The Governing Circle provides strategic direction for our organization. Kukstemc, Thank you, for volunteering your personal time and expertise – Tim Fox, Alexia McKinnon, Annie Aningmiuq, Brielle Beaudin-Reimer, Brodie Guy, Jess Housty, Jenn Miller, Justin Wiebe, Narinder Dhami, Paul Nazareth, Sadia Zaman, Susan Manwaring, Todd Hoskin.
GOVERNING CIRCLE STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT | WINTER 2019
Kyra Mason (Retreat Facilitator), Brielle Beaudin-Reimer, Annie Aningmiug, Sara Lyons , Susan Smitten, Hunter Uviluq (Circle Family),
Tim Fox, Shereen Munshi (Circle Staff), Justin Wiebe, Kris Archie (Circle Staff), Brodie Guy, Andrew Bear Robe
*This photograph will be updated during our 2020 Strategic Planning Retreat to reflect Governing Circle Director transitions
Kyra Mason (Retreat Facilitator), Brielle Beaudin-Reimer, Annie Aningmiug, Sara Lyons , Susan Smitten, Hunter Uviluq (Circle Family),
Tim Fox, Shereen Munshi (Circle Staff), Justin Wiebe, Kris Archie (Circle Staff), Brodie Guy, Andrew Bear Robe
*This photograph will be updated during our 2020 Strategic Planning Retreat to reflect Governing Circle Director transitions
TIM FOX | Co-chair
Tim Fox (Natoyi’sokasiim) is a proud member of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) from the Kainai (Blood) reserve located two hours south of Mohkinstsis (Calgary), within Treaty 7 territory. Tim is the Vice President of Indigenous Relations with Calgary Foundation where he hopes to strengthen, enhance and shift the culture and practice at the foundation while incorporating work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission both internally and in the broader community. In 2019, Tim was named one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 for his efforts of facilitating change for reconciliation and decolonization in the community. Also in 2019, Tim participated in a language revitalization project and then wrote and published his first book, a children’s booked titled, “Napi kii Imitaa” (Napi and the dogs). Tim facilitates Indigenous men’s domestic violence groups at the Calgary Correctional Centre and sits on various local committees striving for ways to mobilize efforts of change. Tim is the proud father of an 8 year old daughter who he considers to be his greatest achievement, inspiration and motivation behind everything he does in work and in life.
JENN MILLER | Co-chair
Jenn Miller is a queer, white settler that has been working in philanthropy for over two decades. She currently works as the Director of Social Investment with the Atkinson Foundation, a charitable foundation committed to social and economic justice. Prior to Atkinson, she worked at the City of Toronto and at the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Jenn has also worked as consultant providing program development, facilitation and strategic planning support to a wide range of nonprofit organizations. Jenn lives in Toronto with her partner and is the parent of an Oji-Cree teenager who is a member of Constance Lake First Nation in northern Ontario.
Tim Fox (Natoyi’sokasiim) is a proud member of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) from the Kainai (Blood) reserve located two hours south of Mohkinstsis (Calgary), within Treaty 7 territory. Tim is the Vice President of Indigenous Relations with Calgary Foundation where he hopes to strengthen, enhance and shift the culture and practice at the foundation while incorporating work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission both internally and in the broader community. In 2019, Tim was named one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 for his efforts of facilitating change for reconciliation and decolonization in the community. Also in 2019, Tim participated in a language revitalization project and then wrote and published his first book, a children’s booked titled, “Napi kii Imitaa” (Napi and the dogs). Tim facilitates Indigenous men’s domestic violence groups at the Calgary Correctional Centre and sits on various local committees striving for ways to mobilize efforts of change. Tim is the proud father of an 8 year old daughter who he considers to be his greatest achievement, inspiration and motivation behind everything he does in work and in life.
JENN MILLER | Co-chair
Jenn Miller is a queer, white settler that has been working in philanthropy for over two decades. She currently works as the Director of Social Investment with the Atkinson Foundation, a charitable foundation committed to social and economic justice. Prior to Atkinson, she worked at the City of Toronto and at the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Jenn has also worked as consultant providing program development, facilitation and strategic planning support to a wide range of nonprofit organizations. Jenn lives in Toronto with her partner and is the parent of an Oji-Cree teenager who is a member of Constance Lake First Nation in northern Ontario.
