Carmelia (Mia) Strickland

Carmelia (Mia) Strickland is the Director of the Division of Program Operations. In this role, she works with program specialists to monitor and provide oversight to ANA’s grantees and to also oversee the annual new grant award process. She has more than 18 years of professional experience in the financial assistance field and previously held positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Secretary. She gained invaluable experiences in grants management and operations while working in the private sector at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), a non-profit organization representing the nation’s Tribal Colleges and Universities, and CSR, Incorporated, a government contractor.

Ms. Strickland started her career as a Legislative Assistant for a Member of Congress where she developed an appreciation for federal assistance programs, especially for policy and programs that affected Native communities. Ms. Strickland attended the University of South Florida, Tampa, for two years and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland – College Park. She is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and a mother to one son. She is the oldest daughter of W.J. and Barbara Strickland, both enrolled members of the Lumbee Tribe.