It was 2015 when Chéri Smith first witnessed Native families facing discriminatory energy rates and unlawful shutoffs, bearing the burden of the nation’s highest energy costs — compounded by the reality that many Native families in the U.S. still lack electricity. For Chéri, a clean energy veteran and descendant of the Mi’kmaq Tribe, these conditions reflected the ongoing impacts of colonization and exploitative energy systems that continue to drive energy poverty in Native communities. Drawing on 25+ years of experience in clean energy, she left her senior role at Tesla to found what is now the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, an Indigenous-led nonprofit that supports Tribal Nations in their self-determined pursuit of energy sovereignty.

She established the Indigenous Power and Light Fund for Energy Sovereignty — a collaborative giving fund that supports critical Tribal clean energy projects. As of June 2026, the Fund has catalyzed more than $600 million in total project financing, with the potential to offset 222 million pounds of CO₂ annually. The IPLF deploys emergency clean energy grants and no-to-low-interest loans to Tribes and Alaska Native Villages where strategic projects can dramatically improve quality of life and sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

Chéri is a Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree and proudly serves on the Harvard University Extension School Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee of Climate United, and the board of Atutu. She is an MIT Solver, Indigenous Communities Fellow, and Climate Leader trained by Al Gore. She received the GM Prize for Social Entrepreneurship and was an Elevate Prize finalist. C