The Southern Ute Indian Tribe welcomed Brian Bex as the new Director of Internal Audit on Monday, March 4. Bex will work within the Permanent Fund organization and reports directly to the Southern Ute Tribal Council. Before starting, he worked for the Navajo Nation for the past eight years as an auditor. He spent years focusing on royalty and compliance audits for the Navajo Nation.

Bex comes from the Navajo Nation Tribe, and grew up in the Phoenix, Ariz., and Buffalo Springs, N.M. areas. He attended Arizona State University after high school and attained his Bachelor’s Degree in American Indian Studies and Accountancy. Continuing with his education, he went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Professional Accountancy from the Metropolitan State University of Denver. “I’m always keeping busy,” Bex stated. “I have a great love of history, and I’m an avid reader—I think it comes from my years studying American Indian Studies.”

Coming in with fresh ideas and an understanding that, “All of our jobs and responsibilities, go back to serving the tribal members and making sure we’re doing the best that we can for them,” Bex said. “Doing the best that we can organization wise and strategically, that the programs and operations are running smoothly.”

Reflecting on his years of experience, Bex shared that, “While I was with the Navajo Nation, I did a two-year Intergovernmental Personal Act (IPA) Fellowship with the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.” Within the fellowship, “I was essentially rotated within one agency of the Department of Interior,” Bex explained. “The IPA fellowship also gave me exposure to a lot of different areas of the federal government and how federal agencies operate—both strategically and objectively.”

While working closely with tribal departments, offices and services Bex is committed to serving the membership. “I want to make sure that tribal members feel that their input is heard and acknowledged,” Bex shared. “We’re stewards, every person here has a responsibility, we need to do everything keeping them in mind.”

“My position here is giving me an opportunity to make sure that the tribal operations are running smoothly and finding ways of how can we better serve the tribal members.”

“It’s an honor to be working here,” Bex expressed.

Contact Brian Bex, Director of Internal Audit in the LCB Bldg. with inquiries. Email: bbex@southernute-nsn.gov Phone: 970.563.2310