Zam DeShields

Background

Zam DeShields (they/them) is a Chickasaw Nation citizen who has spent most of their career in tribal government: eight years leading planning, housing, public works, and community development for Samish Indian Nation and Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Zam went on to found Microsoft's Indigenous Program Office, where they worked with Indigenous communities globally on AI machine translation, low-resource language tools, and replicable processes for language integration in technology products.

That work sharpened a question Zam has been pursuing since: not whether AI is useful, but who controls it, where data goes, and what it costs communities to trust a system they did not build.

Zam now provides strategic consulting, training, and technical assistance to tribal governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, and organizations navigating AI adoption and data protection. Their work spans Indigenous data sovereignty, local AI infrastructure, and the practical intersection of technology and self-determination.

Zam is also a graduate student in Rehabilitation Counseling at Western Washington University, work that grounds their technology practice in direct community support and disability justice.

Their consulting work extends beyond Indigenous contexts to any organization grappling seriously with AI governance, data protection, and the ethics of who controls information.