Advisor – Affordable Housing Strategies for Rural and Native American Markets | Fannie Mae

Ben Navarro leads the implementation of Fannie Mae’s regulatorily mandated Duty to Serve Plan for the rural housing market.  In this role, Ben pursues opportunities for Fannie Mae to expand its single-family and multifamily conventional lending products to rural communities, which includes Native-Americans, farmworkers, and those living in high-needs rural regions, among others.  Specifically, he works closely with credit risk, legal, capital markets, and other subject matter experts at Fannie Mae to conduct research into the challenges specific to these markets, to develop new products, to perform outreach to rural housing stakeholders, and to ultimately increase the amount of liquidity that Fannie Mae provides to the rural housing market.

Before joining Fannie Mae, Ben worked for a number of organizations related to financial services, including the FDIC and Capital One.  Ben studied at the University of Virginia and Georgetown University and is a native of the Washington, DC area.

Director | Office of Indian Economic Development Department of Interior

Onna LeBeau, a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, serves as the Director of the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED). Onna comes to the Department of Interior as the former Executive Director of the Black Hills Community Loan Fund since 2015, where she had the honor of expanding the loan fund from a solely homeownership focused non-profit to one that provides the community with options for credit building and business development.  Onna’s passion for community development started in 2001 shortly after graduating from Northern State University in Aberdeen SD, with degrees in finance and economics. Onna worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Region, office of Economic Development, serving as loan specialist for the BIA loan guarantee program from 2002-2007.

Onna wanted to further her experience working with the people and left the federal government to pursue her career in the non-profit world by working at Oweesta Corporation as Lending and Reporting Director.  Onna furthered her education at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, where she earned her Master’s in Applied Sciences with an emphasis on non-profit management in native communities and native community development, after which time she spent working at the Great Plains Tribal Leader’s Health Board as Development Director and Partners with Native American’s where she focused on native food sustainability projects and managed the American Indian education fund.  Onna’s passion for the people led her to advocate for those who are driven to survive their historical trauma by providing a means to a healthier way of living financially and in a way that further empowers the individual by providing access to technical assistance and loan capital.

Senior Vice President | Rural Strategy Leader | Social Impact & Sustainability | Wells Fargo

Tim Rios is a senior vice president in Wells Fargo’s Social Impact and Sustainability group. He is responsible for implementing the company’s rural and Native American / Alaska Native strategic and philanthropic initiatives.   Rios formerly led a team of Community Relations professionals in northern and central California, Inland Empire, as well as San Diego and Imperial counties.

A 24-year Wells Fargo veteran, Rios has held various positions throughout the course of his career at the company including positions in retail, wholesale, and business banking.

Rios’ dedication to economic development has earned him recognition from the California State Legislature. In 2005, he received national honors from U.S. Small Business Administration when presented with its Financial Services Champion award. Rios has also received local, state, and national accolades including Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility’s Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever Award, Grizzly Award for executive leadership under the Bank on California Program, and Fresno West Coalition for Economic Development’s Risk Takers Dream Makers Community Champion Award. In 2013, Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno, recognized him with the Top Dog Award, one of the highest honors bestowed on alumni.

A graduate of California State University, Fresno, Rios earned a degree in finance.  In 2006, he completed a three-year executive banking program at University of Virginia.

An avid advocate for the communities he supports, Rios contributes his leadership and advice to multiple organizations and serves on various boards including the James Irvine Foundation. In 2004, he was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California Economic Strategy Panel where he served for four years.   In 2016, he co-founded the Central Valley Latino Giving Circle–an effort dedicated to promoting strategic philanthropy among Latinos who wish to make a positive impact in the lives of underserved families.

President & CEO | NDN Collective

Nick Tilsen is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, father of four and founder of the NDN Collective. Nick has over 18 years of experience in working with nonprofits and tribal nations on projects that have a social mission. Prior to NDN, Nick founded and served as the Executive Director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation for 12 years. Working in his home community on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to build place-based innovations that have the ability to inform systems change solutions around climate resiliency, sustainable housing and equitable community development.

Nick created the NDN Collective to scale these place-based solutions while building needed hilanthropic, social impact investment, capacity and advocacy infrastructure geared towards building the collective power of Indigenous Peoples. Nick has received numerous fellowships and awards from Ashoka, Rockefeller Foundation, Bush Foundation and the Social Impact Award from Claremont-Lincoln University. In 2017 Nick received an honorary doctorate degree from Sinte Gleska University. Nick continues his community organizing work and sits on the boards of the Indigenous Peoples Power Project, and the Oceti Sakowin Community Academy.

