NIGA Trade Show 2021

Mahrinah Shije
Partner
Zia Impact


Mahrinah Shije has nearly two decades of experience in Global Development, High Tech Startups, Innovative Philanthropy, and Multi-Lateral Diplomacy. A Serial Entrepreneur herself, she has been in the digital startup space since the early 2000s built, mentored and advised hundreds of startups across the globe. As an early investor in Bitcoin, she has worked at the frontiers of adoption. While Director of Innovation for Sears Holdings in 2013 she worked to implement crypto across their portfolio and has since worked with evolving models from a Draper-backed venture in tokenized code to cell phone minutes as digital fiat. She has also developed nearly $1B in sustainable real estate and biofuels, and was the first woman of color in the US to have founded a technology incubator/accelerator. Mahrinah has received numerous global awards and fellowships, with her work having been featured in both domestic and international outlets such as Forbes, Associated Press, Bloomberg and more. She received her education from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business. She is currently Partner at Zia Impact, through which she works with clients on impact strategy and tribal and sustainable economic development and CEO and Board Chair of Pueblo Development Commission, an NGO in United Nations consultative status. She is Tewa (Poh’wogeh Owingeh) and Sephardic and married into the Pueblo of Zia. She lives and works in New York and New Mexico. Mahrinah is an impassioned advocate for Indigenous rights, leadership and visibility.

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