At a recent annual meeting, Eve’s Fund elected seven people to its board of directors for 2017. We also accepted resignations from three members.
Officers elected included: Barbara Crowell Roy, president;Derrick Watchman, treasurer; and Ksenija Topic, secretary, along with members Wyatt E. Crowell, Marc Flitter, Ela Yazzie-King, and Catherine Zaharko. Full bios are presented below.
President Crowell acknowledged the contributions of outgoing board members Zonnie Gorman, who served since our inception in 2005, and Echohawk Lefthand, who was on the board since 2012 and served as volunteer chapter director of our ThinkFirst Navajo Injury Prevention program. Crowell also updated the board on the status of Bob Crowell, founder and past chairman of Eve’s Fund, who retired from the board in 2016 due to declining health. The board decided it would honor Bob at a later date for his tremendous efforts.
Eve’s Fund was created in honor and memory of Eve Erin Crowell, who died of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose in 2005.
2017 Board of Directors
 Barbara Crowell Roy (President), Eve’s mother, holds an MBA degree from Boston College and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University. She is a registered nurse and licensed mental health counselor in Rhode Island and a nationally certified clinical mental health counselor. She served as president of Valley Forward Association in Phoenix, AZ, and director of the Community Support Program of East Bay Mental Health Center in Barrington, R.I. Barbara is actively engaged in managing all of Eve’s Fund’s programs and activities. |
 Wyatt E. Crowell, Eve’s brother, is senior executive vice president and head of Commercial Banking, for HSBC USA, N.A, a Subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. He holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Colgate University and an MBA degree with Honors from Columbia University, and he has more than 24 years of experience in corporate finance and banking. |
 Ksenija Topic, DPM (Secretary), is a podiatrist at Four Corners Regional Health Center, an Indian Health Service facility on the Navajo Nation in Red Mesa, Ariz. She fell in love with the Navajo people and their land while doing a residency rotation as part of her training and decided to move there. She holds a doctorate in Podiatric Medicine from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, The Doctor William Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine and a BA in Biology from Haverford College. |
 Marc Flitter was a board certified practicing neurosurgeon at San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) in Farmington New Mexico until his retirement in 2015. He often cared for Navajo and other Native American patients. Marc served as chief of staff at SJRMC and has participated in many community organizations in Farmington. He graduated from Temple University School of Medicine. |
 Derrick Watchman (Treasurer) is President of the recent start-up Sagebrush Hill Group LLC, a gaming, banking, finance, economic development advisory and development company. Derrick is a member of the Navajo Nation and was raised on the Navajo reservation. He is the former Chief Executive Officer for the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise and also served as their Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he was Vice President in JP Morgan Chase Bank’s Native American Banking Group, where he provided tribal financial and banking services. He is formerly the Chief of Staff for the Navajo Nation and also served as Director of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Watchman holds a MBA from the University of California and a Bachelors degree from the University of Arizona. |
 Ela Yazzie-King is a member of the Navajo Nation and resides in St. Michaels, Ariz. She has a physical disability due to a car accident that occurred when she was two years old. She was appointed by President Clinton as the first Native American to serve on the National Council on Disability. She has designed, led, and participated in many programs in rehabilitation and disability. In all of these activities her main objective has been to educate and encourage self-empowerment to Native Americans with disabilities. She holds a BA in Psychology and Sociology and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling. |
 Catherine Zaharko has worked in hospital administration as a marketing executive for more than 25 years. Her areas of responsibility include advertising, public relations–including crisis communication and management—market analysis, brand management and community and physician relations. She has a strong background and interest in wellness, including development of population health initiatives where she brought a variety of community programs together to identify synergies. Catherine has organized volunteer programs and worked closely with volunteers to achieve key initiatives both in the hospital setting and with outside community groups. She holds a B.A in English from the University of Texas. Catherine’s hobbies include writing, horseback riding, kayaking and snowshoeing. She and her husband live in Durango, Colorado. |
About Eve’s Fund
Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that promotes hope and wellness among young Native Americans. Dr. Robert M. Crowell founded Eve’s Fund in 2005 in memory of his daughter, Eve Erin Crowell. Since that time, the organization has developed strong community partnerships and created literacy, prevention and education programs impacting almost 50,000 Native children and young adults. For more information, go to Evesfund.org.
Our largest award-winning program, ThinkFirst Navajo, is a chapter of the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation. The foundation was created 31 years ago by neurosurgeons who recognized that the only cure for brain and spinal cord injuries was prevention education, aimed at students of all ages.
To schedule a free injury prevention presentation at a school, youth group, conference or chapter house on or near the Navajo Nation, please contact Jodee Dennison, at https://evecrowellsfund.org/contact-us/ or send a fax to (505) 214-5912.
