Changing power dynamics in health and wealth
Roanhorse Consulting is an Indigenous-led social enterprise based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2016 and led by CEO Vanessa Roanhorse and COO Olivia Roanhorse, the team works to change power dynamics in health and wealth systems for Indigenous communities.
Roanhorse builds ecosystems that uplift Indigenous communities by centering their ways of being. Their approach integrates lived experiences to identify opportunities and solutions, advocating for and connecting people, money, and power to generate meaningful returns and impact.
They operate two core portfolios focusing on Indigenous knowledge and methodologies. The first portfolio is a nationally recognized consulting practice that designs and delivers high-impact programs, systems, research/evauation and capital strategies in partnership with Indigenous communities. The second portfolio, Return On Indigenous (ROI) Studios, a relationship-based startup studio, aims to address gaps in the ecosystem and provide essential support to Indigenous founders. This portfolio offers a differentiated model that directly addresses the structural barriers faced by founders building businesses without access to generational wealth or financial safety nets
Broadly, Roanhorse works across multiple areas, including ecosystem development, project design, and advisory services. Their work is grounded in Indigenous worldviews and centers co-creation, healing, and truth-telling as core values.
Infrastructure built on Indigenous terms
In partnership with EcoMap, Roanhorse developed CenterNative, a public digital platform designed to strengthen the ecosystem of Indigenous-led and serving organizations, funders, leaders, and resources in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.
CenterNative fills a critical gap in digital infrastructure, enabling Indigenous founders, organizations, and support networks to find each other, share resources, and build meaningful relationships. By connecting with other ecosystem support organizations, CenterNative fosters a network that uplifts each other’s work and initiatives, creating a stronger, more coordinated, and resilient ecosystem.
As the platform evolves, CenterNative grows a resilient, interconnected ecosystem where Indigenous entrepreneurs and organizations have the digital infrastructure, relationships, and resources to thrive. This strengthens Indigenous community sovereignty and ensures long-term, self-determined economic and social wellbeing.
“We are unapologetically building a world where Indigenous ways of knowing and being are at the center of everything we do, demonstrating success,” the Roanhorse team explains.
Serving New Mexico and the Navajo Nation
Roanhorse Consulting focuses primarily on New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, working with Indigenous-led organizations, entrepreneurs, and communities across the region. Their programs include the Reimagining Economies Apprenticeship (REA), the only apprenticeship program designed for Indigenous women by Indigenous women to become decision-makers in investment and fund management. They also partner with organizations such as the New Mexico Community Capital, the Indigenous Evaluators Network, and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, strengthening ecosystems that meet Indigenous organizations and founders where they are.
When existing systems weren’t built for your community
Indigenous entrepreneurs and organizations often operate in ecosystems where resources exist but remain difficult to find and access, and are not designed to support Indigenous worldview that centers relationship and community. Traditional economic development infrastructure wasn’t built with Indigenous communities in mind, which creates barriers to capital, technical assistance, and peer connection.
CenterNative changes that dynamic by creating a platform specifically designed for the communities it serves. Rather than adapting to external systems, Indigenous leaders now have infrastructure built on their terms
Elyse Dempsey, Senior Ecosystems and Strategy Manager at Roanhorse, described the vision, “We’re not here to be the center of these connections. We want people to have that opportunity on their own.”
Listening to the community, the platform is evolving to include educational guides, policy resources, and curated pathways tailored to different user types. A native-led nonprofit navigating strategic planning needs different resources than an entrepreneur seeking capital, and CenterNative is being structured to meet both where they are.
By advancing Indigenous digital infrastructure, supporting founders and nonprofits, and building a networked ecosystem of Indigenous-led and serving entities, CenterNative contributes to healthier and more economically resilient Indigenous communities. Roanhose knows that sustained collaboration, shared data sovereignty principles, and accessible tools strengthen community leadership, self-determination, and thriving Indigenous economies.
Partnership grounded in ecosystem coordination
Roanhorse chose EcoMap to power CenterNative because the platform was built for ecosystem coordination, not sales pipelines or generic CRM functions and practices. As Roanhorse expands its work and refines how CenterNative serves the community, EcoMap’s infrastructure allows them to create distinct user experiences while maintaining a unified ecosystem view with the potential to be a national network.
The partnership reflects a shared understanding: effective ecosystem building requires digital infrastructure that reduces friction, increases visibility, and helps organizations coordinate around the people they serve.
Roanhorse is using EcoMap’s platform to organize resources into collections tailored for specific audiences, track engagement patterns to understand where gaps exist, and build the data foundation that helps them advocate for continued investment in Indigenous entrepreneurship.
No gatekeepers
Roanhorse Consulting continues to grow its team and expand its programs. CenterNative remains central to that work, serving as the backbone infrastructure that connects their consulting, research, and programmatic initiatives.
As Olivia Roanhorse said, “We want to build something that’s clear, thoughtful, but useful to our cohorts on the programmatic side, our consulting companies and clients that work with us, so that no one’s a gatekeeper.”
That principle guides how they’re building CenterNative and their broader approach to ecosystem development. The goal isn’t to control access. It’s to create the infrastructure that makes access possible.
Learn more about Roanhorse Consulting at https://roanhorseconsulting.com/.
Explore Center Native at https://centernative.com/.