Ned Norris, Jr.

Ned Norris, Jr.
Chairman of the Tohono O'odham
In office August 3, 2007 – May 28, 2015
Vice President	Wavalene M. Romero (since 2011) Isidro Lopez (2007–2011)
Preceded by	Vivian Juan-Saunders
Succeeded by	Edward D. Manuel
Personal details
Born	1955
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Janice Norris
Children	Three
Residence	Fresnal Canyon, Baboquivari District, Arizona
Occupation	Politician

Ned Norris, Jr. (born 1955) is the former chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation of southern Arizona. He held the office for two consecutive terms from 2007-2015. Norris previously worked as the director of marketing and public relations for the O'odham Gaming Authority.

Ned Norris, Jr. was born in 1955 and raised in Tucson, Arizona. Norris attended both elementary school and middle school in Flagstaff, Arizona before graduating from Sunnyside High School in Tucson. He received a certification in social work from Pima Community College and enrolled at some classes at the University of Arizona, where he later was awarded an honorary Human of Letters doctorate.

Norris began working for the government of the Tohono O'odham nation in 1978 as a nonattorney tribal judge. He served as a trial judge until 1993. He also served on the school board of the Sunnyside Unified School District in Pima County, Arizona, from 1997 until 2000.

Additionally, Norris was employed as the director of public relations and marketing for the Tohono O’odham Gaming Authority. He resigned from this position in 2003 when he was elected the Vice Chairman of the Tohono O'odham nation. Norris has also worked for the Desert Diamond Casino as assistant director of public relations.

In 1999, Vivian Juan-Saunders announced her intention to challenge incumbent Tohono O'odham Chairman Edward Manuel, who was seeking a second term in office. Juan-Saunders chose Norris as her running mate in the election. Manuel defeated Juan-Saunders to win a second term as chairman.

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