LIFT Economy

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Heather Fleming: Using Human-Centered Design to Serve Native Communities

Ryan Honeyman

Photo credit: Raymond Chee

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At LIFT Economy, we come across many people who are passionate about the potential for technology and human-centered design but, oftentimes, they leverage their passion and knowledge to create goods and services that meet aspirations for convenience and serve the mandates of exploitation capital while inadvertently perpetuating the injustices of our world. Today’s guest offers a refreshing departure from this narrative, channeling her gifts for design and innovation to meet the real human needs of those who have been excluded from the business-as-usual economy.

 In this episode, Kevin Bayuk speaks with Heather Fleming, Co-founder and Executive Director of Change Labs, an organization supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in the Navajo Nation. Heather’s career in design and innovation began in Silicon Valley in transition from public sector innovation with Catapult Design, a product and service design firm with expertise in human-centered design for marginalized communities, which she founded in 2008 and led for a decade.

 She remains Principle at Catapult, partnering with organizations and social entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions that address technology and social issues from water purification  and rural electrification to transport, food security, and improved health. Tuning in, you’ll learn about the depth of the challenges that Native communities face when it comes to small business enterprise and true economic development and how Change Labs seeks to address those challenges through their comprehensive programming. Join us today!

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Key Points From This Episode:

  • More on the path that led Heather to the human-centered design work she does today.

  • The challenges of true economic development for small business enterprises in Native lands.

  • The deep negativity and mistrust stemming from colonialism that impacts the business lexicon in Indigenous communities.

  • What gives Heather hope, including collaborative efforts between Native entrepreneurs.

  • What an economy that works for all looks like; character-based, community micro-lending.

  • Some of the programs Change Labs offers, from business incubation to coworking space.

  • The importance of acknowledging activity in the “informal economy” and the role it plays.

  • Heather on the operational DNA of Change Labs and how they leverage human-centered design to serve marginalized communities.

  • Emerging projects and ecosystems to watch and how listeners can support them.

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Tweetables:

“To really address the problems with the way economies are structured in Native lands requires a dedicated institution, a resource. Shockingly, [we] don’t have those resources and institutions for Native communities. To my knowledge, Change Labs is one of the first.” — @heatherfleming

“We’re still at the very beginning of understanding: what does the Native economy look like? What does success look like for Native communities? How do Native entrepreneurs define wealth?” — @heatherfleming

“The most important role that the [Change Labs] coworking space plays is purely in its ability to facilitate peer networking.” — @heatherfleming

“The Navajo Nation has been allocated $2 billion in ARPA funds. We would like to see a chunk of that money go towards not just economic development in terms of money going to tribal enterprises and casinos but [also to] the small business community.” — @heatherfleming

“The ultimate goal of a lot of this [work] is self-reliance and self-sustainability. The whole point is to decrease our reliance on outside actors and outside players. If you see an organization and you’re not quite sure, check who’s running it. Check who the board members are.” — @heatherfleming

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

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LIFT Economy Newsletter

 Join 7000+ subscribers and get our free 60 point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

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Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

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