evidence-informedsubstance use prevention andcommunity outreach efforts on making atrue and measurable difference. They willalso continue to focus on and addressdrug trafficking, violence, and crimereduction within these communities.Contract

There are several goals of OperationEngage:Identify and affect local drug threatenforcement priorities and druguse trendsSupport and contribute to localsubstance use prevention effortsBridge public safety and public healtheffortsTribal Tech has been the primecontractor supporting DEA since 2021.Tribal Tech works with the field divisionson scheduling Community Training andDrug Prevention Outreach SupportServices.Learn More!Visit the Operation Engagewebsite to learn more aboutour client.The objectives of the DEA contractinclude the following:Connect DEA field offices with thecommunities they serve. Provide DEAleadership the ability to bringtogether disparate elements of localcommunities following DEA drugenforcement actions.Leverage DEA intelligence and streetknowledge to build awareness oflocal drug threats.As an entity representing one of thekey community sectors (lawenforcement), support local drug-free community coalitions to aidimpact and have long-lastingsuccess.Raise awareness of local drug threatsand change attitudes to reduce drugdemand, misuse, and abuse throughincreased collaboration, preventioneducation, and treatment recoverysupport.To date, Tribal Tech has supported theDEA field offices in Miami (17participants), Phoenix (15 participants)and Los Angeles (45 participants). Weare set to provide training to the Detroitfield office in April and Richmond byJune. Both the Phoenix and Florida FieldOffices have shown interest in receivingadditional trainings this year with Floridarequesting one in Spanish and one inEnglish.The DEA Operation Engage initiative is acomprehensive community-levelapproach to addressing the drugepidemic through prevention strategies,facilitating conversations, andcollaboration with local partners. Eachfield division office identifies the mostchallenging area within its region basedon drug threat data, designates a city orregion, and focuses evidence-informedsubstance use prevention andcommunity outreach efforts on making atrue and measurable difference. They willalso continue to focus on and addressdrug trafficking, violence, and crimereduction within these communities.

Tribal Tech’s work with theU.S. Department ofEducation, National IndianEducation Study The National Indian Education Study(NIES) is the only nationwide assessmentdesigned to describe the condition ofeducation for American Indian andAlaska Native (AI/AN) students in theUnited States. NIES is conducted every four years inconjunction with the NationalAssessment of Educational Progress(NAEP). NAEP, or the Nation’s Report Card,is the largest nationally representativeand continuing assessment of studentachievement in public and privateschools across the United States.NIES has two main components. The firstcomponent is the NAEP mathematicsand reading assessments for fourth andeighth grade. The second component isa survey specific to NIES that investigateshow students’ Native traditions,languages, and cultures integrate intothe students’ everyday lives. NIES datadraws from a nationally representativesample of AI/AN students from public,private, Bureau of Indian Education (BIE),and Department of Defense schools.Tribal Tech has been the primecontractor supporting NIES since 2015.Our primary purpose for the 2015 NIEScontract was to recruit BIE-fundedschools for the 2019 NIES assessmentadministration. After four successfulyears, Tribal Tech was awarded therecruitment contract again for the 2024NIES administration.When the NIES team is not activelyrecruiting schools to participate, theyraise awareness of NIES through variouscampaigns. Informational materials aredeveloped, from regional bookmarks tocalendars, and disseminated to BIE-funded schools yearly. In addition, TribalTech has submitted a successfulworkshop proposal and presented eachyear at national-level conferenceshosted by organizations such as theNational Indian Education Association(NIEA) and the National Congress ofAmerican Indians (NCAI).ContractSpotlightREAD NOW

This year, an optional task was requestedfor the first time since 2015. This taskinvolved Tribal Tech conducting 140cognitive interviews via Zoom withadministrators and fourth and eighth-grade students and teachers. Allinterview participants were asked 9 to 20questions. Two people were required toconduct the child interviews, and oneperson was required to interview theadults. Audio recordings and transcriptswere required for each interview, alongwith the completion of an extensive dataentry spreadsheet coded to protect theanonymity of the interview participants.This task was a tall order for the NIESteam and required the recruitment ofteammates from other contracts toassist in completing the interviews in therequired timeframe. As the cognitive labsend, the NIES team will now transition intoactively recruiting BIE-funded schools forthe upcoming 2024 study.Learn More!Visit the NIES website to learnmore about our client.

SpotlightREAD NOWTribal Tech’s work withthe U.S. Department ofJustice (DOJ), Office ofVictims of Crime (OVC)Human TraffickingCapacity Building CenterTribal Tech’s contract with the HumanTrafficking Capacity Building Centerexists to help Tribal and Native victimservice organizations start, sustain, orgrow their anti-trafficking work. TheCenter works with federally recognizedTribes to develop approaches that alignwith cultural values while honoring andrespecting American Indian and AlaskaNative (AI/AN) practices.Mitzi Pope, Tyesha Wood, and ShiraPhelps are the Tribal Tech team workingwith the Center, along with others fromBooz Allen Hamilton and the NationalCenter for Victims of Crime.Since January 2021, the Center hasfacilitated nine virtual Talking Circles,reaching thousands of participants. TheCenter’s Talking Circles have broughttogether experts in the field of humantrafficking in Indian Country, survivors,and service providers for a rich andinformative conversation. In the pastthree months, our team has explored thefollowing topics through the TalkingCircles:Resources to Help Healing in YourTribal CommunitySupporting Survivors of HumanTrafficking in Tribal CommunitiesExploring Intersections BetweenHuman Trafficking and Missing orMurdered Indigenous PeopleContract

Additionally, the Center’s monthlyCommunity of Care sessions offer avirtual gathering space for Tribal victimservice providers working with humantrafficking survivors. These sessions allowthem to build their networks and learnfrom experts in the field and their peersin a smaller group setting.The Center also offers comprehensiveCapacity-Building engagements withindividual Tribal victim serviceorganizations. Recently, our team workedwith a statewide Tribal Sexual Assaultand Domestic Violence Coalition to helpthem increase their knowledge andunderstanding of human trafficking tobetter support the work of the 12 Tribes intheir state.The Center continues to grow in its abilityto help support Indian Country’sresponse to human trafficking andMissing or Murdered Indigenous People.In response to several requests, our teamis developing training and workshops forcasino staff to identify and respond tohuman trafficking when they see it. TheOVC team is also developing a cohortmodel to convene Tribal victim serviceorganizations by region to facilitate peerlearning on tailored topic areas andTribal network development.There is no one-size-fits-all whenworking with victim service providers inIndian Country. The Center approachesTechnical Assistance in the same bestpractice approach as victim services:meet people, organizations, andcommunities where they are. Our teamcontinues to focus on buildingpartnerships and collaborations with thecommunities and organizations theysupport. Click the button below to learnmore about the Human TraffickingCapacity Building Center.Learn More!Visit the OVC website to learnmore about our client.