Close-up with Eileen Luna-Firebaugh

Eileen Luna-Firebaugh, one of the newest members of the board of directors of the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG), never imagined her career one day would lead her to the arena of responsible gaming.

As an attorney and associate professor of American Indian studies at the University of Arizona, Luna-Firebaugh focuses on law and public policy in the area of American Indian studies. It wasn't until 1998, when she was recruited by the National Academy of Sciences to participate on a committee examining the social and economic impacts of pathological gambling, that she got involved in the issue.

"I went into that experience honestly not knowing a lot about the topic," she said. "I had worked with a number of tribal groups on economic development issues related to casino construction, and this experience reminded me of the concerns that tribal leaders had raised regarding not wanting their economic development plans to put their people and their communities at risk. Our group of academics looked at the issue for 18 months and ultimately produced a complete report on pathological gambling. This was a different way of looking at it for me."

Following that work, Luna-Firebaugh was recruited by Howard Shaffer to get involved with the NCRG, and she has served as a member of the program advisory board of the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders since 2001.

"To some extent, I have served as a mouthpiece in that group for what the American Indians are doing on these issues and lending a perspective that helps frame the research agenda based on the unique needs of our communities," Luna said. "The Native American groups I've worked with want to try to limit negative impacts on the people who come to their reservations and casinos to gamble, as well as the people who live there. A number of the tribes have been developing extensive programs and have been very proactive on the issue — in some cases even more pro-active than the for-profit casinos."

Luna is looking forward to her involvement with the NCRG board of directors. "I think my contribution will be to make sure that when we look at things, we make people think about how this affects Indian Country," she said. "In so many roles, I've been the one to help people understand how tribal sovereignty works, and I'm interested to see this field develop in the context of that legal framework."