IIPWG Webinar - Investment in Indian Country: Supporting Sovereignty, Seeding Solutions

Chrystel Cornelius, President & CEO, Oweesta Corporation
Chrystel Cornelius is the President & CEO of the Oweesta Corporation, a national Native CDFI intermediary predominantly serving Native communities across the United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.

 

Chrystel is a founding steering committee member and previously held the position as the Board Secretary for the Native CDFI Network (NCN). She is also a former board member of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), is a current board member of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) and holds the position of Chairwoman for the Red Feather Development Group. She is a BALLE Fellow and Skoll Fellow. Chrystel attained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Agnetha Jaime Gloshay, Co-Director, Native Women Lead 
Jaime is Co-Director of Native Women Lead, where she co-leads key efforts in access to capital, fund design, partnership, advancement, and policy advocacy while leading program design, international development, and data/evaluation oversight for Native Women Lead (NWL). Jaime continues to work in partnership with Roanhorse Consulting LLC to co-design and develop initiatives on economic inclusion and ecosystem building. She co-leads design and implementation of NWL's Matriarch Response, Creative, and Revolutionary Funds. 

Jaime serves on UpTogether’s Board of Directors, is a Partnership Committee member for Community Credit Lab, is a SheEO Activator, and an Advisor for Angels of Impact. Jaime is a certified coach focusing on leadership and healing for Indigenous women, is a facilitator for Kindle Project’s Indigenous Women’s Flow Fund, and is supporting faculty for the Trauma of Money.

Jaime is co-building a community of practice and entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on international Indigenous impact metrics with Raven Indigenous Capital, Canada’s Indigenous Innovation Initiative, Australia's National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, and the Inclusive Indigenous Economic Ecosystem Collective. Jaime is also a 2021 NM Women of Color Leadership Initiative alumni, 2021-2022 NM Tribal Data Champion Fellow, and an Emerging Fund Manager for 2021-2022 Purpose Futures Fellowship.  

Prior to her current efforts, Jaime developed and led Accion’s Native American Lending program managing a portfolio of $1M+. In 2019, Jaime was appointed by the Governor of New Mexico to lead the tribal subcommittee for the State of NM Census Complete Count Commission which activated and leveraged an $11.5M state investment which successfully ensured a 2020 complete count. In 2010, she also led the Navajo Nation’s Decennial Census, managing a budget of $7M and a workforce of 3,600. Additionally, Jaime has held management positions at Gap Inc., Alaska Airlines, and Enterprise Holdings and advocated for families at the State of New Mexico’s Income Support Division. 

Jaime is a 2018 Opportunity Finance Network Fellow, 2020 Boston Impact Initiative Fellow, 2020 National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development “40 under 40” award recipient, and the 2019 Angel Tank, Audience Choice Award Winner. Jaime was also one of twenty-five individuals selected nationally to attend the 2020 Transform Finance Institute for Social Justice Leaders.

Jaime holds a BA in Native American Studies & Political Science and an MPA in Public Management from the University of New Mexico. Jaime is a citizen of the Navajo, White Mountain Apache, and Kiowa Nations and a mother of three residing in Tiwa Territory. She enjoys hiking, being on her ancestral homelands, and reading to restore. 

Jacqueline Jennings, Venture Partner, Raven Indigenous Capital; Director, The Fireweed Fellowship
Jacqueline Jennings (she/her) is of mixed heritage, Cree, Anishinaabe, Métis and of European settler descent. She is an impact investment professional, a decolonial facilitator, and an entrepreneurship educator. With a foundation in the private sector and particularly entrepreneurially driven apparel brands such as Lululemon and Aritzia, Jacqueline has in the last decade coached hundreds of founders and developed multiple startup accelerator programs for entrepreneurs. Currently, as a Venture Partner at Raven Indigenous Capital and as the Director of the Fireweed Fellowship, she supports guiding the flow of support and of venture capital to Indigenous and Native American entrepreneurs historically excluded from equity investing due to systemic oppression, while taking a trauma-informed approach. Jacqueline is a visiting professor at Simon Fraser University Beedie School of Business and facilitator with both SFU Radius Innovation Hub providing solutions labs as well as with Decolonize Together team delivering decolonial and anti-racist training. 

She is most interested in learning about how we can harness community care, heal individually to reduce harm collectively and take the lead from Indigenous matriarchy to repair, restore and enact reciprocity in a society overwhelmingly hurtling towards its own demise. 

Based on the Sunshine Coast, mothering, riding her horse, jumping in cold water, learning about plant medicine, and growing veggies, Jacqueline is at home as a guest on the unceded land of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and is deeply grateful to the relatives who have cared for this land, that cared for them, since time began. 

Jennifer Astone (Moderator), Principal, Integrated Capital Investing
Jen is nationally recognized for her integrated capital work that champions people and planet-centered businesses, communities and entrepreneurs. After 20 years of foundation leadership supporting human rights, gender justice, and health and environmental issues with grants and leadership, Jen has incorporated investing into her strategies for equity and transformation. Her expertise includes cross- cultural competency,climate solutions, healthy food, and Indigenous Peoples. Before launching Integrated Capital Investing, Jen led Swift Foundation for over eight years.