Fawn Sharp
Immediate Past President, National Congress of American Indians
Quinault Tribal Citizen, Washington State
Fawn Sharp Immediate Past President, National Congress of American Indians © World Economic Forum / Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary
Areas of Expertise
Indigenous Rights, Policy
Board Term
April 2024 - October 2033Biography
Fawn R. Sharp most recently served as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. Sharp is the third woman to hold the position of NCAI President.
Ms. Sharp recently concluded her sixth term of elected office for the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after serving five terms as President and one as Vice President. Ms. Sharp also served two terms as President of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. Her past positions include managing attorney and lead counsel; and staff attorney for the Quinault Indian Nation, administrative law judge for the Washington State Department of Revenue—Tax Appeals Division, Quinault Tribal Court Associate Judge, and Counsel for Phillips, Krause & Brown.
Ms. Sharp is an inaugural member and co-chair to the World Economic Forum’s Indigenous Steering Committee for the Indigenous Knowledge and Leadership Network.
Ms. Sharp has held numerous other leadership positions, including an appointment by Washington Governor Gary Locke to serve as Trustee for Grays Harbor College, Governor of the Washington State Bar Association, Trustee of Washington State Bar Association—Indian Law Section, Vice President and Founding Member of the National Intertribal Tax Alliance, and Director/Secretary of the Quinault Nation Enterprises Board.
Ms. Sharp graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington at the age of 19. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Washington and has subsequently received certificates from the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, and from the International Human Rights Law at Oxford University. Born on the Quinault Reservation, she lives on beautiful Lake Quinault with her mother and her four children.