The Billings Gazette has recently published an article about Indian Health Service’s new Director for our region, Dororthy Dupree. See a selection of quotes from the article below, and click here to read the full piece.
“When Dorothy Dupree first came from Arizona to lead the regional Indian Health Service office in Billings, it was supposed to be a four-month stint bridging the wait until a new permanent director could be hired. That temporary gig stretched out for an extra year before she returned to her regular job at the IHS regional office in Phoenix. Even then, the work she’d started in Montana stuck with her. In June, that lingering feeling of work left unfinished played a role in Dupree coming on as the Billings office’s director, taking over an office that hasn’t had a permanent director in place since April 2014.
“I wanted to come back to Billings,” she said. “ … While I was away, I couldn’t just let it go.”
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who also is vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, praised the hiring of Dupree.
“She’s not new to this,” he said. “She’s been here before and, quite frankly, I applaud the choice. I think she’s certainly got the right experience. I think she faces challenges there, too.”
“I love it,” Dupree said. “I love what I do, I love working with the tribal leadership and I love the people I work with.”