ALEXIA MCKINNON | Director
Alexia is the Associate Director, Indigenous Leadership and Management at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
She is excited about the opportunity to learn from and work with Indigenous people and communities across Canada. Most of her experience is working in the North, specifically with Self-Governing First Nations and Government and Community Relations. Each day she wakes up and cannot believe how lucky she is to be working in a place that promotes and nurtures her two passions of arts and governance. Alexia received her Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. She completed her MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership at the Beedie School of Business (Simon Fraser University).
ANNIE ANINGMIUQ | Director
Annie Aningmiuq is an Inuk woman from Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), Nunavut. She is a mother, an Inuktitut language speaker, a traditional throat singer and artist. For over a decade, Annie has been working for and with Indigenous organizations in Ottawa in different capacities and continues to work in collaboration with various groups today. Presently, she is the Policy and Communications Manager for the National Association of Friendship Centres, a network of over 100 Friendship Centres and Provincial and Territorial Associations from coast-to-coast-to-coast. As a traditional throat singer, she has performed in Canada, the United States and Europe. As an Inuk woman, she is passionate about maintaining and promoting Inuit values in everyday life, through language, music, art and governance. She believes that practicing her cultural traditions and speaking Inuktitut helps to keep her grounded and healthy.
BRIELLE BEAUDIN-REIMER | Director
Brielle Beaudin-Reimer is a citizen of the Métis Nation, a member of the Manitoba Métis Community, a Board Member for the Bell Tower Community Café and member of the Indigenous-led Committee for the Red River Regional Seed Library. “Through local and traditional food-related research, advocacy, and development of evidence-based policy and programs,” says Brielle, “I hope to advance sustainable development in Canada and advocate for the participation of the Métis Nation and Indigenous peoples in this important field.” After volunteering abroad in a rural community in South Africa, Brielle realized that local knowledge was key to sustainable development. Her focus in development shifted to taking a more local approach, one within her own community, the greater Métis Nation and with other Indigenous Nations in Canada. Brielle went on to complete a Masters in Indigenous Governance at the University of Winnipeg, conducting community-based research that focused on promoting Métis food sovereignty by privileging Métis traditional food systems and Métis harvesters’ food-related knowledge and perspectives in Manitoba.
BRODIE GUY | Director
Brodie is the executive director of Coast Funds where he leads a team that works in service of coastal First Nations to strengthen community well-being and the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii. Over more than a decade, Brodie has held senior roles investing in sustainable development led by First Nations.
He has facilitated lending and investment into companies, social enterprises, and co-operatives, while also funding a diversity of non-profits and local governments. With particular expertise in conservation, forestry, bioenergy, ecotourism, environmental technology and social finance. Brodie has served in an advisory capacity to government and philanthropic organizations across the country. Brodie is driven to uplift people who are creating positive change and he dreams of his young children growing up deeply connected to the wonders he’s been blessed to encounter across Canada’s remarkable landscapes.
JESS HOUSTY | Director
'Cúagilákv (Jess Housty) is a Haíɫzaqv mother, writer, and community organizer in Bella Bella, BC. She is the Executive Director of Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society, a Haíɫzaqv non-profit that offers land-based learning and healing programs for youth and families. In addition to her non-profit work, she served two terms on Heiltsuk Tribal Council where she was the chairperson for the Lands Stewardship Portfolio over a span of 8 years. She's a freelance writer with a background in literature, and founded the Thistalalh Memorial Library in Bella Bella to create a dedicated space for stories in community. Her passions are food systems resiliency and ancestral medicines, which she explores through Haíɫzaqv plant work and the Granny Gardens program. Jess was a 2010 finalist for the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award and the 2014 recipient of the UVic Provost's Advocacy and Activism Award. She lives in her homelands with her husband and two young sons.