Chief Financial Officer |Native American Development Corporation

Mr. Sanders (an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe) is the current Chief Financial Officer of the Native American Development Corporation.

Mr. Sanders has a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Business Administration from Rocky Mountain College and holds an MBA from Gonzaga University with a focus in American Indian Entrepreneurship. His experience includes management roles in tribal finance and tribal business as Treasurer, Comptroller, Board Member and CEO. Currently, Mr. Sanders is leading an initiative to expand the financial capacity at NADC to accommodate the organization’s recent growth.

Before joining, Native American Development Corporation in 2021, Ben worked as an independent consultant providing services to tribes and tribal entities in financial management.

General Manager | Inlet Lending Centers

Jeff Tickle arrived in Alaska in August of 92’ landing in Sand Point, an Alaska Native Aleut Community on the edge of the Alaska Peninsula in the Shumigan Islands.   After working in the private banking and mortgage industry for 8 years, Jeff was thrilled to join and lead the Cook Inlet Lending Center team when he learned the focus was in helping our State of Alaska communities and families towards the goal of homeownership and small business entrepreneurship.  “The community of Sand Point, Alaska welcomed me upon my arrival years ago and it is with great honor to be able to give back to our Alaska Native communities in the pursuit of their dreams of homeownership and entrepreneurial spirit.

Under Secretary for Rural Development

Before coming to Rural Development, Xochitl was a United States Representative for the fifth largest district in the country. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Xochitl kept a rural hospital from closing its doors, improved constituent access to healthcare over the phone, and helped secure tens of millions of dollars for broadband in New Mexico through USDA’s ReConnect Program. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Xochitl raised the alarm on broadband disparities, serving on Majority Whip James Clyburn’s Rural Broadband Taskforce and as an original cosponsor of the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Xochitl helped champion the needs of dairy farmers and sponsored legislation to help local producers and rural communities invest in infrastructure to navigate new markets. Xochitl forged additional bipartisan solutions on the House Armed Services Committee and as chairwoman of the Oversight, Management, and Accountability subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee. Xochitl was the first woman and first person of color to represent New Mexico’s second congressional district.

The granddaughter of farmworkers, Xochitl Torres Small grew up in the borderlands of New Mexico. She came home from college to work as a field organizer, working in colonias in southern New Mexico. She continued serving rural New Mexico as a field representative for Senator Tom Udall, where she collaborated with local grassroots leaders, business owners, elected officials, and regional and state economic development officials to help communities rebound from the Great Recession. Inspired by Senator Udall’s work on water in the West, Torres Small studied water law and worked closely with rural water utilities. After law school, she returned home to clerk for United States District Court Judge Robert C. Brack. Throughout her career, Xochitl has employed her experience working in vulnerable, rural communities to achieve lasting investments that combat persistent poverty.

Xochitl has a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law, an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and an international baccalaureate from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa. She’s happily married to her husband, New Mexico State Representative Nathan Small

Executive Director | Tiwa Lending Service

Sheila D. Herrera is the Executive Director of Tiwa Lending Services with over 35 years’ experience in the lending industry and with experience in coordinating and directing the implementation of economic/community development.  As Tiwa Lending Services’ Executive Director, Ms. Herrera operates and manages Tiwa Lending Services, performing all home loan activities, including the origination and underwriting of loans, providing financial and homeownership counseling, preparing loan documents, closing loans, monitoring construction, disbursing payments and tracking the loan capital.   Ms. Herrera is one of the founding members of Tiwa Lending Services.  She was instrumental in developing the incorporation documents to establish Tiwa Lending Services and in developing the organizational and developmental capacity of Tiwa Lending Services.  Ms. Herrera’s duties include planning, budgeting, financial reporting, bringing in private capital, as well as long-range planning to provide business lending and other financial related products and services.

Prior to coming to work with Tiwa Lending Services, Ms. Herrera managed the Isleta Pueblo Housing Authority’s Home Loan Program and served as a Homeownership Counselor.   Ms. Herrera owned a mortgage brokerage business for seven years and worked in the banking industry. Ms. Herrera is a certified Homeownership Counselor and provides one-on-one counseling to applicants and borrowers.  She also conducts Homeownership and Financial Literacy and Education workshops for Isleta Pueblo community members.

