Page 29 - 2023 February Report

Horizons
Arizona and New Mexico Trip Report (3)
Student Success – Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center –We met with top staff and learned about the SALT Center – and had a great lunch. The SALT Center is an amazing effort for students who learn differently. It is not a disability resource center (which is also under Student Success Services) but provides student support services for those who are accepted into the program – for a fee. Students apply and are accepted to the U of AZ then must apply to the SALT Center. This is only for those who learn differently, not physical disabilities. Following lunch, we were also able to tour the facilities that house the broader student success programs.
There are three schools in the Arizona University System: NAU, Arizona State and U of AZ, of which only NAU has been a JSF scholarship school. From what I can find online, NAU has historically had the most Native students by percent at almost 4 percent. Arizona State has about .5 percent and U of AZ has about 1.4 percent. University of Arizona is the oldest of the three, founded in 1885 as a land-grant university. Schools that JSF funds in AZ are NAU (endowment), Diné (oldest Tribal College (TCU) in the US founded in 1968 and a land-grant institution - current scholarship program) and Scottsdale Community College, currently working on an endowment. There is one other TCU in Arizona, Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC) in Sells, AZ serving the Tohono O’odham nation near Tucson. It is also a land-grant institution. JSF does not do any funding at TOCC.
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Community Capital
We Help to Grow Sustainable Native Economies
New Mexico Community Capital’s mission is to give rise to a more equitable future by providing culturally appropriate tools for success to emerging Native American-owned businesses, Native families, and tribal enterprises. We provide classes and programs that are taught using supportive mentorship, peer learning, and culturally relevant curriculum. We support tribal agencies and organizations with specialized technical assistance and business services.
NMCC is an organization I visited back in August 2019 and met with Liz Gamboa, the CEO, to learn more about their Native Entrepreneur in Residence (NEIR) program and about the Native Women’s Business Summit. NMCC and a related organization – Native Women Lead – have been doing some great work with Native women entrepreneurs in the SW over the past few years. Bobby and I met with Liz and a few of her key staff. They are in a new space in downtown Albuquerque and have a few new program efforts. They are not a Native Community Development Financial Institution as they do not provide loans for business or housing. They provide business assistance and link people to resources. They still have the NEIR program but also added a Native Farmer in Residence Program as well. They also have, along with Native Women Lead, a Native women’s business initiative and an IndigiExchange Marketplace – an online marketplace for the entrepreneurs they work with. While they are based in Albuquerque, they are not an “urban” organization as they work with folks from the close-by Pueblos and via online efforts with entrepreneurswhoareremoteonreservationsoronnearbyPueblos. Thisvisitwasstrictlyavisittolearn about their efforts.
27