Edna Frost comes back to the tribe after enjoying a 10-plus year retirement. Frost is no stranger to the tribe, or the department she is returning to. She is back to her old position as Tribal Information Services Department Director.

Frost attended school in Durango, Colo. where she and graduated from Durango High School. After graduation she attended the Southwest Indian Data Institute before working for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Since she first started working for the tribe in 1971, Frost has been able to gain immeasurable experience. Frost also brings her knowledge from the years she spent working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

She has worked for Planning and Development and the Arts & Crafts Division, Council Affairs Office and the Tribal Information Services Department. As for the BIA, she has experience in Forestry and Irrigations and she also served as secretary for the BIA’s Natural Resources Manager.

Frost returns to a Department that she helped build. She helped set up Vital Statistics while working as a Tribal Council Secretary and took over the Tribal Information Services Director position after the reorganization of the tribe, she said.

“I helped set up the enrollment ordinance, set up the ID system, and got the DNA ordinance established,” Frost said.

Frost said she became interested in the TIS Director position since it was posted for the first time several months ago – the position has been vacant since January 2015. As Director, she will oversee Vital Statistics, Records Retention, The Southern Ute Drum, Mail Room and the Front Desk administrative assistants.

“I missed the work,” she said. “And I thought, I’ll go back and see what I can accomplish.”

After being back in the position for a couple weeks, Frost said she really looks forward to building on what the Department already has going. But one of her main goals is getting the Records Retention Office up to par.

Over the past year, the Records Retention’s Office has been understaffed, and currently all of Records’ positions are vacant.

“I want to get the Records office staffed … get it established and efficient,” she said.

When not at work, you can expect to see Frost with her family, rooting on her grandkids and the Ignacio Bobcats.

“I enjoy watching my grandkids grow and play sports,” she said.

Frost said she also enjoys traveling with her husband to Powwows and Sun Dances across Indian Country.