Great Plains Housing Initiative Names Executive Director and Expands Team with Key Hires
June 11, 2025Desmond Bruguier, James “JC” Crawford, and Amanda Standing Bear Join Native-led Effort to Advance Affordable Housing Across the Great Plains, Moving Initiative from Vision to Implementation
[Westport, SD. 06/11/2025] — The Great Plains Housing Initiative (GPHI) announces three key hires that will shape the organization’s vision and drive its mission across the region. Founded by the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition (SDNHOC) in 2024, GPHI is a Native-led social enterprise whose mission is to increase housing opportunities for Native people through innovative and sustainable development and financing strategies.
Desmond Bruguier (Assiniboine/Sioux/Gros Ventre) is the newly appointed Executive Director. Bruguier, an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and a U.S. Navy veteran, brings years of experience in project finance, energy development, and economic strategy for Tribes and Tribal organizations. His leadership at GPHI reflects a deep personal and professional commitment to expanding affordable housing access as a pathway to community well-being and economic equity.
“Growing up on the reservation, I experienced how housing disparities limit opportunity,” said Bruguier. “I’m driven by a vision of Native self-determination, where we all have the financial knowledge, business acumen, and access to resources required to thrive. I’m honored to lead this work and collaborate with others advancing bold, practical, and community-rooted housing solutions.”
Bruguier holds a BBA in Finance from CUNY Baruch and an MBA from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Amanda Standing Bear, and James “JC” Crawford, join Bruguier on the GPHI team.
James “JC” Crawford is a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. He serves as GPHI’s Director of Business Development. Previously a partner at CBJ Producers, LLC, a consulting firm that works with Tribal Housing Authorities, Crawford brings an extensive track record of hands-on leadership. His past roles include serving as an elected Tribal Chairman and Executive Director of a Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE) and participating on boards across several housing and community development initiatives. Crawford has long championed solutions-oriented housing development within Tribal communities. At GPHI, he leads project development and community engagement, working closely with Tribal partners to bring housing projects from concept to completion.
An enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and advocate for housing justice in Indian Country, Amanda Standing Bear, Operations Manager, brings significant experience with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Most recently, she served as a business advisor for Black Hills Community Loan Fund, where she supported financial empowerment and lending access in the He Sapa [Black Hills] region. She also worked as an education and housing specialist at Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial, a Native CDFI on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. Standing Bear is responsible for building GPHI’s internal systems, strengthening partnerships, and implementing strategies that support GPHI’s mission and vision.
These key hires signal GPHI’s shift from vision to implementation following its launch in 2024 as a wholly owned subsidiary of SDNHOC. GPHI was created to meet the critical need for more affordable housing, sustainable homeownership pathways, and flexible mortgage capital in Native communities across the Great Plains region and beyond. “GPHI’s launch and these appointments are important milestones in our movement to close the housing gap in Native communities,” said Sharon Vogel, Chair of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and Executive Director of Cheyenne River Housing Authority. “Desmond, Amanda, and JC bring the lived experience, cultural grounding, and professional expertise this work demands. Their leadership will accelerate scalable, community-centered affordable housing solutions.”
GPHI offers a full range of services to advance housing and community development, including pre-development planning, facilitating access to financing, managing projects, and restoring abandoned housing to active use.
The organization also recently launched the Native Impact Fund (NIF). A first-of-its-kind program, NIF aims to increase access to housing capital in Native communities by purchasing portfolio loans from community lenders, including Native CDFIs. By channeling new capital into Native communities, NIF supports the efforts of local lenders to foster economic resilience and self-determination in the communities they serve.
For more information about the Great Plains Housing Initiative and the Native Impact Fund, contact Desmond Bruguier at [email protected] or (516) 605-7136.