Mason
Grimshaw
AI Engineer at Ode Partners.
VP of IndigiGenius,
co-founder of the Lakota AI Code Camp.
Sicangu Lakota. Husband. Dad to four.
I build AI tools for organizations and tribal nations, teach data science to Indigenous youth and practitioners, and have advised on AI policy at the federal level. Most of my time goes to figuring out what a tool actually does for people — and whether it should exist at all.
Things I've helped build.
A mix of production tools, community platforms, and experiments — built mostly at Ode Partners and through IndigiGenius.
- 01
Lakota AI Code Camp
A summer camp I co-founded to teach Python, data science, and AI to Lakota youth. I helped build the curriculum and teach the first week — 20 lessons. The best part is watching students gain confidence and come alive as they point these tools at problems they actually care about.
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- 02
Ocean Central
People's Voice 2026A global platform that turns the best available ocean data into a clear, evolving picture of ocean health. I helped prepare many of the initial datasets behind it, shaping raw ocean science into the structured data the platform runs on. Built at Ode Partners for Wave.
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- 03
Blue Corridors
Webby Winner 202631 years of whale tracking data from 50+ research groups, brought together into layered map visualizations. I worked between the science team and our designers — prototyping views, iterating on what to show and how, until we landed on something that serves both researchers and policymakers. Built at Ode Partners.
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- 04
How Machines See California
An interactive scrollytelling piece I built at Ode to explain geospatial foundation models and their embeddings. We explore how Clay, a geospatial foundation model, categorizes and aligns different land cover types across California and how it can help us find specific kinds of terrain.
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- 05
Indigenous in AI/ML Workshop at NeurIPS
A workshop I help organize every year at NeurIPS, the world's largest machine learning conference. We built this space to bring Indigenous researchers, practitioners, and perspectives into the global AI conversation. It's grown each year and has become a home for people doing this work.
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- 06
Oceans Futures
Webby Winner 2024 People's Voice 2024Fisheries conflict data from a dozen sources, shaped for the web and prototyped into interactive maps through close iteration with WWF's Oceans Futures team. The back-and-forth between data, prototype, and client feedback is where this project found its form. Built at Ode Partners.
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- 07
Reforestation Site Selection with Geospatial AI
Amazon and Clay partnered to explore how geospatial foundation model embeddings can map reforestation potential across Africa. Ode Partners supported the collaboration as an applied engineering partner. Published as an Amazon Sustainability Exchange case study.
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- 08
MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship
Helped launch MIT Solve's Indigenous Communities Fellowship (formerly the Oceti Sakowin Fellowship) — connecting the program to communities across Indian Country, supporting media outreach, and working with the first cohorts of Solver teams. Returned as a judge in subsequent years.
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Highlights.
Talks, press, and conversations on AI literacy, Indigenous data sovereignty, and building tools that serve communities.
Bringing AI from Silicon Valley to the Black Hills
Training the Next Generation of Indigenous Data Scientists
Lakota Code Camp: Native American Tech Leaders Bringing Native Youth Into AI Innovation
Black Hills 40 Under 40
Innovation in the Black Hills
Indigenous Youth Are Using AI to Save Native Language
Pritzker Environmental Genius Award — Nominee
Axios +AI Summit
