Thur. webinar to discuss economic justice in Indian Country

L-R: Heather Fleming, Vanessa Roanhorse, Lakota Vogel, and Steve Dubb (Nonprofit Quarterly photo montage)

A Nonprofit Quarterly webinar on Thursday, Oct. 14, will feature three Native American non-profit executives discussing their work in economic justice in Indian Country as well as the challenges they face. The webinar is the first in NPQ's 2021-2022 Remaking the Economy series; it's presented in partnership with the First Nations Development Institute, which aims to improve economic conditions for Native Americans through direct financial grants, technical assistance and training, and advocacy and policy. Click here for more information about the webinar or to register.

NPQ senior editor and economic justice program director Steve Dubb will moderate the webinar. Here are the panelists:

• Heather Fleming (Navajo), executive director of Change Labs, the only business incubator and accelerator on Navajo land. Fleming works with Hopi and Navajo (Diné) citizens to create a supportive business ecosystem for Native entrepreneurs.
• Vanessa Roanhorse (Navajo), CEO of Roanhorse Consulting, a firm co-designing a character-based lending program, with a vision of redesigning underwriting to meet Native community needs. She is also a cofounder of Native Women Lead.
• Lakota Vogel (Cheyenne River Sioux), CEO of Four Bands Community Loan Fund, a community development financial institution (CDFI) in South Dakota. The CDFI she leads is redesigning lending to enable Native residents to build homes on trust lands.