UNCASVILLE, Conn. – She is the first woman elected to chair the Mohegan Tribal Council, but Lynn Malerba says she is just the latest in the nation’s long line of women leaders.

“I feel tremendously grateful and extremely fortunate because women have played a huge role in Mohegan history. They were very strong and very dedicated and committed not only to their tribal ancestors, but also to keeping our tribal community together despite the adversity they faced,” Malerba said after the nine-member tribal council elected her chairwoman Oct. 5.

“I feel very fortunate to come from a long line of women who did that because they did so for the love of their people. So I’m the first woman elected to chair, but I’m not the first woman that has played a significant leadership role in this tribe.”

Malerba, 56, was “absolutely thrilled” in her new role, particularly to be following in the footsteps of her mother, Loretta Roberge, a tribal “Nonner” (a respected and admired experienced woman) and former tribal council member.

“What’s most wonderful for me is that my mom was on the tribal council for 30 years both before and after tribal recognition, so for her this is just a very, very important day,” Malerba said.

The Mohegan Tribe was federally acknowledged in March 1994.

In line with the tradition of female leadership, Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, the nation’s historian and Medicine Woman, swore in the council members at a ceremony after the election. She is the niece of the late Dr. Gladys Tantaquidgeon, the tribe’s revered Medicine Woman who died in 2005.

Malerba was moved when Tantaquidgeon Zobel, quoting her aunt, said, “We must all stand in love for the tribe.”

This is Malerba’s second term on the council. She was elected vice chairwoman in 2005. Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, who served as chairman for the past four years, was elected vice chairman for the current term.

“We’ve kind of flipped positions, but we worked very closely in our first term so I know that we will be depending on one another to be the team all the way through,” Malerba said.

She said her work day won’t change much with her new position. Both chair and vice chair spend a lot of time on tribal government dealing with state, federal and international governmental issues and also on providing services to the nation’s citizens.

Those are “two big hats,” Malerba said, but the chair and vice chair also run the nation’s businesses – the hugely successful Mohegan Sun casino and destination resort – and sit on the board of directors of the business enterprise.

“I think what I like about our style and tradition of leadership is everybody on the council has an equal voice, so while I’m the chair and I represent the council, at the end of the day all the decisions are made by the nine of us. We have a very balanced group of various backgrounds and different skill sets and everyone on the council has an equal voice, so I think we make good decisions because each person brings their own unique perspective that allows us to examine an issue and discuss it thoroughly.”

While women bring a different quality to leadership roles because they tend to try to reach consensus, all tribal leaders work on behalf of their nations, Malerba said.

“We all understand it’s not about us as individuals, it’s really about doing what is the best not only for today, but for our future generations.”

Malerba has decades of management experience. She was director and executive director of the nation’s Health and Human Services Department from 1997 – 2005 and developed the programs and services that directly benefit the nation’s citizens. Prior to that, she held manager and director positions at the Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., and continues to serve on its board of directors. She earned a master’s degree in public policy.

But she also brings some uniquely compassionate qualities to the position. With a background in critical care nursing, she has been with people during times of their most intimate needs and most critical junctures in their lives. That experience has developed analytical and emotional strengths in Malerba.

“The work I’ve done has always been very immediate and it’s touched peoples’ lives. I had to be analytical. I had to make sure I did the right thing at the right time and for the right reason. And so I hope that as I embark upon this new part of my life that I bring those kinds of decision making skills with me. I hope at the end of the day that what people will think of me is that I provided leadership in a very personal way and cared about each and every person in
this tribe.”

While the nation has weathered some rough seas in the past few years, there are more challenges ahead, Malerba said, outlining her top priorities.

“One is to make sure that we maintain our tribal community in every way we can. In order to do that we have to make sure our government remains strong and we can fund that tribal community.

“In terms of business, we need to weather the recession, but what I’d like to look at and begin the dialogue about is business diversity. Gaming has certainly been very good to us, but as we now know it’s not recession-proof, so I think we need to balance our portfolio a bit with other kinds of business. So that’s a balance between our governmental duties as well as our business duties.”

Additionally, the nation needs to be “very cognizant” about its debt and work to reduce it “so that this is not a legacy that we place on the next generation.”

Malerba lives in Uncasville with her husband Paul; they have two daughters, Elizabeth and Angela.