Chairperson

Treasurer

Secretary

Director

Director

Director

Chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians

Chairperson

Mary Smith serves as Chairperson for the Board of Directors of Four Winds Ventures, LLC.  She has close to 20 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries.   

Mrs. Smith is also Chief Operating Officer for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s Four Winds Casinos and is the first female executive to serve in the role.  She is also a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan and Indiana. 

Mrs. Smith joined Four Winds Casinos in 2007 and during her tenure held successive roles of increasing responsibility including Financial Analyst, Assistant Property Shift Manager, Property Shift Manager, Director of Hotel Operations, Vice President of Hotel Operations, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations and Development, and Executive Vice President of Casino Operations. 

Mrs. Smith has been featured in several gaming and hospitality publications including Casino Player Magazine and Indian Gaming Magazine. 

Mrs. Smith holds a degree in Business from Indiana University in South Bend.

Treasurer

Brittany Frenchko serves as Treasurer for the Board of Directors of Four Winds Ventures, LLC.  She has close to 20 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries.   

Ms. Frenchko is also Vice President of Database and Analytics for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s Four Winds Casinos, where she oversees Analytics, Hotel Yield, Database Marketing, iGaming, and Centralized Scheduling.    

 Ms. Frenchko joined Four Winds Casinos in 2007 and during her tenure held successive roles of increasing responsibility including Food and Beverage Analyst/Financial Analyst, Marketing Yield Analyst, Marketing Analyst Manager, Strategy and Analytics Manager, Director of Database and Analytics, and Vice President of Database and Analytics. 

Prior to her tenure with Four Winds Casinos, Ms. Frenchko worked in Documentation for LECO Corporation. 

Ms. Frenchko also serves as the Chairperson of the Berrien County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Ms. Frenchko holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Statistics from Grand Valley State University. 

Secretary

Raquel Buari, Esq., CCEP serves as Secretary for the Board of Directors of Four Winds Ventures, LLC.  She has close to 20 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries.    

Mrs. Buari is also Executive Vice President of Administration for Four Winds Casinos and is the first female executive to serve in the role.  She is also a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan and Indiana. 

Prior to her current role with Four Winds Casinos, Mrs. Buari has served in positions of increasing responsibility including Legal Affairs Administrator, Director of Compliance, Director of Legal Affairs, Vice President of Compliance, and Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance. 

She is a member of the South Bend Area Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, and serves on the Board of Directors for Beacon Memorial Hospital, the Beacon Health System Audit Committee, and the National Council on Problem Gambling. 

Mrs. Buari was named to Global Gaming Business’ international class of 40 under 40 in 2018 and the Michiana 40 under 40 class of 2022.  Mrs. Buari holds a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University, and Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law. 

Director

Scott Brewer serves as a Director for the Board of Directors of Four Winds Ventures, LLC.  He has more than 40 years of combined experience in the military, security, and casino industries. 

Mr. Brewer is also Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Community Relations, and Security for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s Four Winds Casinos.  He is also a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan and Indiana. 

Mr. Brewer joined Four Winds Casinos in 2009 as Vice President of Security following 27 years of service in the United States Air Force, where he obtained the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. 

Mr. Brewer has been an advisor to the Pokagon Band Tribal Council on several matters and has previously served as Chairman of the Pokagon Ogitchedaw Veterans Board, as well as Chairman of the Pokagon Health Board.  Mr. Brewer is the current Chair of the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission (INAIAC), a role he was appointed to by Governor Eric J. Holcomb in 2019.  Mr. Brewer also serves on the Board of Directors for the Beacon Health Foundation, which provides fundraising support for Beacon Health System, which is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. 

Director

Non-Voting Director

Tribal Council Chairman, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indiana of Michigan and Indiana

President of the Pokagon Gaming Authority

Matthew Wesaw serves as a Non-Voting Director for the Board of Directors of Four Winds Ventures, LLC.  He has more than 20 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries. 

Matthew Wesaw is also the Tribal Council Chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi of Michigan and Indiana, and President of the Pokagon Gaming Authority, which oversees the management and operations of the Tribe’s Four Winds Casinos gaming enterprises in New Buffalo, Harford and Dowagiac, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana. 

The Pokagon Band’s sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton on September 21, 1994.  The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as healthcare, education, housing, family services, and cultural preservation for its more than 6,300 citizens.  The Pokagon Band’s ten-county service area includes four counties in Southwestern Michigan and six in Northern Indiana.  Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, Mich., with a satellite office in South Bend, Ind.  In 2007, the Pokagon band opened Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, Mich., followed by Four Winds Hartford in 2011, Four Winds Dowagiac in 2013 and Four Winds South Bend in 2018.  The Pokagon Band also operates a variety of businesses via Mno-Bmadsen and the Pokagon Development Authority, its non-gaming investment enterprises. 

In addition to his leadership roles within the Pokagon Band, Chairman Wesaw is very active within the national Native American community.  He is a past Board Member of the Lansing North American Indian Center and the Nokomis Learning Center.  In 2009 Chairman Wesaw was elected by the leaders of the Midwest’s 37 federally-recognized Tribes to the position of area vice-president for the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest organization serving Native Americans in the country.  In 2011 he was selected by the Native American Financial Officers Association as Tribal Leader of the Year.

Chairman Wesaw has also had a career dedicated to public service.  Originally from Bangor, he enlisted with the Michigan State Police in 1975.  During his 26-year career as a State Trooper, Chairman Wesaw received extensive departmental training in numerous specialty areas and was twice nominated for the coveted Gerstacker Award, given annually to recognize the Michigan State Police Trooper of the Year.  In 1995 he was elected as the Vice President of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, a post he served in until his retirement in January 2001.  Following his retirement, Chairman Wesaw returned to work for the Troopers Association as the Director of Government Relations, where his lobbying and political experience helped represent and protect the interests of the State Police.  He held that post until his retirement in March 2008.

Chairman Wesaw is also the recipient of three gubernatorial appointments, serving on the Michigan Community Service Commission, as past Chairman of the Michigan Commission on Indian Affairs, and as only the second Native American to be appointed to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.  In 2013 Chairman Wesaw was selected as the Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.  Chairman Wesaw is the first Native American to serve in the cabinet of a sitting Governor in Michigan.   

Wesaw holds dual Associates Degrees from Lansing Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree from Great Lakes Christian College in Christian Leadership.