ICT adds four hires to the organization
The ICT organization has brought in four new people, continuing the growth and outreach of the company.
Haley Martinez joined ICT in October as the new assistant development director, who will also be working with another new hire, Nick Roberts. Martinez will help in all aspects of fundraising and development for ICT from grants, appeals and individual donors to major donors, special projects and strategy development and evaluation.
“In this role with ICT as assistant development director, I’m able to align my education, nonprofit experience, and personal passion for elevating the voices and stories of Indigenous peoples ‘often ignored or misunderstood by mainstream media’ — and I am thrilled to be a part of ICT's important work and impact,” Martinez said.
Martinez received her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her masters degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona.
“I was especially interested in working with ICT, because it spoke to my sincere aspiration to work with – and on behalf of – Native communities,” she said.
After graduating, Martinez spent several years working to secure funding opportunities for Alaska Native Village community infrastructure projects before joining the nonprofit community.
She has more than eight years of nonprofit development experience in Arizona, Colorado and most recently with Dimensions Educational Research Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters in Lincoln, Nebraska.
(Photo courtesy of Haley Martinez)
(Photo courtesy of Nick Roberts)
Nick Roberts, development director, joined ICT in early September. He will lead ICT's philanthropic partnerships that bring operating dollars from grant sources, corporate partners and individual donors.
This means sometimes meeting with donors one on one, at events, or communicating online. It also means grant writing and crafting messages that introduce ICT's mission and programs to funders who may not have known the organization exists.
“That is one of my favorite parts of the job — play ‘matchmaker’ in the sense of identifying the most compelling parts of our work that speak to the most aligned donor interests,” he said.
He has 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience in program, volunteer, executive, board and fund development roles. Roberts has worked for family and youth focused organizations, food security organizations, as well as conservation and even healthcare organizations in Montana and Tennessee.
Recently, Roberts was in a philanthropic leadership role with Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college in Montana. He said working for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes gave him a passion for sharing the needs of Indian Country while celebrating Indigenous experiences.
“I especially love the opportunity of being a connector and introducing individuals and communities to Native identities and perspectives. ICT is a master at collecting and emboldening Indigenous voices to audiences that may not otherwise hear anything about the important content in our stories. It is an honor to work for ICT and have the opportunity to keep expanding our reach,” he said.
Jacki Foster is the third person joining IndiJ Public Media as the executive assistant to IndiJ Public Media’s President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Lincoln Michel, Ho-Chunk.
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“You will find her to be warm, friendly, helpful, courteous, resourceful, a problem-solver,and a project manager. She will assist me in carrying out administrative duties, supporting my work with the board of directors, and executing tasks associated with the mission-driven goals of our organization,” Michel said.
Foster is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and has years of experience in office management and customer service.
She has been working with ICT as a business support specialist through ICT’s contract with We The People. Foster will now join full-time.
Prior to her role with We The People, Foster has worked in the fields of real estate, health care and event planning.
“Through contract work with ICT, I was able to recognize just how important the organization is to Indigenous culture and connection. I was eager to join the team full time to help ensure that the company continues its path forward. In my short time with ICT, I’ve already witnessed so many important and meaningful moments and am extremely honored to be a part of what is next,” she said.
(Photo courtesy of Jacki Foster)
Luna Reyna, Little Shell Chippewa descendent, also joined ICT as the new Pacific Northwest bureau chief. Reyna said the reporting of the organization is “incredibly powerful and aligns with the work in service of liberation and advancing justice that I have dedicated my life and career to.”
And working with some of the people she has admired who are some of the best journalists in Indigenous news is an incredible opportunity.
“ICT disrupts the White gatekeeping that often dominates newsrooms and impacts whose stories are told and how, so to have the opportunity to work in an all Native newsroom, specifically focusing on Indigenous Affairs and amplifying Native voices, is an absolute dream come true,” Reyna said.
She added another major motivation is making her mom, grandfather, and ancestors proud.
Reyna will oversee ICT’s Pacific Northwest coverage and contribute reporting and editing to both ICT and Underscore. She will also assist managing editors at Underscore and ICT in supervising the shared reporter and ICT’s intern, in both daily news and enterprise reporting.
“The bureau chief looks at the big picture for national, enterprise stories and zooms in for the breaking news from the ground,” Reyna said.
Her prior experience includes being the Indigenous affairs reporter at Crosscut, a columnist and recently as a staff writer at South Seattle Emerald, editor and contributing writer at BARE magazine, staff writer on the editorial team at DOPE Magazine, staff writer/publications manager for UW’s Alumni magazine UW Mag and their diversity magazine Viewpoint, and editor at Intentionalist, an online guide to intentional spending that supports small businesses and diverse local communities.
Reyna said that telling Indigenous stories is powerful in how culture, language and ways of life are passed on through generations for both Native and non-Natives.
“Expressing the conditions of an unjust society and facilitating healing is vital for true liberation,” Reyna said. “To me, the existence and prominence of ICT and the stories ICT shares is an essential voice for not just Native liberation but for all people impacted by systems of white supremacy. Our stories are a reckoning, and I hope to be a part of continuing that legacy.”
Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 contribution today to help ICT carry out its critical mission.
