Nancy Petersen

Nancy Petersen serves as Associate Director of the Agnese Nelms Haury Program at the University of Arizona, an endowed program that operates as an embedded philanthropy within the university. She joined the Haury Program in 2015 following a 25-year career as a geologist, hydrologist, and environmental leader.

Nancy helped shape the Haury Program's mission and approach and has stewarded more than $22 million in philanthropic investments supporting partnerships among universities, communities, and Tribal Nations. She has worked closely with Tribal leaders, Native scholars, community partners, and university leadership to build relationships grounded in trust, reciprocity, and long-term commitment.

Through the program's Graduate Research Awards, Nancy has helped support more than 43 student scholars advancing Indigenous resilience through community-engaged research. She also helped launch a Native coding education initiative that has grown into a statewide coalition exploring culturally relevant approaches to technology and artificial intelligence, and has supported opportunities for university students to learn alongside Tribal communities.

Over the past decade, Nancy has helped guide the Haury Program's evolution from a traditional philanthropic model toward one shaped by Tribal priorities, trust-based partnership, shared learning, and long-term relationships. Her work focuses on convening partners, strengthening capacity, sharing knowledge, and expanding opportunities that support Tribal self-determination.

As a member of Native Americans in Philanthropy since 2024, Nancy advocates for increased investment in Native-led organizations and for philanthropic practices that strengthen respectful, reciprocal partnerships with Tribal Nations.