Judy Goforth Parker has been an integral part of the Chickasaw Nation health system for decades and currently serves in the governor appointed role as Commissioner of Health Policy. She completed master’s degrees in nursing and advanced practice nursing at the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing and earned a Ph.D. in nursing from Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Parker completed studies in the inaugural cohort of Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee post-doctoral degree program in health policy. Her focus included curriculum development in health policy for young Chickasaw scholars, development of health impact assessment and checklist tools, development of a health policy newsletter and co-authoring a scholarly policy article over mortality in American Indian and Alaskan Native women. Dr. Parker served as an elected tribal legislator for five, three-year terms (1994-2009) and was a staunch supporter of health issues within the tribal legislative body. In 2014, she was named to Governor Bill Anoatubby’s Cabinet for the Chickasaw Nation, and she assumed the role of Secretary of the Chickasaw Nation Department of Health, serving from 2009-2018. This long history of tribal service highlights Dr. Parker’s close relationship with the people of the Chickasaw Nation and First Americans as a whole.