Robert Lilligren

Robert became President and CEO of the Native America Community Development Institute (NACDI) in May of 2016, after serving as the chair of the organization’s board of directors since its founding in 2007. Robert is enrolled in the White Earth Ojibwe Nation. He served for 12 years as the Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council, the first Tribal member elected to public office in the City of Minneapolis. 

In his professional, political and activist work, Robert emphasizes empowering historically disenfranchised people. Robert lives the asset-based community development vision of NACDI. He sees true community development as building individuals’ capacity. Robert was appointed to the Metropolitan Council in March of 2019 and is the past Chair of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID), a regional leadership forum comprised of the executives of some three dozen Native organizations. Robert has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.