Professor of Law at Arizona State University | Author | Reservation Capitalism

Robert J. Miller is a professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where he is also the Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar and the Director of the Rosette LLP American Indian Economic Development Program. He is the Chief Justice for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Court of Appeals and an appellate judge for other tribal courts. He graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1991 and then clerked for Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1991-92. He practiced litigation and Indian Law from 1992-99. Bob was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2014, the oldest learned society in the United States. He has written dozens of articles on Indian Law issues and has authored and co-authored five books, including Reservation “Capitalism”: Economic Development in Indian Country (Praeger Publishers 2012) and Creating Private Sector Economies in Native America (Cambridge University Press 2019). Bob is a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe.

CEO & Co-Founder -Homestead Loan Fund | Chairwoman – SCHHA | NCN National Policy Chair

Robin Puanani Danner (native Hawaiian) is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Homestead Community Development Corporation (HCDC) operating the Homestead Loan Fund, and affordable housing and community facility projects, including a certified kitchen, marketplace, and enterprise center. As a 501c3 incorporated in 2009, the HCDC mission is to create affordable housing, jobs and capacity building on or near Hawaiian Home Lands.

Ms. Danner is also the elected chairman of the oldest and largest coalition of self-governing homestead associations – the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations (SCHHA). She is a former bank executive, tribal housing authority executive, a county housing and economic development director and the founder of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). She has been awarded numerous national leadership and housing awards, as well as small business awards including the SBA Minority Business Advocate of the year, twice – once for the State of Alaska and another for the State of Hawaii. A nonpartisan, Ms. Danner advocates for good public policy regardless of party or identity of a policy-maker, and instead focuses on the implementation of goals that achieve priorities of an agency or government leaders (state, federal, tribal and homestead associations).

She is from the island of Kauai, born and raised in Niumalu, and attended public schools on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations, as well as the north slope of Alaska. She is the product of life-long educator parents specializing in Native children and built a successful career in banking and Native solutions to housing and economic development. She is well versed in both private sector and public sector agencies, each of which play vital roles in the well-being of Native peoples. Ms. Danner resides on Kauai with her husband where they raised four children.

Partner | Quarles and Brady, LLC

Pilar Thomas is a partner in the firm’s Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Practice Group. She focuses her practice on tribal renewable energy project development and finance, tribal economic development, federal Indian Law, and natural resource development.

Pilar assists clients with strategic legal advice on tribal energy policy and planning; clean energy and infrastructure project development and finance; federal and state energy regulatory, programs, and policy efforts; and federal requirements for tribal lands development. She has negotiated or assisted with agreements related to transmission lines, landfill gas, solar projects, a natural gas power plant, and mineral development on tribal lands. She serves as general counsel for several tribes, Section 17 and tribal business entities.

Representative Matters

• Negotiate leases and right of ways for utility scale renewable projects
• Shepherd through federal regulatory process for land into trust decisions and related environmental reviews
• Draft HEARTH Act leasing regulations
• Draft tribal laws, regulations, and policies related to economic development, land use, and environmental review
• Tribal consultation practices
• Monitor, review, and draft comments on federal and state agency actions
• Monitor, review, and draft federal legislation related to tribal energy development

Prior to entering private practice, Pilar was the Deputy Director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at the US Department of Energy, where she was responsible for developing and implementing policy and program efforts within the department and federal government to achieve the office’s policy objectives related to the promotion of energy development, electrification, and infrastructure improvement on tribal lands. She also is the former Deputy Solicitor of Indian Affairs for the US Department of the Interior; served as the Interim Attorney General and Chief of Staff to Chairwoman Herminia Frias of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe; and was a trial attorney in the US Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Indian Resources Section.

Director of Native Partnerships and Strategy | NeighborWorks

Mel Willie leads NeighborWorks America’s Native work to expand its investment in tribal communities. He is a national leader in Indian Country with more than 23 years of experience in nonprofit management, government, political, public and intergovernmental affairs and has represented tribal interests at the local, tribal, state and national level. He is a member of the Navajo Nation, born and raised on the reservation in northeast Arizona.

Before joining NeighborWorks, he served as principal of Chee Consulting, working with a range of clients to advance and strengthen tribal communities. Having served as past executive director of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) and as special advisor to one of the nation’s largest public housing authorities, he is intimately familiar with providing affordable housing through highly regulated federal programs. Kennedy school.

