Vivian Saunders currently serves as the Chairperson of First Things First’s Communications and Governance Committee. She is the former Chair of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the former Special Assistant for Congressional Legislative Affairs for the Salt River Pima‐Maricopa Indian Community. Ms. Saunders has worked in intergovernmental Indian affairs for the last 17 years.

Her service in intergovernmental Indian affairs began with her work as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Arizona. She has served on the Northern Arizona University Institute for Native Americans, and most recently as the Chairwoman of the Tohono O’odham Nation, where she was responsible for 30,000 enrolled members with a 2.6 million acre land base and an annual multi‐million dollar budget. She is a Past President of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, American Indian Alumni Association at UA. She also worked as a former Advisory Board member for the Institute for Native Americans.

She is a recipient of the 2007 Tanner Award for Outstanding American Indian Alumni, presented by the University of Arizona; the Iris Dewhirst Leadership Award presented by the Women on the Move Tucson YWCA; and the Outstanding Public Service Award presented by the University of Arizona Alumni Association.

Vivian earned a Masters in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Arizona State University. She lives on the Tohono O’odham Nation with her husband and family.