JUSTIN WIEBE | Director
Justin Wiebe is Michif (Métis) from Saskatoon in Treaty 6 and Métis Territory, and currently lives in Toronto in territories covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant. Justin is passionate about inclusive city-building that centers reconciliation, youth leadership, and building movements of solidarity across different communities. Justin currently works for Mastercard Foundation helping to develop and deliver the EleV program, which focuses on supporting Indigenous youth education and employment in pursuit of living the good life. Justin previously worked at the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF). He is also a co-founder of The Mamawi Project, an initiative focused creating space for Métis young people to (re)build relations, discuss the future of our Nation, and to celebrate who we are.
NARINDER DHAMI | Director
Narinder, a Canada Top 40 Under 40 2019 honouree, is the Managing Director of LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, an innovator in venture philanthropy. Narinder leads the Centre, mobilizing the private sector to partner with game changing social interventions, scaling their impact across Canada. Narinder has been recognized as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and formerly sat on the Global Council for Pro Bono. She is the founding Executive Director of Rise Asset Development, a Rotman/CAMH financial initiative that provides an entrepreneurial path to employment for those with a history of mental health and addiction challenges. Narinder has worked in West Africa at the Première Agence de Microfinance across Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire and with Acumen across Ghana and Nigeria.Narinder is a lecturer at Ryerson University. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in Electrical Engineering.
PAUL NAZARETH | Director
Paul Nazareth has worked in Canada’s philanthropic sector for over 20 years. Currently, Vice President, Education & Development at the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), and was previously VP at the charity CanadaHelps. Paul has been a philanthropic advisor with a national wealth management firm in a trust company and spent 15 years working with charities like the University of Toronto and Canada’s largest network of Churches. Paul is on the board of several charities and on the Advisory Council of Carleton University’s Masters in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program. He serves as faculty for the Master Financial Advisor in Philanthropy (MFA-P) program led by CAGP, Knowledge Bureau and Spire Philanthropy, and is a frequent instructor for the tax and advisor community through organizations like CPA, Advocis, STEP and Estate Planning Councils. Paul writes on philanthropy for a variety of publications and regularly appears on national radio and television to speak about creating a personal legacy through charity.
SADIA ZAMAN | Director
Sadia brings a wealth of arts, media, and not-for- profit experience to her role as CEO, Inspirit Foundation.Before joining Inspirit, Sadia was Managing Director, ROM Canada at the Royal Ontario Museum where she focused on digital content and Indigenous narratives. Before the ROM, Sadia commissioned documentary and current affairs projects from across the country as Director, Original Program Development, CBC News and Centres. She also led Women in Film and Television-Toronto (WIFT-T), a not-for-profit that supports the training and advancement of women in the screen-based industry.Sadia began her career as a journalist, creating hundreds of hours of original, critically acclaimed current affairs and documentary content for Vision TV, CBC and TVO. She has won dozens of awards for her journalism, and has been honoured for her leadership. She sits on many juries and advisory committees and is often asked to speak about media, inclusion, gender and leadership issues.
SUSAN MANWARING | Director
Susan Manwaring is the national lead of Miller Thomson’s Social Impact Group, providing both general counsel and specialized tax advice to social enterprises, charities and non-profits across Canada and internationally. She advises foundations in the field of mission investing and social finance and counsels charities and non-profit organizations on compliance and taxation matters and relevant provincial tax regulations. Susan was a member of the CRA Consultation Panel on Political Activities of Charities. She is currently a Member of the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector (ACCS) – a ministerial committee advising the Minister of National Revenue. Susan has been recognized extensively for her expertise and participates widely in sector activities including many public policy discussions related to the regulation of the charity and non-profit sectors.
TODD HOSKIN | Treasurer
Todd began working with First Nations in the Northwest Territories more than 20 years ago and joined Ulnooweg Development Group as CEO in February 2001. With Todd’s leadership Ulnooweg has grown stronger and now provides developmental lending and business advisory services for First Nations and Aboriginal entrepreneurs across Atlantic Canada. He has created an excellent team of experienced professionals with a deep understanding of business and the communities served. In his role as CEO at Ulnooweg he has worked to build connections between the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet First Nation communities in Atlantic Canada with the philanthropic sector. This includes creation of the Ulnooweg Financial Education Centre (a new registered charity); addressing the complex opportunities regarding access to capital; and helping communities achieve qualified donee status.