Consultant | Cunningham & Associates, LLC

Gary L. Cunningham is a consultant and the former President and CEO of Prosperity Now, a national organization dedicated to advancing racial and ethnic economic justice headquartered in Washington, D.C. He lead the organization from 2019 to 2023. Under his direction, Prosperity Now strengthened its strategic focus, centering those most directly impacted by injustice and expanding its approach from simply mitigating the effects of a broken, racist system to testing, investing, and scaling systems-change solutions that will completely transform our economy.

For more than 20 years, Gary has served as a top leader of philanthropic, health care, public policy, and educational organizations. In addition to leading NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, he was Associate Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, the Deputy Director of Civil Rights for the City of Minneapolis and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) — a minority entrepreneurial organization — and Chaired the Community and Economic Development Committee for the Metropolitan Council the Twin Cites Planning and transportation agency.

Gary is a recognized and respected expert on entrepreneurship, job creation, racial wealth equity, housing and economic development and is a sought-after thought leader on building a more inclusive economy. A native of Minneapolis, MN, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Metropolitan State University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Project Director – Community Development and Engagement |Minneapolis Federal Reserve | Center For Indian Country Development

Michou Kokodoko is a project director in the Minneapolis Fed’s Community Development and Engagement department. He leads the Bank’s efforts to promote effective community-bank partnerships by increasing awareness of community development trends and investment opportunities, especially those related to the Community Reinvestment Act.

Director |U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund

Jodie Harris is the Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The CDFI Fund generates economic growth and opportunity in some of our nation’s most distressed communities. By offering tailored resources and innovative programs that invest federal dollars alongside private sector capital, the CDFI Fund serves mission-driven financial institutions that take a market-based approach to supporting economically disadvantaged communities.

Jodie has worked in both the public and private sectors for over 25 years. Following her start as a commercial real estate and community development credit analyst, Jodie served as president of a small non-profit consulting firm providing technical assistance and education to small businesses and entrepreneurs. She spent several years in the Strategy and Business Architecture division of Accenture, LLC, working with a range of clients including financial institutions, nonprofits and technology companies. Jodie has extensive experience in policy research, and worked as a policy analyst with New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy, and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she focused on low-income food programs.

Jodie joined Treasury in 2007 as an Associate Program Manager with the CDFI Fund, and later served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the CDFI Fund. During her time with Treasury, she has managed grant programs and developed legislative and policy proposals for a wide range of issues with a focus on access to capital, community development banking, and financial inclusion. Most recently, as the Director of Treasury’s Office of Small Business, Community Development and Affordable Housing Policy, Jodie led a team of policy analysts in the development of policies and programs that support community and economic development nationwide.

Jodie originally hails from Philadelphia and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland. She holds a MBA and MPA from New York University.

CEO & President | Oweesta

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.

Ms. Cornelius has worked with Native communities for most of her professional career, with more than 23 years of experience working in the Native economic development field.  She is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians located in North Dakota. Ms. Cornelius has dedicated her career to capitalizing Native communities upholding tribal sovereignty and self-determination measures through the issuance of capital and organizational capacity building efforts.

Chrystel Cornelius is a founding steering committee member and previously held the position as the Board Secretary for the Native CDFI Network (NCN). Ms. Cornelius 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 Treasurer for the Red Feather Development Group. She is a BALLE Fellow and Skoll Fellow.

Ms. Chrystel Cornelius attained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Executive Director | NACDC Financial Services, Inc.

Professional background includes over 30 years’ experience in grants administration & management, fund raising, business and financial literacy education, training and technical assistance for small business, and community development in Tribal communities.  Since 2011, Executive Director for NACDC Financial Services, Inc., a Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), located in Browning, MT, providing training, technical assistance and capital access to the eight (8) Montana Reservation communities. Since 2010, fundraised over $15 m in lending and operating capital.

Experience includes leveraging resources for housing, community and organizational development; business; non-profit; strategic and business planning; and resource development.

Former employment includes Executive Director, Montana Tribal Business Information Network, Missoula, MT; and Vice President, Fort Belknap College, Fort Belknap, MT.  Current board member for Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Montana Nonprofit Association and Montana Community Foundation.  Received the 2017 Visionary Leader Award at the annual Native CDFI Awards Reception and Ceremony, OFN Conference in Washington, D.C.  Enrolled member of the Montana Fort Belknap Gros Ventre Tribe.

