Join anthology essayists Michael Roberts, Trisha Kehaulani Watson, and Heather Fleming, in conversation with Dr. Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation, for a timely look at how lessons from Native community building can redress historic and ongoing inequities, create just societies, and cultivate a better world.
This event is part of our MCF Book Club: Reading for a Liberated Future series. The MCF Book Club shares the ideas of leaders who encourage us to imagine how we can radically transform our democracy, economy, and society.
The essays in Invisible No More feature stories from diverse Native nations, shedding light on the ongoing struggle for justice, the historic and current impact of genocide and settler colonialism, and the theft of Native land and resources that facilitates the racialized consolidation of wealth in philanthropy and beyond.
Native leaders at the center of social change are challenging philanthropic organizations that have historically excluded Native people. Join us to hear from some of them about how their work forges pathways for economic and environmental justice.
Dr. Carmen Rojas is the president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation launched the prestigious Freedom Scholar award, committed to ensuring that a majority of MCF’s endowment is overseen by diverse managers, and since starting in 2020 granted more than $142M in funding to dozens of organizations doing the hard work of shifting power to those people who have long been excluded from having it. Prior to MCF, Dr. Rojas was the cofounder and CEO of the Workers Lab, an innovation lab that partners with workers to develop new ideas that help them succeed and flourish.
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Heather's background is in design and innovation consulting. She started her career in Silicon Valley and transitioned to public sector innovation when she founded Catapult Design in San Francisco in 2008. In addition to her international work, Heather led Catapult Design’s initiatives on the Navajo Nation. Heather is Diné and is Bitahnii clan.
Michael Roberts served as chief operating officer for First Nations Development Institute until 1997, returned to the organization in 2003, and was appointed president by the board in 2005. In the interim, Mike spent five years in private equity, including working for a $500M telecommunications fund. He has worked at Alaska Native corporations and for local councils, primarily in accounting and finance. Mike is also the chairman of the board of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a steering committee member of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Network, and a member of the Investment Committee for the Three Affiliated Tribes. Mike was named a 2019–2020 fellow in the Philanthropy Forward: Leadership for Change Fellowship program of Neighborhood Funders Group and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions.
Trisha Kehaulani Watson, JD, PhD, was born and raised in Mānoa, Hawaiʻi. She founded Honua Consulting in 2004, and for more than a decade the company has been a respected leader in environmental and cultural resource management. Today, Honua Consulting is the largest and longest-running Hawaiian-owned cultural resource management company in Hawai‘i. Trisha has won numerous awards and recognition for her achievements, including the Pacific Business News and American Savings Bank 40 Under 40 Young Community Leader in 2014. She serves as president of the Kalihi-Pālama Culture and Arts Society, which produces numerous premier cultural events annually, including the Queen Lili‘uokalani Keiki Hula Competition. She also serves on the board of ‘Āina Momona, which provides critical environmental programs to island communities throughout Hawai‘i.
