Janeen Comenote lives in Seattle, Washington and is an enrolled member of the Quinault Indian Nation. She is Quinault and Oglala on her father’s side and Hesquiaht and Kwakiutl First Nations on her mother’s side. Comenote is the founding Executive Director of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC). The NUIFC is a national coalition representing 45 urban Indian centers in 32 cities and more than two million Native Americans living away from their traditional land base. The NUIFC remains one of only a few national organizations dedicated to “Making the Invisible Visible” and providing a platform and voice for this underrepresented population in America.
Janeen is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow, a regional leadership program. She is a 1999 alum of the prestigious American’s for Indian Opportunity Ambassador program and was chosen and highlighted in O (Oprah) Magazine for her participation in Women Rule: 80 Women Who Could Change America. She is a recipient of the Potlatch Fund Fran James Cultural Preservation award and the prestigious Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award for her work with urban Indians. She has presented urban Indian issues at the White House, United Nations, and as a keynote speaker at numerous conferences.
Additionally, she has been a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Seattle and is currently a board member for Praxis, the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, and sits on the External Diversity and Inclusion Council for Charter Communications. She worked for 16 years at the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation as a development officer – and in child welfare, juvenile justice, and poverty reduction.
