Tahta Ahtone
Founder and Owner
JackRabbit Development LLC
Speaker: Tribal Land Development's New Era: What to Know and How to Engage
Tahda Ahtone is an attorney and founder and majority owner of JackRabbit Development LLC, a sustainable design company specializing in projects in Native communities. Herself a member of the Navajo Nation, she formed the firm after experiencing first-hand its lack of electricity and water in housing, and less than quality work performed at high prices. Bringing her passion for housing and economic development into a company has helped tribal communities take their own ideas and make them a reality.
JackRabbit has been involved in starting design of a sustainable campus for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program, hotel additions with a water park, convenience store, workforce development facilities and housing. The firm also is working on a daycare, shopping center, and a tribal administration building, as well as some high end sustainable housing. JackRabbit formed another company last year to begin manufacturing sustainable building materials, and it also helps communities locate funding and resources. Tahda also owns a law firm and continues to practice law, using her experience as a business owner to help clients start their own businesses and nonprofits.