Todd is a CMA and has a BA in Commerce. He had many years of experience in public sector accounting and Aboriginal community business development and lending prior to joining Ulnooweg.
Alexia is the Associate Director, Indigenous Leadership and Management at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
She is excited about the opportunity to learn from and work with Indigenous people and communities across Canada. Most of her experience is working in the North, specifically with Self-Governing First Nations and Government and Community Relations. Each day she wakes up and cannot believe how lucky she is to be working in a place that promotes and nurtures her two passions of arts and governance. Alexia received her Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. She completed her MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership at the Beedie School of Business (Simon Fraser University).
ANNIE ANINGMIUQ | Director
Annie Aningmiuq is an Inuk woman from Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), Nunavut. She is a mother, an Inuktitut language speaker, a traditional throat singer and artist. For over a decade, Annie has been working for and with Indigenous organizations in Ottawa in different capacities and continues to work in collaboration with various groups today. Presently, she is the Policy and Communications Manager for the National Association of Friendship Centres, a network of over 100 Friendship Centres and Provincial and Territorial Associations from coast-to-coast-to-coast. As a traditional throat singer, she has performed in Canada, the United States and Europe. As an Inuk woman, she is passionate about maintaining and promoting Inuit values in everyday life, through language, music, art and governance. She believes that practicing her cultural traditions and speaking Inuktitut helps to keep her grounded and healthy.
BRIELLE BEAUDIN-REIMER | Director
Brielle Beaudin-Reimer is a citizen of the Métis Nation, a member of the Manitoba Métis Community, a Board Member for the Bell Tower Community Café and member of the Indigenous-led Committee for the Red River Regional Seed Library. “Through local and traditional food-related research, advocacy, and development of evidence-based policy and programs,” says Brielle, “I hope to advance sustainable development in Canada and advocate for the participation of the Métis Nation and Indigenous peoples in this important field.” After volunteering abroad in a rural community in South Africa, Brielle realized that local knowledge was key to sustainable development. Her focus in development shifted to taking a more local approach, one within her own community, the greater Métis Nation and with other Indigenous Nations in Canada. Brielle went on to complete a Masters in Indigenous Governance at the University of Winnipeg, conducting community-based research that focused on promoting Métis food sovereignty by privileging Métis traditional food systems and Métis harvesters’ food-related knowledge and perspectives in Manitoba.
BRODIE GUY | Director
Brodie is the executive director of Coast Funds where he leads a team that works in service of coastal First Nations to strengthen community well-being and the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii. Over more than a decade, Brodie has held senior roles investing in sustainable development led by First Nations.
He has facilitated lending and investment into companies, social enterprises, and co-operatives, while also funding a diversity of non-profits and local governments. With particular expertise in conservation, forestry, bioenergy, ecotourism, environmental technology and social finance. Brodie has served in an advisory capacity to government and philanthropic organizations across the country. Brodie is driven to uplift people who are creating positive change and he dreams of his young children growing up deeply connected to the wonders he’s been blessed to encounter across Canada’s remarkable landscapes.
JESS HOUSTY | Director
'Cúagilákv (Jess Housty) is a Haíɫzaqv mother, writer, and community organizer in Bella Bella, BC. She is the Executive Director of Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society, a Haíɫzaqv non-profit that offers land-based learning and healing programs for youth and families. In addition to her non-profit work, she served two terms on Heiltsuk Tribal Council where she was the chairperson for the Lands Stewardship Portfolio over a span of 8 years. She's a freelance writer with a background in literature, and founded the Thistalalh Memorial Library in Bella Bella to create a dedicated space for stories in community. Her passions are food systems resiliency and ancestral medicines, which she explores through Haíɫzaqv plant work and the Granny Gardens program. Jess was a 2010 finalist for the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award and the 2014 recipient of the UVic Provost's Advocacy and Activism Award. She lives in her homelands with her husband and two young sons.
JUSTIN WIEBE | Director
Justin Wiebe is Michif (Métis) from Saskatoon in Treaty 6 and Métis Territory, and currently lives in Toronto in territories covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant. Justin is passionate about inclusive city-building that centers reconciliation, youth leadership, and building movements of solidarity across different communities. Justin currently works for Mastercard Foundation helping to develop and deliver the EleV program, which focuses on supporting Indigenous youth education and employment in pursuit of living the good life. Justin previously worked at the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF). He is also a co-founder of The Mamawi Project, an initiative focused creating space for Métis young people to (re)build relations, discuss the future of our Nation, and to celebrate who we are.
