Chrysalis Luncheon

Natividad (Nati) Cano, LISAC, ADS is a Mexican Indigenous woman and has been working in the substance abuse field since 1989. She has been at The Haven since 2007 and functioned as the coordinator/counselor for the Native Ways Program until July of 2023 when she became the cultural educator for special populations. 

Nati previously lived and worked for eight years on the border of Arizona and Northern Mexico working for Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services (SEABHS) in Douglas and Bisbee. Prior to that, she spent five years with Gateway Foundation Services (GFS) working in a state prison setting with Native and Spanish-speaking women, and ten years in a private practice with her late husband working with under-served Spanish-speaking and Native populations. 

Nati is active in the community, collaborating with other agencies to promote culturally appropriate, gender-specific and age-specific programs. She is on the Board of Wings for Women whose mission is to empower women to break the cycle of hopelessness and lead healthy and productive lives, and a member of the Red Road to Wellbriety Celebration Committee that promotes and celebrates wellness and sobriety in Indian Country. She is on the board of Wichoyanke Network, made of up indigenous leaders from both the community and the criminal justice system who have lived experience implementing strategies to assist Indigenous communities to overcome the traumas and effects of racial disparities within the criminal justice system.