Marissa Nuvayestewa (Tewa and Hopi) is a member of the Corn Clan from the Village of Tewa. She is a grandmother to two beautiful grandchildren and a mother to two beautiful daughters. She is currently a Program Officer at the Colorado Plateau Foundation. Her service over the years exemplifies strengthening communities from within, working closely with grassroots organizations, and helping to build the local capacity of Native nonprofits. She believes that Native/Indigenous people and communities on the front lines of injustices hold the wisdom, solutions, and agency to direct transformational change. Marissa holds a Master’s degree in social work with an emphasis on social and economic development in Native American communities from Washington University in St. Louis, George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Marissa enjoys learning from the creativity of diverse communities and leans on the tools of facilitation, strategic planning, board development, fundraising, program evaluation, and research to help uplift solutions. Marissa enjoys spending time with her family, harvesting wild edible plants, adventuring in new places, and fishing.