October 18, 2016 – Fargo, North Dakota – A 2015 graduate of NDSU’s Master of Public Health program has been selected for the Native Nation Rebuilders Program of the Native Governance Center and Bush Foundation. 

Jacob Davis is among 25 recipients from 12 Native nations in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. The group is the program’s eighth cohort. 

The Rebuilders program is the leadership component of a larger Bush Foundation initiative to support tribes as they strengthen their governing capabilities. Rebuilders are emerging or existing Native leaders who want to build their leadership skills and nation-building knowledge. Including the latest cohort, there are now more than 140 Rebuilders. 

Davis is a member of the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa from Belcourt, North Dakota. He was the first graduate of NDSU’s Master of Public Health program with an American Indian Public Health specialization. 

He has served on the Public Health in Indian Country Capacity Survey Advisory Committee through the National Indian Health Board. In addition, he recently was named to the board of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and interim vice chair of the North Dakota Cancer Coalition. 

“Based on my background and my current aspirations, I feel the next logical step in my professional development is volunteering my time to help facilitate positive changes within American Indian populations. Achieving this will provide the framework needed to address the numerous discrepancies between the general population and American Indian population,” said Davis, who is a data liaison for Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota. “I believe that all of my efforts in serving Indian Country through research have led me to this point, and I am ready to participate in a community of change that the Native Nation Rebuilders program offers.” 

The Bush Foundation recently transitioned the program to the Native Governance Center, a newly created independent, Native-led nonprofit organization that will continue to deliver nation-building support to tribes in collaboration with and support from the Bush Foundation. 

“Rebuilders are playing key roles working across the public, private and nonprofit sectors,” explained Wayne Ducheneaux, executive director of the center. 

“The Rebuilders Program is one of the best examples of the Bush Foundation’s commitment to invest in great ideas and the people who power them. We are thrilled to partner with the Native Governance Center to continue to grow and support this vital network of leaders,” said Bush Foundation president Jennifer Ford Reedy. 

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