Mahrinah Shije Joins CNM Ingenuity Venture Fund as Newest Investment Committee Member
CNM is proud to announce that Mahrinah Shije has joined the Ingenuity Venture Fund as the newest Investment Committee Member and will serve alongside committee members Kyle Lee, Kevin McDonald, and Yasine Armstrong.
Formed in 2017, Ingenuity Venture Fund is a private venture capital fund based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that invests in pre-seed and seed-stage New Mexico-based startups that are leading emerging industries such as biotech, space, aerospace, software, SaaS, robotics, artificial intelligence, media, and entertainment. Its current portfolio includes Electric Playhouse, NTx Bio, and Build with Robots. CNM Ingenuity, a nonprofit economic development arm of CNM, serves as General Partner.
“We’re thrilled to bring someone of Mahrinah’s experience, network, knowledge, and energy into our investment process," said CNM Ingenuity Venture Fund Director T.J. Cook. "She’s going to add immense value both to our portfolio selection process and investment decisions and bring additional value post-investment.”
Shije began her career as an Investment Analyst with UBS and has spent two decades in high tech startups with a specialization in Web3 technologies, cybersecurity, and digital assets. She holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as well as a BA/MS in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently the Founding General Partner of Endemic Venture Capital, which focuses on Indigenous-led climate tech and the future of tribal gaming.
Shije is also a Partner at Zia Impact where she works with clients on impact strategy and tribal infrastructure development, and CEO and Board Chair of Pueblo Development Commission, an NGO in the United Nations consultative status. At the United Nations she is a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Major Working Group, the UN Counterterrorism Executive Directorate (UNCTED) and several Blockchain Commissions.
Other previous appointments include: membership on the U.S. Greenbuilding Council (having also developed over $1 billion in private sector real estate with Willmark Communities and Willmark Energy), and the All Pueblo Council of Governors' Legislative Committee. She is a Digital Assets Expert Speaker for the Indian Gaming Association, a Special Advisor to the National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp at the World Economic Forum, a 2023 Fellow at Leadership New Mexico, VC Lab in Palo Alto, Climate Vine Global Network and the Nahum Goldmann International Fellowship as well as Treasurer of Panim Hadashot in New Mexico and a steering committee member with Israel Policy Forum.
Shike is Tewa and Sefardi Jewish and married into the Pueblo of Zia. She currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.