Maria Cherry Omírelekún Rangel (she/they) is an Indigenous cultural strategist, resource organizer, and racial justice coach from lands colonially known as Mexico and Morocco. With over 15 years of experience in resource organizing, transforming philanthropy, and a solid track record of guiding organizations of color to grow and scale, she currently serves as Director of Advancement for NDN Collective, where she works to resource the future of Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. As a resource organizer, Cherry’s advocacy has ensured that tens of millions of dollars have been redirected to Southerners, BIPOC communities, and TGNC and queer communities. With Ron Ragin, she co-authored Freedom Maps: Activating Legacies of Culture, Art, and Organizing in the US South which was instrumental in guiding philanthropy to resource Southern cultural work. Cherry was a 2019 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow and serves on the boards of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (Board Treasurer), LOUD: the New Orleans queer and trans youth theater, and the Weavers Project.
Ever the proponent of the links between healing justice, liberation, ceremony, cultural remembering, and world building, she is an initiated priest of Yemayá in the Lukumí tradition, and is a water protector and movement healer.
