Strategy Elevation Alliance
Executive Preview · Pre-Operational Readiness · April 28, 2026

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Council

Regional Economic Development Multiplier · Pacific Northwest · ATNI Member-Tribe Network
Built for Executive Director Casey Pearlman, Director of Economic Development, and the ATNI EDC team.
Thirty Minutes
This is the moment to set the enterprise up right, and it will not come again. Every decision made now, while it is still a clean sheet, costs less than the same one made after the doors are open. Set it now and you carry it cleanly instead of fixing it later. We are asking for thirty minutes of your time, and it will not be wasted. The three of us have carried tribal and hospitality enterprises through this same moment at Chumash Enterprises, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Nation, and Pinnacle Entertainment. With our multiple-property and startup experience, we can help your team eliminate future costly issues through one approach, Illuminate, Focus, Perform, to accelerate the results that matter.
Climb Higher. See Further. Execute Intentionally.
Strategic Context · July 2026

Carrying a Northwest Economic Agenda Forward

Three months on from the summit at ilani, ATNI-EDC is carrying a Northwest tribal economic agenda framed less as growth for its own sake than as preserving life ways and stories. The member tribes you lend into and convene are each standing up or rebuilding enterprises, and what decides whether that capital compounds is the operating system underneath it.

Apr 21-23, 2026
NW Economic Development Summit
ilani
Ridgefield, Washington
150+
Summit Attendees
CDFI
Northwest Native Lending Network
What Just Happened

An intermediary with a portfolio of enterprises behind it.

ATNI-EDC is not a gaming operator. It is the lending and convening arm serving member tribes, which means the operating question shows up across a portfolio of borrowers rather than one property.

  • April 21 to 23, 2026. The Northwest Economic Development Summit was held at ilani in Ridgefield, Washington, drawing more than 150 attendees.
  • The through-line. The agenda centered on economic development as a means of preserving life ways and stories, not growth for its own sake.
  • The lending arm. The Corporation operates financial services and the Northwest Native Lending Network for member tribes.
Sources

Underscore Native News, April 30, 2026. ATNI-EDC staff and board page. Verified against public record July 28, 2026.

The Partnership

Three Practitioners. One Accountability.

SEA is not a firm that deploys associates. The three partners below own the work end to end, together. What you see below is what shows up in the room.

John Elliott
Chief Executive Officer, MacKinnon Enterprises LLC · Principal, Strategy Elevation Alliance · Economic Development · Adjunct Instructor, The Mana College
Innovative Venturer · Analytical Machine · Entrepreneurial Builder · Inspiring Storyteller · Future-Oriented
35+ years leading organizations through transformation as CEO, COO, CFO, and consulting practice leader. Career spans Big 5 consulting across Asia, Native American Tribal economic development, and corporate leadership in manufacturing, defense, and utilities. Known for navigating complex, regulated environments and delivering measurable growth. Established strategic partnerships and completed $1B of economic development transactions alongside Native Nations.
Core Expertise
  • Organizational Transformation & Strategy Execution
  • Leadership Development & Executive Coaching
  • Mergers & Acquisitions Integration & Growth
  • Economic Development Initiatives
  • Operations, Supply Chain & Outsourcing
  • Shared Services & Enterprise Performance Systems
  • Change Management & Cultural Transformation
elliottjohn32@gmail.com 508.272.4710
Teri Hill
Owner, Hill-Summit Consulting · Principal, Strategy Elevation Alliance · Strategic Advisor · Executive Coach
Strategic Persuader · Vision Translator · People Optimizer · Alignment Builder · Outcome-Focused
Trusted business advisor with 35+ years helping executives grow and transform. Former Accenture Managing Director brings enterprise-grade expertise typically reserved for Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized organizations. Architected Chumash Enterprises' shift from functional silos to self-directed teams. Grew Accenture practice team 5x and Fortune client base across healthcare and energy. Predictive Index® Consultant, The Leadership Challenge® Advanced Facilitator, and licensed Line-of-Sight℠ practitioner.
Core Expertise
  • Enterprise Transformation & Strategy Execution
  • Leadership Development & Executive Coaching
  • M&A: Integration, Growth, Divestiture
  • Organizational Design & Operating Models
  • Talent Optimization & Behavioral Analytics
  • Strategic Planning & Expert Facilitation
  • Change Management & Cultural Transformation
trhill@hill-summit.com 602.831.0051
Tommy Rhoads
Founder & CEO, RTI Enterprises · Principal, Strategy Elevation Alliance · Chief Reinvention Officer, Brave Business AI · Adjunct Instructor, The Mana College
Full-Stack Operator · Systems Builder · Execution Catalyst · AI-Native Reinventor · Relentless Finisher
Tommy Rhoads is the Founder and CEO of RTI Enterprises, a Principal of Strategy Elevation Alliance, and Chief Reinvention Officer of Brave Business AI. He is a practitioner who has owned every function of an enterprise transformation at once, strategy, operations, and the customer and employee experience, and built one integrated system to run them as a whole. That range is the product. He has worked at every altitude, from the floor of live operations to the boardroom, across hospitality, tribal enterprise, and corporate transformation, and today builds the AI execution layer that turns proven methodology into operating software.
Core Expertise
  • Enterprise Transformation (people, process, digital, cultural)
  • Organizational Change & Leadership Activation
  • Hoshin Kanri & Strategy Deployment
  • Customer & Team Experience Strategy
  • Tribal Gaming & Hospitality Performance
  • Operational Excellence (Lean Six Sigma® Master Black Belt)
  • M&A Value Realization
tommy.rhoads@rtienterprises.com 469.475.4277
Next Step

A Thirty-Minute Conversation About the Next Twelve Months.

A direct working conversation about your twelve-month priorities, the operating system the tribe needs to lock them down, and whether a relationship with SEA belongs in that room.

Email the Partners to Set Up a Conversation Email John Elliott Directly