Vice President/Director | Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank | Center For Indian Country Development

Casey is responsible for leading all aspects of the work of the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD). In this role, he helps to identify research and policy priorities, and to increase CICD’s visibility, impact, and relevance. Based at our Helena Branch, Casey, an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, is also deeply involved in the Bank’s early childhood development work in Montana.

Before assuming leadership of the CICD, Casey was assistant vice president/outreach executive in the Bank’s department of Public Affairs, and the leader of our Helena Branch.

Prior to joining the Minneapolis Fed in 2018, Casey served in economic development and higher education roles for the state of Montana. Additionally, he held executive leadership positions in national Native American nonprofits, including the American Indian College Fund and the Notah Begay III Foundation.

Casey received degrees from Dartmouth College and Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver. He serves as the chair of the board of regents of the Montana University System.

Casey is the 2021 recipient of the Janet L. Yellen Award for Excellence in Community Development and a 2022 recipient of the Honorary Leadership Award from the Native American Finance Officers Association.

Counselor to the Secretary (Racial Equity) | U.S. Treasury

Janis Bowdler has spent the last two decades advancing economic equity solutions for communities of color and breaking down the barriers that underpin the disparities in wealth and financial security by race and gender.

Janis’ career has spanned local service, national advocacy, and international philanthropy.  She launched her career in her native Northeast Ohio with Famicos Foundation, a community development corporation working in the Hough and Glenville neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio. As a Project Manager she developed and preserved affordable homeownership and rental opportunities for the residents of these historically African American neighborhoods.

She then spent 10 years at UnidosUS, then National Council of La Raza, advocating for economic mobility opportunities for Latino families. As the Director of Economic Policy, she led research, advocacy, and policy development in the areas of job creation and job quality, retirement security, housing, banking, community development and consumer protection.

Most recently, Janis served the President of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation. Under her leadership, the firm launched several critical initiatives that have expanded capital for entrepreneurs of color, improved access to banking products and services, expanded access to new job skills, and built more inclusive neighborhoods. Janis played a critical role in developing the firm’s incremental $30 billion racial equity commitment.

Janis has authored a number of publications on financial opportunity and economic mobility. Most recently, she co-authored “Building Equitable Cities: How to Drive Economic Mobility and Regional Growth” with Henry Cisneros and Jeff Lubell.

Janis received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Malone College in Canton, Ohio and a Master of Science degree from Cleveland State University. She is a proud Latina, a yoga instructor, mom to one daughter, two dogs, and a bunny. She lives with her husband and her family in Takoma Park, Maryland.

President & CEO | National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Jesse Van Tol is NCRC’s President and CEO. He has been with NCRC since 2006 and has held a variety of leadership positions, most recently as Chief Operating Officer, as well as senior positions in the organizing and membership, communications, policy and research teams. His work championing fair and responsible banking has resulted in $548 billion in new investments in low- and moderate-income communities through Community Benefits Agreements with 20 banking institutions. He is a popular speaker and lecturer, and has appeared on NPR, in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and many other outlets.

Jesse serves on the board of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, and the executive committee of Americans for Financial Reform. He was a Senior Fellow with Humanity in Action, an international human rights group, and a communications institute Fellow with Opportunity Agenda. He also sits on a variety of advisory boards, including the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Affordable Housing Advisory Councils. He is a member of the consumer advisory councils of Bank of America, Fifth Third, Huntington National Bank, IBERIABANK, JP Morgan Chase, KeyBank, Quicken Loans and Santander.

Jesse received his bachelor’s degree in History and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is part of the current NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence cohort at Harvard’s Kennedy school.

U.S. House of Representatives · Kansas

Executive Advisor | Clearinghouse CDFI

Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer | Native American Bank

Community Development Expert | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Chief Programs Officer Executive Vice President of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships |
Oweesta

Senior Community Development Oversight Analyst |Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Senior Community Development Advisor Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Director for Community Affairs Outreach | Office of the Comptroller of Currency

Director | BMO Harris Bank

Co-Head for Black and Latinx Small Business BMO Harris Bank

Sr. Program Manager/Tribal and Indigenous Communities | Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Senior Economic Education Specialist | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Executive Director| Native Partnership for Housing

Department of Energy | Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Executive Director of Lakota Funds

AVP/Mortgage Loan Officer | Chickasaw Community Bank

Owner | Sh’eh Wheef Law Offices