Marilynn Roberge Malerba (

Mohegan-Pequot Mohegan-Pequot (also known as Mohegan-Pequot-Montauk, Secatogue, and Shinnecock-Poosepatuck; dialects in New England included Mohegan, Pequot, and Niantic; and on Long Island, Montaukett and Shinnecock) is an Algonquian language formerly spoke ...

: , ; born August 17, 1953) is an American tribal leader and former nurse who is the lifetime chief of the

Mohegan Tribe The Mohegan Tribe ( ) is a federally recognized Native American tribe and sovereign tribal nation based in Uncasville, Connecticut. Historically part of the Pequot people, the Mohegan emerged as a distinct group in the 17th century under the lead ...

. She previously served as the 45th

treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

from 2022 to 2024.

Early life and education

Malerba's mother holds the position of Tribal Nonner, an elder female of respect, and her great-grandfather was Chief Matagha (Burrill Fielding), a position he held from 1937 until he died in 1952. After growing up in

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

, Malerba studied nursing at

Hartford Hospital Hartford Hospital is an 867-bed acute care teaching hospital located in the South End of Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford Hospital was established in 1854. The hospital campus is located on Seymour Street in Hartford and is directly adjacent to the ...

College of Nursing, and then earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from St. Joseph's College (now known as the University of Saint Joseph) in

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquiall ...

, in 1983. She later earned a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and a

Doctor of Nursing Practice The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a professional degree in nursing in the United States of America. In the United States, the DNP is one of three doctoral degrees in nursing, the other two being the research degree PhD and the Doctor o ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Personal life

Malerba is married to Paul Malerba; they are the parents of two adult daughters, Elizabeth and Angela. They have three grandchildren.

Career

Malerba worked as a nurse at Hartford Hospital and then moved to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in Connecticut where she would become the head of cardiology and pulmonary services. Within the Mohegan Tribe, she has been the chair of the tribal council, and worked as executive director of the health and human services department. Malerba was named the 18th chief of the Mohegan Tribe on August 15, 2010, and is the first female chief in modern history to hold this position. She serves on the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

Tribal Nations Leadership Council, and joined the

Indian Health Service The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Native ...

's Tribal Advisory Committee in 2015, a committee she leads as of 2022. On June 21, 2022, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced his intent to appoint Malerba to serve as

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

; she was sworn in on September 12, 2022, and is the first Native American to hold this position. Before her swearing-in, the office of treasurer had been vacant for more than two and a half years, the longest vacancy in the history of the United States Treasury. Malerba and

Janet Yellen Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist who served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury from 2021 to 2025. She also served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She was the first woman to h ...

signing

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

during Malerba's time as

also marked the first time two women signed U.S. currency.

Selected publications

* * *

Awards and honors

Malerba has honorary doctoral degrees from

Eastern Connecticut State University Eastern Connecticut State University (Eastern, Eastern Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State, or ECSU) is a public university in Willimantic, Connecticut. Founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest campus in the Connecticut State University Syste ...

and the

University of Saint Joseph The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) is a private Catholic university in Macau, China. The university was founded in 1996, previously known as Macau Inter-University Institute (; ; IIUM). It was jointly organized by the Catholic Universi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malerba, Marilynn 1953 births Living people 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native American people 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American people American nurses Biden administration personnel Mohegan people Treasurers of the United States Tribal chiefs University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) alumni American women nurses Yale University alumni Catholics from Connecticut