Announcing our New Chief Advancement Officer
NAYA is ecstatic to share the news that Paul Lumley, Yakama, has chosen to return to NAYA in an exciting new role as Chief Advancement Officer (CAO). Paul has a proven leadership track record and has played a critical role in growing and strengthening NAYA’s programs. Please join us in welcoming his return!
“NAYA and the community we serve have long benefited from Paul’s leadership, skills, and commitment. I’m thrilled he has chosen to return to NAYA,” said Oscar Arana, Chichimeca, NAYA’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are fortunate to have him return with new knowledge and experience to support NAYA and our community as we navigate through uncertain political and economic headwinds.”
The Chief Advancement Officer role was created to find an experienced, strategic, and dedicated leader to raise resources, advance NAYA’s mission, and propel its work into the future. This role will guide and inspire NAYA’s vision, its comprehensive fundraising program, and all external communications. NAYA conducted an extensive search which included national candidates with deep experience. As is often the case, a former NAYA employee is returning to serve, and we look to our past to find solutions for our future.
“NAYA and the Native community has stayed in my heart these past few years. Returning to NAYA feels like I’m coming home,” Paul says. “I’m proud of what I accomplished as NAYA’s CEO, and I’m looking forward to stepping into this new role, with a narrowed and critical focus.”
The CAO will support NAYA in achieving our strategic goals. NAYA’s 2023-2028 strategic plan was built in deep consultation with the community to ensure our direction was true to the needs and desires of Native people across the region. Again and again, we heard that “balanced and stable organizational growth” was a core theme of how we must proceed. Paul will focus on our community’s vision of a strong and stable NAYA, with more capacity to house, feed, educate and civically empower Native people. Paul was selected both because he is the best candidate for the job, and because he is admired and respected by our Elders and families.
Like so many others, we fear major cuts in federal funding that will severely impact low-income communities and communities of color, and state and local budget cuts are looming. More than 70,000 Native people call this region home. Our community experiences many disparities in health, housing, education, and economic attainment. But we are resilient, powerful people, and we will continue to thrive and determine our future. Paul’s return comes as NAYA Family Center (a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1974) and NAYA Action Fund (a 501c4 social welfare organization founded in 2020) strengthen our capacity to advocate for good policy that secures resources for the next seven generations. Paul will help build NAYA’s power and influence using every tool in our expanding toolkit. The two organizations will work in close coordination, as appropriate, to advocate for elected leaders to address historic injustices, hold them accountable to do so, and bolster our community’s self-determination.
Paul’s work takes over where Ann Takamoto, outgoing Director of Development and Communications, left off when she retired in May of 2025 after more than eight successful years of leadership. Paul and Ann worked in close partnership to achieve major milestones, such as the Return to Neerchokikoo campaign to ensure the NAYA Campus will be a permanent home for the Native community. Paul is ready to take the team to the next level. The team, like many in NAYA’s community, are excited for their future under Paul Lumley’s leadership.
Even as we add this exciting new position to our leadership team, NAYA stays true to our mission: “to enhance the diverse strengths of our youth and families, in partnership with the community, through cultural identity and education.” Founded by the community, for the community, NAYA is rooted in tradition. We work to identify and provide intentional services that will guide our people in the direction of personal success and balance, empowering positive change and cultural wealth. Native people will always find culture, education, direct support and resources at the Native American Youth and Family Center. Please make a gift today, start or increase a sustaining contribution, or find some other way to ensure NAYA has the resources to continue to nurture a thriving Native community.