National Indian Gaming Association will honor casting director with Chairman's Leadership Award

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The National Indian Gaming Association announced today that they will be honoring Native American Film and Television Casting Director Tricia Wood with the coveted Chairman's Leadership Award at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention in San Diego, California.

Wood is known for her work as Casting Director of the Oscar-nominated film La La Land and other films such as American Pastoral, Deepwater Horizon, Eye in The Sky and My Week with Marilyn, as well as Fracture, Twilight and over 100 other motion picture films throughout her career. Her illustrious career includes casting responsibilities for such television hits as The Shield and Dexter.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tricia is a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She studied architecture at Oklahoma State University before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Tricia Wood started her casting career as an intern in 1993 in the Features Casting Department at Paramount Pictures Studio under her mentor and then Sr. VP of Casting, Deborah Aquila. During the next three years, Tricia continued her casting education in the Features Casting department, moving up from Casting Assistant to Casting Associate. After a brief period of working in production, Tricia reunited with Deborah Aquila in 1999 as an independent casting team. After several years as a successful independent casting company, in 2014 Aquila Wood Casting joined Lionsgate Entertainment as their in-house casting department.

National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. said, "We want to celebrate the outstanding contribution of Tricia to the film and television industry and Indian country." Each year the Chairman's Leadership Award is presented to a Native American individual who has shown an exceptional representation of Native America.

The annual Chairman's Leadership Award will be held on Tuesday, 11 April 2017, at the Chairman's Awards Luncheon. Wood will join other past distinguished recipients such as Lynn Valbuena, Chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, LaDonna Harris, Founder and President of Americans for Indian Opportunity and Steve Ortiz, Chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Stanley Jones, Sr. former Councilman of the Tulalip Tribes, to name a few.

The Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention will be held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, 10-13 April 2017. The largest gathering of tribal leaders and casino executives in the country, the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention is both the meeting place where the community gathers to learn, network and exchange industry-specific ideas and a cultural celebration of success, strength and self-reliance.

Entering its 32nd year, the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention has established itself not only as the premier event for the Indian gaming industry but as the figurative heartbeat of Native American success.