Sarah EchoHawk is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing Indigenous people and communities in the United States through strategic leadership in the nonprofit sector, education, economic development, and philanthropy.
As President of AISES since 2013, Sarah leads the premier organization dedicated to advancing Indigenous people in STEM fields. Under her leadership, AISES has grown eightfold from a $2.5 million annual budget to a peak of more than $21 million, has awarded over $11 million in scholarships to Indigenous STEM students, and has built strategic partnerships with federal agencies and corporations across all sectors, particularly in aerospace, technology, and natural resources, who recognize AISES as the key connection to Indigenous STEM talent. AISES received a $6 million unrestricted gift from MacKenzie Scott / Yield Giving in 2024, recognizing the organization as among the highest-trust nonprofits in its field.
Sarah’s leadership has produced several signature initiatives. In 2015, AISES joined as one of the founding organizations of the 50K Coalition with the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers, an alliance that grew to more than 60 partner organizations and exceeded its goal of 50,000 underrepresented minority and women engineering graduates per year in 2023, two years ahead of target. In 2024, AISES closed a $2 million anchor investment from Google to launch AUNTIE Tech Collective, a multi-generational program advancing Indigenous women and girls in tech across PK-12, post-secondary, and professional life. And after a decade of work that began with a 2016 conversation with Canadian AISES members at the National Conference in Minneapolis, she led the cross-border transition to launch a new entity, AISES Canada. The AISES Canada National Gathering has convened annually since 2020 (University of Saskatchewan), with subsequent gatherings in Vancouver (2023, 2024), Toronto (2026), and Winnipeg confirmed for February 2027.
She has extensive knowledge of the national Native nonprofit landscape. As Executive Vice President (2007 to 2013) at First Nations Development Institute, one of the largest regranters in Indian Country, she redesigned the grantmaking model and helped to rebuild the organization during her tenure. She served as Interim CEO of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a Native Community Development Financial Institution, during its 2010 management transition. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at the American Indian College Fund in operations, program management, communications, foundation relations, and individual giving.
Sarah’s philanthropic and policy work extends to her board service. She currently serves as a Trustee of Digital Promise (the U.S. congressionally authorized national education nonprofit operating in 27 countries), Trustee and Impact Committee Member of the Colorado Health Foundation, Independent Trustee of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Endowment Trust, Vice Chair of PFLAG National, and on the advisory boards/boards of the American Indian Policy Institute, Last Mile Education Fund, National Girls Collaborative, and Native Ways Federation. She has served as PI/Co-PI on multiple National Science Foundation grants. Sarah is the former Vice Chair of Native Americans in Philanthropy and former Chair of Red Feather Development Group.
Beyond her organizational leadership, an intense interest in federal Indian law and policy has been central to Sarah’s work throughout her career. This interest was shaped early on, as her father, John EchoHawk, co-founded the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in 1970 and still leads the organization today. Sarah attended the University of Colorado Law School for a year before pursuing a Master of Nonprofit Management and a career in the national nonprofit sector on behalf of Indigenous people. Over nine years as an adjunct professor at Metro State University of Denver, she taught Native American Politics and Introduction to Native American Studies, and co-taught Federal Indian Law alongside her father.
Sarah is a contributing writer to Invisible No More: Voices from Native America (Island Press, 2023) and a contributing author to Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2022). She received the 2026 NEA Foundation Equity Partner Award (accepted on behalf of AISES), the 2022 GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award for Leadership and Equity, and the 2022 Native Asset-Building Trailblazer recognition at the Prosperity Now Summit. From 2014 to 2017, she served as an Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Minorities in Energy Initiative.
Sarah earned her Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Native American Studies from Metro State University of Denver, along with graduate coursework in applied communications at the University of Denver