Kate Finn

Kate R. Finn is Executive Director of First Peoples Worldwide. Her expertise concerns articulating how the impacts of development in Indigenous communities must be addressed at all levels of business and investment in order to strengthen Native economies and communities for generations. Prior to her directorship, Ms. Finn served as Staff Attorney for First Peoples. Ms. Finn holds a J.D. and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado, and a B.A. from Princeton University. Ms. Finn served as the inaugural American Indian Law Program Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School where she worked directly with Native American tribes and Indigenous Peoples globally.

Ms. Finn's areas of focus and research expertise include Indigenous Peoples law and policy, federal Indian law, preventing violence against women, victim services, and business and human rights. She has co-authored several articles on the intersection of resource development and violence against women in Native communities. At First Peoples Worldwide, Ms. Finn leads the organization to deploy the tools and strategies of shareholder advocacy to ensure corporate accountability to the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Finn served as a Program Coordinator with the Denver Victim Services Network, ensuring that victims of crime in the Denver metro area had access to a comprehensive network of services to support their safety, health and wellbeing. She worked on the local level to connect service agencies, and also advocated at the federal level for adequate protections of victims of crime. Ms. Finn was instrumental in the passage of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2011, which provides services to Peace Corps volunteers who become victims of crime while abroad.

Ms. Finn is an enrolled member of the Osage Nation. She is a board member of Unified Solutions Tribal Community Development Group and of First Nations Community Financial.

Sub-specialties: Indigenous Peoples rights, human rights, economic and environmental justice, women's rights, racial justice