President Nygren Honors Five Navajo Emerging Leaders at Las Vegas RES Summit

Five members of the Navajo Nation claimed 12.5 percent of the entire 2026 Native American 40 Under 40 class, a disproportionate share for one people out of dozens represented and a measure of how much credentialed Diné talent the Nation produces and must compete to retain.

President Buu Nygren celebrated the five honorees at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas, where the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development presented its 17th annual class. Michael Charles, Trish Chee, Joshua Emerson, Nicole Johnny, and Dr. Souksavanh Keovorabouth were recognized alongside 35 leaders from tribes across the country. All five were nominated by their peers for contributions spanning tribal governance, business development, and public service.

"The 2026 honorees embody the spirit of rising together, achieving excellence while lifting up others and creating opportunities for their communities to thrive," said Chris James, President and CEO of the National Center.

The Navajo Nation, whose lands cover substantial portions of Apache County, has watched generation after generation of its most credentialed citizens follow employment to Phoenix, Albuquerque, and beyond. The 40 Under 40 program, now in its second decade, has become one of the few national stages to put names and faces to the professionals the Nation produces and must work hardest to keep. Lillian Sparks Robinson, Vice Chair of the National Center's Board of Directors and chair of the selection committee, framed the class in terms that carry particular weight for communities where talent retention is an economic survival question. "There is no doubt that Native talent and determination are shaping a bright future for Indian Country," she said.

Whether that future is built on Navajo land or elsewhere turns largely on what tribal employers, chapter houses, and federally funded programs can offer the honorees' generation as concrete alternatives to relocating. The RES summit draws Indigenous executives precisely because on-reservation economic development is among the most direct levers available: careers that pay competitively enough to make coming home a choice rather than a concession. Nygren's presence at the ceremony placed the Nation's leadership squarely in that argument, treating this cohort not merely as recipients of national recognition, but as a talent pool the Navajo Nation has an urgent interest in welcoming back.