Wayne is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and grew up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation on his parent's cattle ranch. He is the Executive Director of the Native Governance Center, a nonprofit organization focused on helping Tribal nations grow their capacity to exercise sovereignty. Prior to joining NGC in 2016 he served just under 4 years on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council as a District 4 Council Representative and was the Tribal Vice-Chairman from 2012-2014. He also served his nation as Administrative Officer from 2010-2012 and ran the Cheyenne River Motel, a tribal hotel enterprise, located in Eagle Butte, SD. He is a proud husband to Megan and father to Veda, Aiden, and Alexander.