(Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico) - Laura Harris (Comanche), 1984 University of New Mexico graduate (Political Science) is the new Executive Director of Americans for Indian Opportunity, a national non-profit organization that catalyzes and facilitates culturally appropriate initiatives and opportunities that enrich the cultural, political and economic lives of Indigenous peoples. She succeeds LaDonna Harris, who founded the organization thirty-two years ago.

Over the past ten years, Laura has served as AIO's Project Director and then Executive Vice President, directing the organization's flagship and award-winning American Indian Ambassadors Program. The Ambassadors Program is a two-year fellowship program that helps emerging Native American professionals to develop their own leadership styles through experiences that reconcile their traditional Indigenous values with their contemporary global reality. Laura brings with her extensive experience working with advocacy, community activism, and philanthropic organizations. She is a trained facilitator and a frequent public speaker, and has worked on presidential, senatorial, and state and local political campaigns. Laura serves on the national board of the Center for Policy Alternatives, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and the Advisory Board for the National Network of Anti-Racism Training Centers. In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her as a Senior Consultant to the President's Initiative on Race.

"I am honored that the Board of Directors has confidence in my ability to guide Americans for Indian Opportunity into the future," says Laura. "Today, Native peoples and tribal governments are facing unparalleled challenges. I am fully committed to leading AIO in its effort to work with Tribal America and Indigenous peoples worldwide to face these challenges and to find culturally-based solutions that will ensure the health, well-being and integrity of Native communities." -more-

On September 18, 2002, a prestigious host committee including President Bill Clinton and Senators Pete Domenici, Jeff Bingaman, John McCain, and Tom Udall commemorated Laura Harris's new leadership role and honored the lifetime achievements of LaDonna Harris with a gala celebration at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.