Board of Advisors
Advisory COUNCIL
Taylor (Naa 'Yuuwans Xaaydagaay Skidegate Gidins Clan) is from Hydaburg, Alaska. Despite having a keen interest in technology from childhood, it wasn’t until Codefy’s inaugural cohort with Sealaska in 2022 that she had an opportunity to explore it as a career. After completing her training, she participated in an Applications Development internship with Sealaska’s Shareholder Relations team, where she realized her passion lies in working with Indigenous communities. This led her to join Knik Tribe’s Benteh Steam Academy as a Junior Instructor in the Talgunda Program, teaching middle and high school students about web development, ethical hacking, and software development. Today, she Co-Leads the program with a dedication to expanding educational and professional opportunities to Indigenous youth–in her classroom and beyond.
TAYLOR NATKONG
KAYLA ROBERTS
Kayla is Tsimshian, G̲anhada clan, with roots in Metlakatla, Alaska. Her Sm’algyax name is Ha-leemee-ym Meeyaa-nm, given to her by her grandmother Shu Guyna. She grew up on traditionally Coast Salish land in the Seattle area. Prior to her role at Spruce Root, Kayla built workforce development programs at Sealaska Corporation for Alaska Native high school and post-secondary students. Her work there focused on reconnecting young people to their Indigenous heritage in Southeast Alaska, creating meaningful career pathways across the region through the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, and expanding opportunities for career exploration beyond traditional academic tracks with Codefy. Kayla has joined Spruce Root as the Arctic Willow Advisory Group Program Manager, where she manages a philanthropy fund focused on cultural revitalization and reconnection. Kayla brings a strong passion for community-centered work and is excited to support the impactful efforts happening across Alaska through this fund.
Melody is a social entrepreneur, the Founder of Indigenous Community Collaborative and a Co-Founding Member of CahokiaPhx SocialTech + ArtSpace. She is dedicated to serving Indigenous communities and individuals within the systems of workforce development, education, and economic development, utilizing collaborative approaches rooted in Indigenous Identity. Melody’s career blends her experiences of social work, education, and Workforce Development to create participant-centered programs. Experiences include: industry implementation of workforce and education initiatives with post-secondary institutions, local school districts, employers, and nonprofits across Arizona, California, and Nevada. Melody Lewis is Mojave/Tewa/Hopi and an enrolled member of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe.
Melody lewis
Nadine Groenig is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico. During her 17 year tenure at the Arizona Department of Education, Nadine held several positions, including Program Specialist for Title I and Director of Indian Education. She served 22 tribes supporting over 90,000 Native American students, the majority of whom attend public schools. During this time, Nadine honed her outreach skills working with tribal governments, school districts, and community organizations throughout Arizona. She is currently the owner and lead consultant at SunClan Consulting and the founder and former CEO of the Southwestern Institute for the Education of Native Americans (SIENA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving students, parents, and educators of Native American students in Arizona and beyond.
Nadine Groenig
Rod brings significant global leadership experience with both Fortune 500 organizations as well as entrepreneurial ventures. He was EVP, Corporate Development for iCrossing, leading 7 successful acquisitions over 6 years prior to and after the sale of iCrossing to the Hearst Corporation in 2010. Well known as a leader in the Phoenix Tech Community, he coaches and mentors CEO’s and their teams in strategy and business planning. Rod holds a Bachelors degree in business from Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ and a Masters degree from the Columbia School of Business in NYC. He is an adjunct faculty member in the Entrepreneurship program in the business school at Grand Canyon University, teaching “Intrapreneurship” and Innovation.
Rod Lenniger
Bipin Jayaraj is a VP & CIO at Rogers Corporation, a Board Member and Former CIO at Make-A-Wish America and is an information technology senior executive with over 20 years of experience in multiple business areas in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He has executed multiple strategic IT initiatives/ programs to drive enterprise performance and value by improving business processes, and delivering game-changing technology solutions. His extensive experience in IT Operations managing business-critical, global, round-the-clock ERP and non-ERP technologies, multiple X-aaS models, legacy apps modernization programs.