FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CROWNPOINT, NAVAJO NATION (New Mexico)—On Friday, October 7, 2016, designers, web developers, business counselors, small business owners, and start-ups from across the Navajo Nation and the country will converge on the campus of Navajo Technical University for a full day of workshops and mentoring sessions at the third annual Change Labs, a conference focused on empowering entrepreneurs on the Navajo Nation and across Indian Country.
Attendees will choose from nearly a dozen hands-on workshops, including business model review, pitching investors, and the legal ins-and-outs of operating a business under Navajo Nation law, and can sign up for one-on-one mentorship sessions including logo design, branding, and individual business counseling. Navajo graphic designer Duran Washburn, owner of Dibé Nitsaa Creative, will provide hands-on mentorship to small businesses and organizations in need of logo and branding support and Native artists Duane Koyawena and Joe Stacy will create custom signage for business owners.
“We ultimately want to shift the business climate in our tribal communities by initiating game-changing models that work for our people while boosting peer collaboration,” said Natasha K. Hale, of the Native American Business Incubator Network. “Change Labs gives Native entrepreneurs the tools and networks we need to launch and elevate creative businesses that make sense for our communities.”
“The social challenges in our community provide a wealth of entrepreneurial opportunity for our increasingly skilled and motivated workforce,” said Catapult Design CEO and Change Labs founder Heather Fleming. “At Change Labs we explore how we can leverage new technology to serve our communities, business models appropriate for rural communities, and overcoming the economic and emotional barriers to starting a new business.”
The $30 registration fee ($20 for students) includes a full day of workshops, access to mentors, meals, and complimentary childcare for children six months to nine years of age.
Change Labs 2016 is a partnership between Navajo Technical University, Catapult Design, the Native American Business Incubator Network, the Grand Canyon Trust, and the University of New Mexico-Gallup and is made possible by the generous support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Fund.
Photos for press use (Credit: Adrian Manygoats) ›
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