WNMU Alum Becomes New Chief Operating Officer of Navajo Nation Shopping Centers

DuWaine Boone (MBA '05) has become the new Chief Operating Officer of Navajo Nation Shopping Centers, Inc. (NNSCI). NNSCI operates nine shopping centers across the Navajo Nation. The shopping centers are home to businesses from outside the Navajo Nation, such as Bashas' grocery stores, as well as Navajo-owned businesses.

Boone, who is originally from Monument Valley, AZ, has worked for the past two years as the tribal administrator for the Fort Bidwell Gidutikad Band of Paiutes in northern California.

He sought his new position because he wanted to return home. "Two years is a long time to be away from Navajo Country," he said.

Boone has spent his first few weeks on the job getting to know the staff, becoming familiar with the policies of the organization, and learning more about shopping center operations.

As Chief Operating Officer, Boone will oversee a number of areas within NNSCI. "We have a board of directors, and they respond to the Navajo Nation Tribal Council, we have a CEO, who reports to the board of directors, and then there is me as COO," he explained. "I take care of all of the shopping centers and the staff that we have. There is a marketing department, a leasing department, an accounting department, a human resource department, and general maintenance department. I manage all of them."

Boone will also be responsible for implementing specific strategic goals set by the board of directors, and he will be engaged in coordinating a number of outreach activities with the communities served by NNSCI. As an example, Boone mentioned his organization's presence at the many fairs that happen on the Navajo Nation this time of year, including one at Crownpoint, NM. "At that shopping center," said Boone, "we are coming to terms with a guy who is going to bring two bands in to play in the parking lot of the shopping center." Outreach efforts such as this, he said, help to build strong community relations.

Boone sees NNSCI as a vital resource for the communities it serves. It ensures that people on the Navajo Nation have access to the goods and services they need, it stimulates the local economy and it serves as an incubator for Navajo-owned businesses.

Reflecting on his time as a graduate student at WNMU-Gallup, Boone said he appreciated that the university offered programs that could be completed by a working adult. "At the time I was a cabinet member to the Navajo Nation president," he said. "I oversaw eleven departments in my division, and I was travelling a lot, so I did not have a lot of time." The WNMU MBA program allowed him the flexibility to complete his degree part-time while working full-time.

While it took him several years to complete his degree, Boone said he has no regrets. "I am glad I did it," he said. "When you have that MBA and you apply for a job, it opens up a lot of doors."