Rebecca Adamson

Rebecca Adamson is former director, former president, and founder of First Nations Development Institute and the founder of First Peoples Worldwide. Since 1970, she has worked directly with grassroots tribal communities, and nationally as an advocate of local tribal issues. Ms. Adamson has served on the boards of a number of economic development organizations, corporations, and the Council on Foundations. She holds an M.S. in economic development from Southern New Hampshire University (formerly New Hampshire), in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she also teaches a graduate course on Indigenous Economics within the Community Economic Development Program. Ms. Adamson was the 2001 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award, the 1996 recipient of the Council on Foundations Robert W. Scrivner Award for creative and innovative grantmaking, and the 1996 recipient of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Jay Silverheels Award.