MuralNet | About

About MuralNet

Our Vision & Mission

We envision a world where every Tribal community has access to broadband internet—supporting their education, health, and economic future on their own terms.

MuralNet works with Native communities to design, build and implement sustainable tribal networks.

Our Story

MuralNet was founded by Martin Casado and Brian Shih in 2017 to bring high-speed Internet to the homes of students on tribal lands and bridge the digital divide.

MuralNet has worked with dozens of Tribal nations since our first project helping to build a network in the Village of Supai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

MuralNet partners with government agencies, Silicon Valley, middle-mile providers, ISPs, colleges and universities to provide Tribes with access to equipment and in-house network planning, labor, technical support, policy specialists and lawyers.

THEORY OF CHANGE

OUR People

Mariel Triggs

Chief Executive Officer

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Mariel Triggs is the CEO of MuralNet, an organization dedicated to providing broadband internet access to Tribal communities. Under her leadership, MuralNet focuses on coordinating deployments, forming partnerships, and spearheading educational efforts. Triggs' involvement in the organization encompasses various stages of the network-building process, including applying for licenses, funding, and network deployment and optimization.

Triggs, an engineer, educator, and researcher, is passionate about enhancing STEM education and internet accessibility. She holds engineering degrees from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Education from Stanford. Her advocacy includes testifying before Congress on spectrum policy, technical and policy conference presentations and Tribal workshops highlighting the crucial need for internet access in education and Tribal community empowerment

Gabriel Gomez

Program Manager:
2.5 GHz Buildout Compliance

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Gabriel Gomez is a seasoned business leader with expertise in operations management, project execution, and strategic planning across industries such as construction, broadband technology, and crypto operations. Currently serving as Chief Operations Officer at Indexx and President at InfraOps, Gabriel specializes in optimizing organizational processes, securing funding for large-scale initiatives, and driving innovation to meet market demands. His career highlights include spearheading broadband expansion projects for tribal communities, co-founding a tech startup with rapid revenue growth, and managing multimillion-dollar construction projects with efficiency and precision. Gabriel's success stems from his ability to align business strategies with operational excellence, ensuring impactful and sustainable results.

Kate Norem

Program Manager:
Tribal Library E-Rate Specialist

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Kate Norem is an accomplished professional with over 28 years of experience across media, entertainment, broadband technology, and Tribal government sectors. As the Principal of Middle 51, LLC, she has demonstrated entrepreneurial success and expertise in project management, strategic planning, financial oversight, and stakeholder engagement. Her career highlights include senior leadership roles at iHeartMedia, TOURtech, and ITDRC.

At MuralNet, Kate leads the Tribal Library Project, spearheading efforts to establish and certify public Tribal libraries while securing E-Rate funding to enhance broadband access for underserved communities. In addition to managing this initiative, she collaborates on multiple broadband projects with Native communities, coordinates timelines and resources, and ensures successful implementation and sustainability. Kate also supports the organization through bookkeeping, strategic planning and reporting. Her dedication to advancing broadband initiatives and empowering Tribal communities underscores her vital role in MuralNet’s mission to bridge the digital divide.

Jose Whiteshirt Matanane

Tribal Telecommunications
Start-up Advisor

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Jose Matanane has 30 plus years of Tribal telecommunication experience. His seasoned firsthand management experience has a proven positive impact for Tribal startup companies. He has provided the structure and knowledge within tribally owned telecom companies to succeed and propel telecommunication on Tribal lands directly impacting its people. After serving as President on the boards of Arizona/New Mexico Telecom (ANMTA), and the National Tribal Telecommunications Association (NTTA) Jose understands the importance of serving the advocacy needs of Tribal people as it relates to unserved and underserved Tribal areas. Jose is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe in Oklahoma.

Leslie Hardwick

Tribal Telecommunications
Operations Advisor

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Leslie Hardwick is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. She has 15 years of experience in Telecom Billing and ISP Office Management, working with two tribal companies. Her previous experience includes managing and operating a full-power non-commercial FM radio station for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, creating digital audio and video content for a social media sharing site called Rezkast, managing an ANA grant for community-based access to technology, administering a tribal language ANA grant, and serving as the co-chair of a grassroots organization under the University of Idaho. She is completing her education in Business Leadership and Digital Marketing and will soon start her own business.

Her passion is serving people, applying her skills wherever they are needed. She loves spending time with her husband and children, being outdoors and riding ATVs, traveling and making many awesome memories with her loved ones. She and her husband share eight children and two grandsons who are the light of their lives.

Martin Casado

Board Member, Founder / CFO

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Martin Casado is involved in most aspects of Mural, focusing on funding, relationships, technology and deployments. Martin is an entrepreneur, investor and technologist. He was deeply involved in the development of software defined networking both as a researcher and later as a technologist when he co-founded Nicira Networks which was acquired by VMWare in 2012. He is currently a GP at Andreessen Horowitz. He grew up in Flagstaff Arizona, near Four Corners, and has a deep affinity for the region.

Martin earned his bachelors degree from Northern Arizona University and a masters and PhD in computer science from Stanford where he studied computer networking.

Danielle Forward

Board Member, Head of Design

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Danielle Forward is Head of Design at MuralNet, guiding the team towards a community-focused, human-centered approach to solving gaps in the ecosystem for connectivity in Native American communities. After 10 years of working to pay her own way through college, she graduated as valedictorian with her BFA in Interaction Design from California College of the Arts and now works at Facebook as a Product Designer. As a Native American of Pomo heritage, she learned early on how structural inequity impacts livelihood and access to opportunity for marginalized groups, and dedicated her college thesis and life's work to economic empowerment for Native American communities through tech and design. She founded Natives Rising, a community that highlights Native American role models in tech, offers career guidance, networking, and mentorship connections between Native tech professionals and students.