Our leadership team

Jade Begay, Diné and Tesuque Pueblo is an Indigenous rights and climate justice organizer, impact producer, campaign and narrative strategist, and co-founder of Agency. Connector of communities and master of the long game, Jade continues to drive landmark climate legislation at a national and international scale. Jade transforms lived experiences into effective policy change—expanding the health, safety, and abundance of the communities she serves.

Jade grew up in a traditional household, one honoring the interdependence between humans and the natural world. Her upbringing instilled a great sense of pride in her Native identity, yet she rarely saw the beauty of Indigenous people portrayed in mainstream media. Pursuing film school then grad school, Jade sought to share the diverse stories of Native Peoples—stories of disenfranchisement alongside stories of strength and power.

From career onset, Jade displayed an unwillingness to back down from any adversary, challenging billion-dollar corporations while taking setbacks as delays and lessons—not losses. She drove communication strategies at Standing Rock, spearheading video journalism, short film, media personnel training, social media, and traditional communications efforts while rallying against the Dakota Access Pipeline. She advocated with and for Native communities across the Arctic, securing climate migration funding for Tribes in Alaska while fending off oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Back home in New Mexico, Jade’s grassroots organizing culminated in a 20-year moratorium on oil and gas leasing at Chaco Canyon—a battle waged for the entirety of her career.

Across print and film, Jade has uplifted grassroots narratives into unified campaigns, amplifying individual voices into international movements. In her role at the Indigenous Environmental Network, she led the Indigenous Rising platform to share Native stories across the Pacific Islands, Amazon, and the Arctic. At NDN Collective, a one-of-a-kind Indigenous movement-building and philanthropic organization, she built the Climate Justice Campaign, gathering partners across the world to shape domestic and international policies impacting Indigenous Peoples. She served as Impact Producer for Sugar Cane, a film investigating the Canadian boarding school system that abused and killed Indigenous children—winning Best Documentary at Sundance.

Jade’s unique genius lies within predicting every play required on an ever-growing chessboard, securing landmark wins years—if not decades—in the making. Upon the election of President Biden, she worked on the campaign strategy for Deb Haaland, appointing the first Indigenous woman to the U.S. Cabinet. Jade curated and co-authored Required Reading: Climate Justice, Adaption, and Investing in Indigenous Power, distributing it to every federal senior climate justice advisor within the federal government. With the right players, theologies, and strategies in place, the Inflation Reduction Act passed—the single greatest climate investment ever made by the federal government—securing long-awaited funding for Indigenous communities. Today, Jade is developing a national survey on the ways climate change impacts Native communities alongside the Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity Center.

A sought-after expert on climate justice and Indigenous rights, Jade has provided Congressional testimony and spoken at the Conference of the Parties (COPS) for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Paris Agreement, the World Leaders Summit, and TED. She was appointed by President Biden to the first ever White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), is a Grist 50 honoree, and recipient of the Native Power Building Award by IllumiNative. Jade proudly serves on the board of the Native Conservancy, Evergreen Action, Amazon Watch, and Resource Media.

Jade attended film school in Columbia College Chicago before receiving her MA in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University. While she was born, raised, and never imagines leaving land-locked New Mexico, she is a certified sailor. When not working, you might find her fermenting veggies, learning new recipes, making art with her parents or mountain biking with her dog and partner.