Subject Matter Expert

A fifth-generation Irish-Minnesotan, Nora Murphy is an accomplished author, planner, resource development expert, and teacher. With over 30 years of experience, Murphy began working in the American Indian community in Minneapolis in 1995 where she was trained by a Lakota elder who encouraged her to partner in community by listening and honoring the vision of the people. Murphy has helped non-profits and tribal communities develop comprehensive strategic plans and secure at least $100 million in grants to implement diverse asset-based projects—from a ten-acre farm that transmits Native seed-keeping traditions, to ‘two-gen’ housing for low-income single mothers in Texas and North Dakota. Most recently, Murphy served as the Tribal Planner/Grant Writer for the Lower Sioux Indian Community for five years where she worked to leverage the strengths of the Nation and co-design future-facing resources, including the first Dakota immersion Early/Head Start in Minnesota, an intergenerational arts incubator, a pilot hemp housing project, and community-based workforce development partnerships.