Cherokee Tribe Creates New Tradition with Haslam Professional MBA Program
Alumni Profile
Harrah’s Casino in Cherokee, North Carolina, is perhaps the most recognizable business venture associated with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI), but the tribe pursues many additional callings. Through its own sovereign government, the ECBI oversees the Qualla Boundary, the tribe’s land trust territories in western North Carolina established in 1924. The government employs a workforce more than 2,000 strong, serving in administrative, legal, realty, public safety, human resources and other typical government capacities. The EBCI also runs a museum, manages tourism on its lands and operates limited liability companies to diversify its revenue sources.
The tribe descends from 800-1,000 Cherokee who avoided forced removal from the region in the 1830s. It was recognized formally as the EBCI by the federal government in 1868. Of course, Cherokee history goes back much further than that, and tradition shapes many activities in the Qualla Boundary.
Still, EBCI government and business professionals strive to employ the most current techniques and seek new skills to improve performance and service. Since 2013, six members of the EBCI have earned degrees from the Professional MBA (ProMBA) program in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business. With two more members currently enrolled in the program and another soon to join, the EBCI is well on its way to solidifying a new tradition: using methods learned in ProMBA to support the tribe’s undertakings.
“The [EBCI] has been a loyal partner and sends great members of their organizations to ProMBA year over year,” Molly Kinard, director of the ProMBA Program, says. “We are proud to be their partner.”
Spinning Lessons into Gold
Melissa “Missy” Crowe (ProMBA,’13), the first tribe member to graduate from ProMBA, was executive liaison for the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise when she gained her degree. In less than a year, she became director of Harrah’s Casino operations.
“Getting my MBA, gaining confidence with public speaking, doing our development and leadership goals and objectives … all of [those were] contributing factors to my promotion,” Crowe says. “I learned a lot of different strategies on how to approach business plans. [One thing] we look at constantly as a customer hospitality industry is using data to improve processes and the customer experience. Learning some of those skills from my schooling has helped me look at ways we can improve our business.”
Brandon Stephens (ProMBA, ’15), a professional consultant with the federal government, also credits the program for assisting his career. Stephens was development director for United South and Eastern Tribes Inc. when he received his degree. While the program curriculum was largely delivered from the perspective of making and selling a product and building capital, he could apply much of it to his job.
Instead of applying lessons to selling a product, Stephens used what he learned in the ProMBA program to change business culture and build political, intellectual and environmental capital. “It was a rich experience, and I have used so much of what I learned at [Haslam],” Stephens says. “Call me Rumpelstiltskin, but I spun that into gold.”
Building on Tradition
While there was no coordinated effort to send more EBCI students to ProMBA, fellow EBCI members sought information about the Haslam program from Crowe and Stephens.
“Others … asked how I like the program and was it helpful,” Crowe says. “I [told] them my experiences with the program, and I am surprised by the number of folks who have enrolled and gone through after me.”
ECBI ProMBA alumni now include professionals in accounting, hospitality, healthcare operations and government, and awareness about the program’s benefits continues to grow. Two students currently in the program, Alvaro Cruz Galaviz and Noah Hicks, both realty leasing specialists for EBCI Tribal Realty Services, enrolled based on Stephens’ recommendation.
So far, Hicks’ biggest takeaway from the ProMBA program is the leadership component, while Galaviz values his gained knowledge and connections.
“They push on the leadership aspect, trying to grow each individual student as a leader,” Hicks says. “I didn’t have much experience in that, and it’s really helped me grow in my leadership. It’s helped me to communicate more effectively.”
“Besides the knowledge I’ve gained from the program, I have also made lifelong friends and memories that I will treasure forever,” Galaviz says. “The program has received many endorsements from its alumni, which will keep attracting more enrolled EBCI members to get their MBA from the University of Tennessee. I believe the tradition of the ProMBA program will continue.”
Kinard says Zane Wachacha, son of alumnus Adam Wachacha (ProMBA,’21), is set to begin the ProMBA pro-gram in the fall.
“We are excited to continue our association with the Eastern Band,” she says. “With Zane coming in this year, the custom of EBCI members graduating from Haslam’s ProMBA program carries forward.”
