Roanhorse Consulting, an Indigenous firm supporting Native entrepreneurs and centering "Indigenous ways of knowing" throughout New Mexico and the broader U.S., recently planted its roots at a new office in Albuquerque's Innovation District, where the firm hopes to expand and grow its broad range of work.
Founded in 2016, Roanhorse Consulting previously had an office within the Simms Building in Downtown Albuquerque. The firm left that office in August 2020, transitioning to a remote work model during the Covid-19 pandemic, and then established an executive office suite at the Verge Building in Albuquerque in April 2022.
But in early 2024, the firm went looking for a new full office location, something to "anchor" its work, founder and CEO Vanessa Roanhorse told Albuquerque Business First.
It checked out two spaces, one of which "wasn't exactly what we were looking for," Melissa Colbert-Taylor, Roanhorse Consulting's operations manager, said in an email.
So, the firm decided on a spot within the Lobo Rainforest Building, a six-story, 158,000-square-foot center in Albuquerque's Innovation District that houses a mix of University of New Mexico student housing, offices and entrepreneurship and incubator space for UNM Rainforest Innovations.
Roanhorse Consulting signed a yearly renewable lease for the new 1,676-square-foot office on March 1. Colbert-Taylor said the firm "decided to take the office the same day we toured it" and hopes to remain in the office "for several years as we grow."
Having a space within the Lobo Rainforest Building, in particular, is important because of the building's history and "connectivity," CEO Roanhorse said. The building sits on a historical trade route for Pueblos and other Tribes in New Mexico and was one of the earliest structures in Albuquerque to be connected to Internet lines, she added.
"We're an Indigenous-owned and led firm, and it is important that we have [a] location in our ecosystem," Roanhorse said. "And Rainforest's purpose as an ecosystem itself, I think having us here really solidifies what we think of when we think about ecosystem building for New Mexico and how it relates to Albuquerque."
Roanhorse and other employees of the firm said that the new physical office is also key to continued growth. One of those employees is Olivia Roanhorse, Roanhorse Consulting's chief operating officer and sister of Vanessa Roanhorse, who said the firm does a lot of project "incubation" based on needs identified by its partners.
That includes what Olivia Roanhorse called "co-creation."
"In order to do that, you need a lot of time together and with partners," Olivia Roanhorse said. "We host a lot of partner meetings with other Indigenous-led organizations.
"Having a space allows us to be like, 'Please, welcome, stop by whenever you want,'" she continued.
Some of Roanhorse Consulting's partners include New Mexico Community Capital, a nonprofit based in the Occidental Life Building in Downtown Albuquerque; Native Women Lead, an organization focused on supporting Indigenous women entrepreneurs; the New Mexico Foundation, which Roanhorse Consulting works with on the Native American Recovery Fund Zone Grant; and Nusenda Credit Union, partnering for the credit union's microloan program; among others.
The office comes with private offices for Roanhorse Consulting staff, a conference room for group meetings, a small office meeting space and a large open area, which the firm plans to fill with couches and other furniture for more collaborative meetings. It has a small kitchen area, too.
Vanessa Roanhorse said the firm plans to set up a co-working bench inside the office with electrical outlets and dividers for guests.
But the new office isn't only oriented at helping the firm grow outward. It's also a boon for current employees. Roanhorse Consulting has 12 staff and expects to increase that number, Vanessa Roanhorse said.
The firm employed three people in 2022, she added.
"That physical space means a lot," Justine Correa, senior capital strategies associate for Roanhorse Consulting, said. "It brings us together. We're able to build that camaraderie and connect and really make it feel like the space belongs to us."
The space supports the firm's creative processes, too, said Mateo Perez, Roanhorse Consulting's design and marketing manager. It's often easier to brainstorm especially more complex creative ideas collaboratively on a whiteboard, for instance, rather than relying on phone or video calls, he said.
Roanhorse Consulting's work falls into two portfolios — capital strategies, and research and evaluation. Its work under those portfolios includes flagship projects like Center Native, a digital platform built in partnership with EcoMap Technologies offering a slew of resources for Native organizations, and the Rematriating Economies Apprenticeship, an initiative through The Future is Indigenous Women to find and train Native women for positions in investment work.
That apprenticeship graduated its first 10-person cohort in December, Vanessa Roanhorse said, and The Future is Indigenous Women plans to begin a second cohort later this year with a minimum of 10 people. Applications for that second cohort could open in the summer.
Roanhorse Consulting also operates investment funds, providing capital and technical assistance to Indigenous entrepreneurs. The firm plans to launch a pair of new funds this year, with more details on the funds forthcoming.
Besides the new funds and more collaboration, growth for Roanhorse Consulting in 2024 could include expansion outside the U.S. Vanessa Roanhorse said the firm will "more than likely" have some "bigger" projects starting with partners in Canada this year, and the firm also has ongoing conversations with collaborators in other countries with growing Indigenous economies.
Back in Albuquerque, the new full office — Roanhorse Consulting's first in nearly four years — can help support more of the firm's statewide, regional, national and, soon, international work.
"This is not just a strategic move and a great move for the staff," Vanessa Roanhorse said. "It's also really about putting our fingerprints and saying Indigenous vision work and imagination should also be at the center."
