Shane Parashonts
Tribal Administrator | Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
As the tribal administrator, Shane Parashonts transformed the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah by spearheading the development of state-of-the-art FourPoints Health facilities, expanding tribal healthcare services while doubling the workforce from 50 to nearly 100 employees. His strategic vision secured significant federal contracts, diversifying revenue streams and strengthening the tribe’s financial stability.
In 2024, Shane oversaw the opening of new clinical facilities in Cedar City that serve both tribal members and the greater community. His commitment to cultural revitalization ensures new services remain rooted in tribal heritage while his sustainable programming approach continuously adapts to meet evolving community needs.
What has been a significant challenge you’ve faced? How did you overcome it?
One recent challenge was meeting the increased demand for services with very limited funding and resources. … Through our focused efforts, we have secured over $15 million in new funding and significantly grown existing funding sources to support program expansion. One of our most significant needs was a new building to support our community health center in Cedar City. The existing clinic operated out of a 1,800-square-foot office space initially built for a pre-school language immersion program. … With the new [21,500-square-foot] facility, we expanded from four to 20 medical exam rooms, from six to eight counseling rooms, from four to eight dental exam rooms, expanded our medical lab, added an in-house pharmacy, and added future space for optometry services.
How do you define success for yourself and your company?
I define success as being transformational, leaving things better than we found them. I focus on and emphasize making our systems better this year than they were last year, making our governance better this year than it was last year, making our culture stronger this year than it was last year, and making ourselves better today than we were yesterday. Of all our achievements, I am most proud of our progress. Our past leaders envisioned what our tribe would mean for our people and how it would support our community. I am proud of the work we have done to advance our tribe, elevate our people, turn past visions into reality, and make my family and our ancestors proud of how far we have come. Ay’yuk (thank you).
