Leonard Forsman

Forsman is the first native person to serve as a UW regent. He is chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, where he has served on the tribal council for more than 30 years.

In addition to being a UW alum, Forsman continues to be an active leader at the university. While a student at UW, Forsman worked as an intern at the Suquamish Tribal Archives in a partnership with the Burke Museum and later became director of the Suquamish Museum. He is still engaged at the Burke and is a member of the Burke Museum Advisory Board. Additionally, since becoming chair of the Suquamish Tribe in 2005, Forsman has been deeply involved in tribal summits with UW leadership.

Forsman is president of the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians and serves on the boards of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council, the Seattle Waterfront Steering Committee, the Suquamish Tribal Cultural Committee, the Suquamish Museum, the Washington Indian Gaming Association, the West Sound Partners for Ecosystem Recovery, and the Tribal Leaders Congress on Education.

President Barack Obama appointed Forsman to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2013 and 2016, where he served as vice-chairman until 2019. Forsman grew up in Suquamish on the Port Madison Indian Reservation where he currently lives with his wife Jana Rice.

He graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 1987.

He is Vice Chair of the Board of Regents for 2024-25.

• Appointed by Governor Jay Inslee from November 22, 2021 to September 30, 2027
• Confirmed by the Senate on February 8, 2022