MWT CDC Mission Statement

Organized to engage in activities that will promote the social welfare, economic security and community development of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and its enrolled citizens that will enable the Tribe to be self-sufficient and to provide economic support for its tribal citizens.

MWT CDC Vision Statement

It is our vision to develop a successful, native enterprise that will own and operate a portfolio of sustainable businesses that tackle the most pressing issues - low income, high unemployment and lack of affordable housing – that citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe have struggled with for generations.

MWT CDC Values

Our work is grounded in four core values: Equity, Sustainability, Traditional Knowledge, and Diverse Economy

EQUITY
All Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal citizens deserve access to affordable housing, well-paying jobs, and a economic engine that values their heritage, customs and beliefs.

SUSTAINABILITY
We envision a strong, resilient native economy characterized by healthy homes, clean water and successful business enterprises that serve the needs of the market and the environment.

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
For generations upon generations the citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe have thrived in this area. They understand the environment and the community and are our best asset for developing a vibrant, native economy.

DIVERSE ECONOMY
The talent and knowledge within the community varies widely and we believe a native economy should have inclusive pathways to prosperity with a variety of opportunities for citizens to secure their livelihood.

Talia Landry grew up in Mashpee and graduated Mashpee High School in 2010. At 16 years old, She represented the tribe as the Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow Princess in 2008. She continued her education to Quinnipiac University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a focus on Broadcast Journalism and a minor in General Business in 2014. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

After Graduation, Talia took on different roles for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, starting in the Historic Preservation Department to then the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chair. She recently left her position as Productions Manager for the nationally recognized local Access Television station, MashpeeTV to return back to Tribal operations as a grant manager in the Education Department. She owns a small video production business, T Moon Productions LLC, specializing in short videos highlighting culture, history, marketing, outreach, video event coverage and indigenous consultation.

Talia brings a youth perspective, as well as, her education and experience to the CDC board in order to help further the tribes economic development. She has been on the board since 2017.

Contact Talia at TaliaMWCDC@protonmail.com

Nelson believes that it is vital for a tribal nation to be self-sufficient toward all incidents that may impact their community. Nelson serves on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council and holds one of the two available seats on the board for Council Members.

Nelson has worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a Logistics Section Chief during the Springfield, MA tornado disaster and has served in the capacity of a community relations team leader during Hurricane Katrina. Nelson was the first on the ground during Hurricane Sandy response and in charge of setting up disaster recovery centers in the initial response days. He was hired onto the FEMA National Incident Management Assistance Team as the support branch director and participated in the Nation’s highest level EM capstone exercise. He was deployed to over 20 presidential declared disasters during his tenure with the agency.

After working for over a decade with FEMA, Nelson moved onto establishing an emergency management department for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. With a lot of planning and determination he has established a department with a budget capacity to over one million dollars and equipment obtained valuing over five hundred thousand dollars. In addition to obtaining funding he has been instrumental in writing the departments plans, conducting trainings, exercises, establishing mutual aid and applying for and managing numerous grants for his tribe.

Nelson has established a community emergency response team, a tribal task force, a small un-manned aircraft program, and is building the first Tribal Disaster Service AmeriCorps program on the eastern half of U.S. He is a member of the county incident management team, the DOE nuclear energy tribal working group and various federal, state and local committees. Nelson has assisted in each of the DHS Center for Domestic Preparedness tribal training week focus groups.

Nelson manages the wind and solar feasibility study grant programs for his tribe and is working toward helping to build a tribal utility corporation for economic sustainability. He is also a board member on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes Community Development Corporation.

Nelson is a certified community emergency response team instructor, red-cross instructor and is a graduate of the DHS FEMA emergency management institutes national advanced academy as the fourth tribal nation representative accepted. Nelson is also a graduate of FEMA’s National Incident Management Team academy and has over twelve years of emergency management experience and training.

Contact Nelson at NelsonMWCDC@protonmail.com

Vanessa Lopes, Treasurer

Vanessa Lopes is the daughter of David Gray and the granddaughter of Lora Andrews-Frye. Vanessa graduated from Bourne High School and went onto graduate from Bryant University in 2006 with a major in accounting. After graduation, she started working in the public accounting sector out of Westborough, MA where she also worked towards receiving her Master’s in Business Administration from UMASS Amherst and obtained her Certified Public Accountant license. 

Vanessa moved back to Bourne in early 2007 and currently has over 15 years’ experience in business entity taxes, financial reporting and analysis, financial statement auditing (specifically nonprofit organizations), and business consulting. She’s also a minority owner of a mid-sized CPA firm in Weymouth, MA.

Contact Vanessa at VanessaMWCDC@protonmail.com

Vanessa moved back to Bourne in early 2007 and currently has over 15 years’ experience in business entity taxes, financial reporting and analysis, financial statement auditing (specifically nonprofit organizations), and business consulting. She’s also a minority owner of a mid-sized CPA firm in Weymouth, MA.

Contact Vanessa at VanessaMWCDC@protonmail.com

Selena Hendricks, Secretary

Selena Hendricks has a background in Computer Science. She has completed her MBA and Master of Science from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Selena has served on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Council, and several Tribal committees. She currently works as a Senior Project Manager for a large renowned technology company for their Healthcare Cloud Division.  

Contact Selena at SelenaMWCDC@protonmail.com

Robert Kyle Basset, Director

 Kyle Bassett from Carver, Mass. retired from Dept of Correction after serving 20 years as a Correction Officer. He opened his first business in 1995, BKB Odd Jobs. In 2008 he began operating Valiant Security and Investigations. 2013 he opened Carver Martial Arts where he is an instructor. 2020 is when he began operating Deep Clean Virus control spraying.

Contact Kyle at RKBassettMWCDC@protonmail.com

Edwina Johnson-Graham, Shareholder Representative

Winnie has been serving on Tribal Council for 12 years and holds one of the two available director seats for Tribal Council members. She is highly active in the tribal and local community. She serves on numerous boards and committees currently she serves on; and chair of the The Indian Education Committee Mashpee Public Schools, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition Board, Commonwealth Health and Human Services Regional Board Member, Department of Transitional Assistance Advisory Board Member/Secretary, Vice Chair of Town of Mashpee Inclusion and Diversity Committee, MWT Tribal Action Plan (TAP) Committee, WLRP Language Committee, Liaison to: Tribal Court, ICWA/CFS, Pow Wow Committee, Youth Advisory Committee and University of Rhode Island (URI) STEEP 11, and chair of the The Indian Education Committee Mashpee Public Schools.

Contact Winnie at Edwina.Graham@mwtribe-nsn.gov

Seth Pocknett, Director