NARINDER DHAMI | Director
Narinder, a Canada Top 40 Under 40 2019 honouree, is the Managing Director of LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, an innovator in venture philanthropy. Narinder leads the Centre, mobilizing the private sector to partner with game changing social interventions, scaling their impact across Canada. Narinder has been recognized as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and formerly sat on the Global Council for Pro Bono. She is the founding Executive Director of Rise Asset Development, a Rotman/CAMH financial initiative that provides an entrepreneurial path to employment for those with a history of mental health and addiction challenges. Narinder has worked in West Africa at the Première Agence de Microfinance across Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire and with Acumen across Ghana and Nigeria.Narinder is a lecturer at Ryerson University. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in Electrical Engineering.
PAUL NAZARETH | Director
Paul Nazareth has worked in Canada’s philanthropic sector for over 20 years. Currently, Vice President, Education & Development at the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), and was previously VP at the charity CanadaHelps. Paul has been a philanthropic advisor with a national wealth management firm in a trust company and spent 15 years working with charities like the University of Toronto and Canada’s largest network of Churches. Paul is on the board of several charities and on the Advisory Council of Carleton University’s Masters in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program. He serves as faculty for the Master Financial Advisor in Philanthropy (MFA-P) program led by CAGP, Knowledge Bureau and Spire Philanthropy, and is a frequent instructor for the tax and advisor community through organizations like CPA, Advocis, STEP and Estate Planning Councils. Paul writes on philanthropy for a variety of publications and regularly appears on national radio and television to speak about creating a personal legacy through charity.
SADIA ZAMAN | Director
Sadia brings a wealth of arts, media, and not-for- profit experience to her role as CEO, Inspirit Foundation.Before joining Inspirit, Sadia was Managing Director, ROM Canada at the Royal Ontario Museum where she focused on digital content and Indigenous narratives. Before the ROM, Sadia commissioned documentary and current affairs projects from across the country as Director, Original Program Development, CBC News and Centres. She also led Women in Film and Television-Toronto (WIFT-T), a not-for-profit that supports the training and advancement of women in the screen-based industry.Sadia began her career as a journalist, creating hundreds of hours of original, critically acclaimed current affairs and documentary content for Vision TV, CBC and TVO. She has won dozens of awards for her journalism, and has been honoured for her leadership. She sits on many juries and advisory committees and is often asked to speak about media, inclusion, gender and leadership issues.
SUSAN MANWARING | Director
Susan Manwaring is the national lead of Miller Thomson’s Social Impact Group, providing both general counsel and specialized tax advice to social enterprises, charities and non-profits across Canada and internationally. She advises foundations in the field of mission investing and social finance and counsels charities and non-profit organizations on compliance and taxation matters and relevant provincial tax regulations. Susan was a member of the CRA Consultation Panel on Political Activities of Charities. She is currently a Member of the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector (ACCS) – a ministerial committee advising the Minister of National Revenue. Susan has been recognized extensively for her expertise and participates widely in sector activities including many public policy discussions related to the regulation of the charity and non-profit sectors.
TODD HOSKIN | Treasurer
Todd began working with First Nations in the Northwest Territories more than 20 years ago and joined Ulnooweg Development Group as CEO in February 2001. With Todd’s leadership Ulnooweg has grown stronger and now provides developmental lending and business advisory services for First Nations and Aboriginal entrepreneurs across Atlantic Canada. He has created an excellent team of experienced professionals with a deep understanding of business and the communities served. In his role as CEO at Ulnooweg he has worked to build connections between the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet First Nation communities in Atlantic Canada with the philanthropic sector. This includes creation of the Ulnooweg Financial Education Centre (a new registered charity); addressing the complex opportunities regarding access to capital; and helping communities achieve qualified donee status.
Todd is a CMA and has a BA in Commerce. He had many years of experience in public sector accounting and Aboriginal community business development and lending prior to joining Ulnooweg.