Fern Orie

Oneida

fern@oweesta.org

Fern Orie is the Chief Programs Officer and Executive Vice President of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships. She recently served as the founding CEO of the Wisconsin Native Loan Fund, a statewide housing Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Fern is the Chair of the Wisconsin Indian Business Alliance since inception and the Vice Chair of the national Native CDFI Network.

She serves on the Board of Directors and Loan Committee of Bay Bank, a tribally owned bank, and serves on the Forward Community Investments New Markets Tax Credit Advisory Board. She was appointed by the Governor to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee, and the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability. She also serves on the Wisconsin Economic Development Association Board of Directors.

Fern serves on the Program Advisory Committee for the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College and also the Community Advisory Committee for Associated Bank.

She has worked in the Native housing and community development industry for 20 years and holds a B.A. in Business Administration and is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) through the National Development Council. She is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.