Relational strategy grounded in Indigenous Knowledge and global experience.

Led by:

Cheryl Martinez (Tewa, Zapotec, Mexican, and English)
Rochelle Morgan-Verdin (Citizen of the United Houma Nation)
Dawn Knickerbocker (Anishinaabe, White Earth Nation)

About - In Our Ways

In Our Ways Strategy Group is a team of Indigenous and equity-rooted strategists working across philanthropy, governance, and global systems. We walk alongside organizations, rights holders, and changemakers to co-create solutions that are culturally grounded, structurally sound, and led by those most impacted.

Our work draws from decades of leadership across international law, Native-led philanthropy, rights-based conservation, and public policy. Whether accompanying institutions on strategic learning journeys, building grantmaking frameworks, or supporting sovereignty-affirming governance models, we center community-defined priorities and Indigenous ways of knowing to shape durable, transformative change.

Mission

Our mission is to accompany partners in building equity-centered, relational, and sovereign strategies that advance Indigenous rights, transform institutions, and support just futures. We do this through a values-based approach that centers Indigenous leadership, community-defined knowledge, and collaborative action.

Meet the Team

In Our Ways Strategy Group is led by three Indigenous women with deep experience across philanthropy, governance, international law, and movement strategy. Together, we offer a values-rooted, systems-savvy, and relational approach that centers the knowledge, leadership, and priorities of Indigenous Peoples and communities most impacted by structural inequity.

Cheryl Martinez

(Tewa, Zapotec, Mexican, and English)

Cheryl Martinez is an equity-rooted strategist with over 20 years of experience building relationships, programs, and partnerships that center Indigenous leadership and community impact. She serves as the Director of External Engagement at the NCAI Foundation, where she leads philanthropic partnerships and supports narrative and systems change efforts in service to Tribal Nations.

Cheryl spent a decade at The Nature Conservancy supporting Indigenous-led global initiatives and founded the Native Network, a space for Indigenous staff to connect and build power. She also serves on the board of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim and has advised national funders, including serving as a racial equity panelist for W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Equity 2030 project. Cheryl was born and raised in the UK and is a graduate of the University of Wales.

Rochelle Morgan-Verdin

(Citizen of the United Houma Nation)

Rochelle Morgan-Verdin is a dedicated leader in the advancement of the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples, both within her own community and across the globe. She holds a master’s degree in International Law and Human Rights from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace, and a bachelor’s in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Emory University.

Rochelle brings professional experience, academic depth, and lived experience to her work, with a strong focus on the intersections of climate change, displacement, and the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. She has actively participated in international negotiations, working to ensure that the voices, priorities, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples are respected. Through advocacy and policy development, she works to create meaningful and lasting change for Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

Dawn Knickerbocker

(Anishinaabe, White Earth Nation)

Dawn Knickerbocker is a strategist, writer, and nonprofit leader committed to advancing equity, Tribal sovereignty, and self-determination through philanthropy, narrative change, and systems design. She serves as Vice President of the NCAI Foundation, where she leads national initiatives to align funding, communications, and operations with the priorities of Indigenous Peoples.

Dawn holds a master’s degree in Human Rights Practice from the University of Arizona and a certificate in Tribal Leadership from Harvard Business School. With more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, grantmaking, and advancing Tribal priorities within philanthropic and national systems, she brings both cultural grounding and strategic clarity to her work. Her efforts are rooted in Anishinaabe teachings and lifelong service to community.