Circling the Wagons

Jo’Elle Thompson grew up a Buffalo Bills fan. Grow up in a Seneca Nation reservation 40 minutes south of Buffalo, chances are you root for the Bills. Chances are good you also find a career path in the casinos owned by the Seneca Nation.

For Thompson, working for the tribal gaming enterprise was a no-brainer, to toss out a cliché.

“My tribe started gaming in 2002, when I was 11 years old,” she says. “The economic benefit that I have witnessed from my childhood to date from Indian gaming is tremendous. The revenues generated helped tribes protect our inherent right to self-govern and develop vital programs that our government provides to our people.”

With a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting from Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York and an MBA from St. Bonaventure University, Thompson focused on the financial end of the casino business.

“I’ve found that finances are the most important fundamentals to understanding how a business is performing,” she says.

But Thompson’s role with the Senecas expanded beyond gaming numbers. She also served in financial positions for the government. “For my last role within the Seneca Nation,” she says, “I worked for the Seneca Nation Housing Authority (SNHA) as the finance officer and served as a board member for the Class II gaming facilities.”

The government experience served her well when she landed a position with the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) as a compliance officer in early 2022. Indeed, during her time with the SNHA she worked with a specialist at Housing and Urban Development to secure grants to help with low-income housing opportunities the Seneca Nation had never been awarded before.

“I found that the NIGC compliance officer role connected my experiences from gaming operations and working with a governmental agency. My experience working with sovereign nations and understanding governmental processes and structures made an easy transition to the compliance officer role,” Thompson says.

While education and experience proved beneficial to her career, she also owes a debt of gratitude to mentors along the way.

“Christina Becker, Seneca Nation mortgage program director, helped me become certified in financial literacy courses to implement programs where I educated new home buyers and the Seneca youth on financial literacy,” says Thompson, an advocate of hot yoga. She still serves as a board member for the Seneca mortgage program and as treasurer of the Seneca Nation Federal Credit Union as well as advocate for financial literacy in both programs.

Guidance from Adrian Stevens, SNHA executive director, helped her be successful, which in turn led to new opportunities.

On the federal level, Shawnna Castellano, NIGC Washington, D.C. region director, served as a role model. “She leads by example and demonstrates the qualities and behaviors that are valued in the regulatory field. She provides me with guidance and support to develop new skills and perspectives that help me achieve my professional goals,” says Thompson, who likes to wind down with daily walks with her dogs, Norman and Stormi.

For the foreseeable future, Thompson hopes to “continue to lead by example in the tribal gaming regulatory space by promoting regulations to further embrace and expand innovation in the industry,” she says.

Among the innovations will be technology advances, particularly with artificial intelligence (AI).

“AI will pose an increased risk prompting development of an evolving regulatory framework to protect assets,” she says.

As for the Bills, November rolled in and the team carried a four-game win streak to the top of the AFC East.

“Go Bills!” Thompson says.