Welcome to ONABEN

ONABEN Welcomes New Staff Member

Portland, OR - The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN) is pleased to announce a new addition to its business development team.  Veronica Hix, former Entrepreneur Development Manager for the Cherokee Nation, will work as ONABEN’s Entrepreneurial Services and Marketing Manager.

ONABEN provides curriculum, training and organizational consulting focused on developing entrepreneurship in Indian communities. Founded in 1991 by four Oregon Indian Tribes, ONABEN serves Indian business development organizations and entrepreneurs in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest and now nationally. The group is driven by a mission to assist Native Americans build assets by realizing the dream of owning their own business. The organization believes that the experience that Hix brings to the group will help ONABEN realize its expansion plans.

“Veronica brings an incredible array of skills and experiences to ONABEN. Her background as an entrepreneur, teacher, lender, and manager of Native community development organizations makes her a perfect fit. We have had the pleasure of working with Veronica as a colleague in teaching our Indianpreneurship curriculum. Now she will be a crucial part of our services and marketing team,” said Tom Hampson, ONABEN Executive Director.

Hix understands and embraces the same ideals as the Portland based organization and believes her experience in entrepreneurial development and program management will be a benefit to her new employer.

“I am very excited to be a member of the ONABEN team. I have been an avid fan of the Indianpreneurship curriculum and am pleased to promote a product, service and organization that I believe in.”

In Hix’s previous role for the Cherokee Nation, she developed the communication methods used to market the tribe’s Commerce Department and developed training and technical assistance programs for aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners. Under Hix’s management of the tribe’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Veronica assisted in providing more than $1 million dollars annually to Native Americans interested in realizing the dream of owning their own business in the 14-county jurisdictional area of the Cherokee Nation, a success that celebrated in creating or retaining more than 100 jobs throughout Indian Country on an annual basis.  An advocate for the growth of Native American business, Hix also planned and implemented events to help spur the growth of small businesses for the tribe.

Hix says that the transition into her new role with ONABEN will be an easy one.

“My current responsibilities for ONABEN are so similar to the work I did for my own tribe that it will be like slipping into an old pair of shoes. Both organizations are dedicated to assisting Indian-owned businesses create a greater presence in the business community and both are committed to meeting the needs of the communities they represent. The only real difference is, and perhaps the most exciting to me, that is that ONABEN performs these initiatives on a larger, national scale,” includes Hix.

The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network is pleased to welcome Veronica aboard and invites all to Trading at the River, from April 19-20, in Portland, Oregon. For event information, or to register, contact Francene Ambrose by email at francene @onaben.org, or by phone at (800) 854-8289.

###