Lt. Governor Monica Antone

As the mother of six children and a career professional with more than 20 years of management experience for the Gila River Indian Community, Monica Antone brings a unique combination of personal and professional perspectives to her role as Lt. Governor in the 29^th Administration for the Gila River Indian Community.

Lt. Governor Antone previously was elected to three terms on the Community’s Tribal Council representing District Four. She served as chairperson for the Economic standing committee and she is the former President of the Pima Leasing Financing Corporation. As a member of Council, Ms. Antone emphasized on the Government and Management Committee a need to establish a balanced performed budget as the committee had oversight over the tribal and federal grant funds along with Housing projects implementation. Ms. Antone assisted her district in creating Bylaws to establish District meetings online, giving members the chance to attend virtually and have a voice in their government. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lt. Governor Antone has been pleased by the collaboration among all areas of Community government and the ways in which public health and safety have been made a top priority.

A member of the Arizona State Coalition for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children, Ms. Antone has long been an advocate for victims of domestic violence, she has testified in consultation with the Violence Against women act, sexual assault awareness and engages in outreach to the conditions for Native women and children. Her top priorities as an elected leader are to improve the quality of life for our families, youth, and elders and increase resources to better serve the people on and off reservation. She feels response and communication are key to a striving government, with a focus on bridging the gap for the people to improve programs and resources.

Ms. Antone is the daughter of the late Edward Allison. Her mother is Lupe Hernandez. Her paternal grandparents are the late Edison and Agnes Allison from Upper Santan in District Four. Mrs. Antone is married to Victor Antone, a former Chief Judge. With six children and 14 grandchildren, Lt. Governor Antone describes her family and stands on her faith as a foundations. In her spare time, she loves to read, embroider, take walks and enjoy time with her kids and grandchildren.

While serving on Council, Ms. Antone also found time to continue her education – doing so as an elder in hopes of demonstrating that it’s never too late to achieve your goals. In 2020, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government Affairs and Public Policy. She also holds an Associate’s Degree in Business Operations.

Lt. Governor Antone says her cornerstone belief as a leader is that “The people inherit the power.” The culture and traditions are the strength of our future, we as a people cannot forget how past leaders paved what we have today.