Daniel Colten Schmidt
Finance & Development Director
Daniel (he/him) writes grants and speaks with philanthropists and investors; while also striving to protect the neighborhood from predatory financial interests.
He was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, just 500 miles south on the Mississippi– or what he considers the heart of the North American continent: where the Cahokia mounds rise, and the Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers reach the mighty Mississippi.
He studied Ecological Economics at Hampshire College in Massachusetts.
As he got involved with the EPNI movement in the winter of 2022, he began to realize how colonialism has seeped into the physical infrastructures and the psychic landscapes of our society. He started seeing the Roof Depot as a pressure point for a wholesale paradigm shift. His adventures with EPNI have brought him to learn about the viability of alternative economies and the necessity of reparations. He feels honored every day to help build this new and real attempt at equity.