Joe Valandra

(Sicangu Lakota)

CEO & Chairman

Before leading Tribal Ready, Joe served as the executive director of the Native American Contractors Association (NACA). He also served as the managing director of VAdvisors, LLC, a specialty advisory firm in Washington, DC, and as the chief of staff for the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), a federal regulatory agency with Indian gaming oversight responsibilities. Joe has served in senior executive roles in private and public sectors, including as a board member of numerous companies in multiple industries. Using his collective experiences in government, business, and gaming, Joe has launched ventures uniquely focused on the technological development, marketing, and deployment of products and services designed to benefit Native Nations.

Adam Geisler

(La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians)

President & Chief Operating Officer

Adam Geisler is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Tribal Ready Inc., a Tribally owned and governed Public Benefit Corporation. Tribal Ready’s mission is advancing Tribal Sovereignty to unleash the full power and potential of Native communities.

Adam worked at the US Department of Commerce for 8 years and formally served as the Division Chief for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, deploying nearly 2 billion in funding to connect 158,000 tribal households. Adam also served as the Department of Commerce’s broadband Tribal subject matter expert for the White House Council for Native American Affairs Economic Development, Energy, and Infrastructure Committee. Adam is formally the National Tribal Government Liaison for FirstNet, a sister bureau within the Department of Commerce focused on building a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network.

Adam is a former Tribal Leader, serving 3 terms as elected Tribal Council Secretary for the La Jolla Tribal Council, a federally recognized Tribal Government. During his time in and out of elected office, Adam has shaped national, state, and local policy and deployed infrastructure projects surrounding transportation, public health, gaming, economic development, energy, housing, emergency management and communications, and broadband.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from San Diego State University and is a recipient of the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) under 35 Young Achievers Award for his work in bringing public safety broadband access to Native communities.

Scott Dinsmore

(Pakan’yani Maidu of Strawberry Valley Rancheria)

Vice President of Tribal Relations 

Calling upon over 20 years of award-winning experience in network, sales, and marketing, Scott has been able to bridge the divide for large and small organizations looking to expand their footprint and forge a path into the future. In addition to supporting his Tribe (the Pakan’yani Maidu of Strawberry Valley Rancheria) and their initiatives as co-chair, he founded The One Native Nation Foundation, Inc., a 501c3, non-profit, aimed at providing scholarships for Native American youth from both federally recognized and unrecognized Tribes.

Scott believes connecting Native communities to the highest quality broadband service available is fundamental to Tribal Data Sovereignty and self-determination. Concerning our Native communities, it is now time to ensure not only this generation but all future generations have the same meaningful access to healthcare, economic opportunities, and education as most of the United States currently enjoys. 

He resides north of Boston with his wife, two daughters, two rescue dogs, and a leopard-spotted gecko named Edward. In his downtime, he likes watching his kids play their respective sports, playing soccer, boating, snowboarding, working out, and enjoying a great meal with family and friends.

Lastly, some words that serve as his guide post: “Do not stop watering the corn while you count on the clouds to bring rain.” — Chief Dan George, Coast Salish

Clayton Wooley

Vice President of Technical Services and Planning

Before helping to found Tribal Ready, Clay worked as a radio frequency design engineer and special projects lead at C Spire, where he worked on the rural broadband consortium (R3) project. The R3 project was an effort to explore different technologies, business plans, and partnership structures to serve the underserved and bridge the digital divide. He was involved in every aspect of the trial deployments, from technology and financial planning to community engagement and installation. Clay has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in manufacturing from the University of Mississippi, where he graduated with honors. 

Clay has led several grant writing, technology advisement, and project management efforts, including NTIA Middle Mile, USDA Reconnect, and BIA National Tribal Broadband Grant. He has also helped develop personalized broadband strategic plans for municipalities, tribal organizations, and state broadband offices. 

Tom Valandra

(Sicangu Lakota)

Chief of Staff

A member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe. Prior to his role at Tribal Ready, Mr. Valandra has worked as marketing coordinator and project manager, where he developed, planned, budgeted, oversaw, and executed all aspects of policy and project affairs. Valandra, acted as a liaison between clients and professional service providers and researched, developed, and executed innovative strategic methods to maintain the highest standard of service. Tom has also held the position of Director of Communications at Middleburg Academy. Where he spearheaded the strategic media plan, press outreach, campaign events, all written and multimedia communications.