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Lambert, Eunice Imogene “Gene”


Born in San Jose, California, Gene Lambert is a descendant of the Navarre and Melot families. Her Potawatomi name is Memegwe, meaning “Butterfly Woman” or “One Who Sees Good in Others.”

She now resides in Arizona after four years residency in North Dakota.

Lambert has served as the legislator for District 5 since June 2008, the first elected representative for the area since the CPN constitution was ratified in 2007 to include representation for the entire United States. Prior to her position as a legislator, she was a Tribal Regional Director for nine years. District 5 includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, and parts of Texas.

Lambert is an ordained minister. Her spirituality is evident in her role as a legislator, and she believes in the important connection between the Tribe’s current government and its constituents.

Starting in the mid-1980s, she began to learn more about the Tribe as an adult. She started traveling to regional meetings and large gatherings held in Shawnee at CPN’s headquarters. Lambert always enjoyed the intertribal powwow prior to the Family Reunion Festival and travels each summer to Oklahoma for the fun and community of the current iteration of the event.

In her professional career, she has served in gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional offices, campaigns and fundraisers in both North Dakota and Arizona — Congressman Art Link (ND), Governor Raul Castro (AZ), Governor Bruce Babbitt (AZ), U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini (AZ).

She is also an author with works on hotel management training as well as a book titled Satellites Made Simple. She is currently working on a children’s book, The Heart People.

Main interest is in the religious or spiritual world of existence. She loves music, recording and writing. Her favorite thing is a long walk in the quiet woods, communing with Mother Nature and all the things God created.

Children: 3 children — Lisa, Robyn and Ray

Education:
• Certified Hotel Administrator since 1989, updated 2015
• Educational Institute, Chicago (President Setting Body for Hotel Operations)
• Certified Marketing and Hotel Sales, Tourism, occupancy
• State of Arizona Certification for Community Colleges, 12 years
• Hotel Management, Tourism, Sales and Marketing
• Scottsdale Community College, 2 years
• Ordained Minister, Living Bible Center, Mesa, Arizona, 1996

Assumed Office: June 2008
In Office: Present day

Memberships/Professional Associations Past and Present
• Native American Women’s Association
• Arizona State Board of Education
• 19 Tribes of Arizona Association
• Maricopa County student work programs
• Back to work programs for Women in Prison
• State of Arizona Foster Care Review Board
• CASA ( court appointed foster child representative)
• Presidential advisor for Women, Jimmy Carter
• Arizona Business Alliance
• Business Advisory Counsel, Governor Bruce Babbitt
• State Senate Candidate
• Private Employment Agency Association/ State of Arizona
• State Labor Department

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