The Catalysts

Meet the entrepreneurs here to spark new interests and get the conversations started. They are here to help us weave our individual efforts into a unified force, ensuring we leave Santa Fe ready to lead the revival.

Have an idea for a Conversation Circle? Share your vision with us here.

Alexis Bunten-Naficy

General Partner, JumpScale

(Unangan/Yup’ik) Award-winning author, anthropologist & General Partner at JumpScale. She works at the intersection of Indigenous economics & decolonization to build regenerative enterprises that honor land, reciprocity & the strength of community.

Liz Gamboa

Executive Director, NMCC

Liz Gamboa is the Executive Director of NMCC & a strategist for Indigenous economic empowerment. She leverages her background in finance & technology to support Native entrepreneurs in building sustainable, community-driven businesses through technical excellence.

Jessica Norwood

Founder & CEO, RUNWAY

Jessica Norwood is a financial activist, author & CEO of RUNWAY who pioneers “Believe-in-You Money.” She leads a reparative fund resourcing Black communities through restorative capital, centering Black joy, liberation & community care as essential pillars for economic transformation across the global diaspora.

Erin Doerwald

Founder & CEO, Hello Wellness

Psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher, and founder of Hello Wellness, a Santa Fe-based ecosystem of psychotherapy, retreats, and collective care initiatives. Erin trains clinicians and community members in resilience and wellbeing practices that integrate mental health, mindfulness, yoga, and meaningful connections.

Vincent Ferguson

Artist & Founder of Amplify the Human

Vincent Ferguson is a Brooklyn-based artist, educator & founder of Amplify the Human. He utilizes music, technology & social-emotional learning to unlock human potential, dedicated to helping communities reimagine the future of connection & learning within the AI era.

Brian Hardgroove

Founder of the FREEDOM Band

Brian Hardgroove is a Santa Fe-based bassist for Public Enemy, Grammy-winning producer & educator who founded the FREEDOM Band. He leverages music & mentorship to drive social change, fostering the unity & resilience necessary to empower the next generation of artists as catalysts for global transformation.

Vanessa Roanhorse

CEO, Roanhorse Consulting

Vanessa Roanhorse is a Diné entrepreneur. She creates economic models rooted in relationship & self-determination to lead Indigenous capital strategies that align investment with community priorities, generational impact & rematriating the economy.

Henry Jake Foreman

Program Director, NMCC

Henry Jake Foreman (Absentee Shawnee) is an Indigenous technologist & NMCC Program Director. He bridges traditional wisdom with emerging tech to build AI & Web3 tools that center reciprocity, data sovereignty & Indigenous values within the next economy.

Jaime Gloshay

Managing Director, Common Future

Jaime is Managing Director of Impact Investments at Common Future and co-founder of Native Women Lead. From the Navajo and Apache Nations, she drives equitable capital strategies and community-rooted lending from Tiwa Territory. She is a mother of three and belongs to the Navajo and White Mountain Apache Nations.

Gina Schaefer

Founder, ACE Hardware stores

Gina Schaefer is the founder of a $55M employee-owned business spanning 13 locations and 300 teammates. Author & keynote speaker, she champions inclusive culture, employee ownership & women in business, proving that second chances is key to long-term success.