is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She is a 1995 graduate of Princeton University and earned her Juris Doctorate in 2001 from the Arizona State University College of Law, where she also received a Certificate in Federal Indian Law and served as a staff writer for the ASU Law Journal. After law school, Ms. McPaul clerked at the Arizona Court of Appeals for the Honorable Jefferson L. Lankford (retired). She has diverse experience serving as a tribal court staff attorney, as an associate attorney at the Nordhaus Law Firm in Albuquerque, and as a visiting clinical law professor and Interim Director of the Indian Legal Clinic at ASU. Since 2008, Ms. McPaul has worked as an in-house tribal attorney for several Arizona tribes, including a 4-year appointment as the Navajo Nation Attorney General. She currently serves as the Deputy Attorney General for the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Ms. McPaul has over 20 years of experience practicing Indian law, and is admitted to practice law in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as before several tribal and federal courts. Ms. McPaul is active in the State Bar and Indian legal community. She serves on the State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors and is currently the Vice President of the State Bar. Ms. McPaul is a founding board member of the Tribal In-House Counsel Association and served as TICA’s President for a decade. She also serves on the Board of the American Indian Law Center and was elected to membership in The American Law Institute in 2021. Most importantly, Ms. McPaul is a proud military spouse and mom. She is married to SFC Mark McPaul (retired) and they have three sons.

is an Assistant Attorney General for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, a federally recognized Indian tribe located in Arizona. Virjinya earned both her J.D. and her M.A. in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, and she earned her B.A. in Political Science (specializing in International Relations) and East Asian Studies at the University of Iowa, with certificates in International Business and American Indian and Native Studies. She is admitted to practice in both the federal and state courts of Arizona, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tohono O’odham Judicial Court, and the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court. She is also an accredited Veteran Affairs attorney. Virjinya started her legal career as an associate at Vingelli & Errico, a small general practice firm in Tucson, Arizona; was a solo practitioner for a brief period of time; and served five years as an Assistant Attorney General for the Tohono O’odham Nation. Virjinya is a 2016 graduate of the State Bar of Arizona's Bar Leadership Institute; is the Immediate Past Chair of the Executive Council for the State Bar of Arizona’s Indian Law Section; serves as the appointed State Bar of Arizona’s representative on the Arizona State, Tribal & Federal Court Forum; and is a member of NABA-AZ, the Arizona Minority Bar Association, and the Tribal In-House Counsel Association. She is also active in the community and serves on TUSD’s Native American Education Advisory Committee, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s Community Investment Team, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s Governance Committee, and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s Board of Directors. Virjinya's work for the Tribe is varied, but she primarily represents the Tribe’s Public Safety, Human Resources, Education, and Facilities Management Departments and programs. Virjinya is Cherokee/Seminole/Muscogee Creek, and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. 10/18

Carrie A. Frias, an attorney with over a decade of experience, serves as the Managing Partner at Frias Indian Law and Policy, LLC, founded by her husband, Indian law attorney Richard J. Frias. Her expertise spans trademarks, copyright, and the safeguarding of indigenous intellectual property, along with a focus on Indian law (tribal and federal), civil litigation, and cross-jurisdictional matters. Carrie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from New College of Florida (2000), a Master’s in American Indian Studies from UCLA (2004), and a Juris Doctor with a Certificate in Indian Law from the University of New Mexico School of Law (2009). She has worked in-house for tribal governments, acted as a registered lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and played a key role in significant litigation as Chief General Counsel for the Pueblo of Pojoaque. Carrie is licensed in multiple jurisdictions and has extensive experience litigating in various courts nationwide. Her advocacy also extends to championing the rights of indigenous women and children facing violence.