Pamela Boivin, chairwoman of the Wisconsin Indigenous Economic Development Corporation (WIEDC), recently announced the hiring of Jennifer L. Peters as chief executive officer of the organization.
“Jennifer’s diverse background, skills and experience were the perfect fit for our organization,” Boivin said. “Her dedication and accomplishments at the Wolf River Development Corporation, as well as her leadership at the Menominee Tribal Enterprises, are key to our organization as we move forward in our mission to building financial sovereignty for Wisconsin’s tribal enterprises and communities, individuals, families and Native-owned businesses.”
Peters obtained her Masters of Business Administration in 2013, and she has served as an associate administrator for the College of Menominee Nation. She held leadership positions with the Menominee Casino Resort and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. She served as the general manager for the Wolf River Development Company and Menominee Tribal Enterprises. Prior to joining the WIEDC, Peters was president at Menominee Tribal Enterprises.
“The most enjoyable time in my career has been working in the economic and business development area,” Peters said. “We created and developed new businesses and services for the Menominee tribe and the membership; we brought new revenue streams to the tribe. This was very satisfying — knowing that we were helping our community. That led me to my interest in working with WIEDC. We are now looking at economic development from a new view, still allowing us to help not only the Menominee community but all of Wisconsin’s Tribal communities.”
Peters added her goals in building the WIEDC are to identify contact with each of the Wisconsin tribes to see how the WIEDC can work with them.
“Our goal is to bring Native business hubs to each tribal community to leverage and multiply the resources and services needed to advance tribal businesses, communities and economic development by assisting individual tribal member consumers and homeowners, as well as through the growth and diversification of Native businesses and tribal entities,” Peters said.
Peters has been married to her husband, Karl, for 22 years. They have three children and one grandchild.
WIEDC, formerly known as the Wisconsin Indian Business Alliance, is a coalition of nonprofit organizations with a mission to expand Native economic development by building the financial sovereignty of Native individuals, families, Native-owned businesses and communities in Wisconsin.
Peters named CEO for Indigenous alliance
