Master of Ceremonies

Karen Wilson

Founder of Creative Life in Motion; Author; Professional Storytelling Speaker; Managing Partner at CE Analytic Ltd.

Karen is a highly experienced expert in developing and delivering workshops and courses live in person and online with the Kajabi education platform. 

Karen’s experience with cumulative effects and natural resource management programs and events is deep, including coordination and delivery of the annual CFX Conference for 4 years, development and maintenance of the www.bctomorrow.ca web platform, and numerous customized online portals for CE Analytic clients and initiatives.

Speakers

Ashton Ashley

Tmícw Research Assistant at Qwelmínte Secwépemc

Ashton Ashley is T’exelc from Williams Lake, BC, as well as Choctaw Cherokee Nation from Oklahoma. He is currently a pre-medical science student, going into his third year of a Bachelor of Science degree at Thompson Rivers University. Ashton hopes to attend the University of British Columbia's medical program and has a goal of becoming a physician. Upon completing his studies, he would like to open his own practice within an Indigenous community, providing a space to “Walk on Two Legs;” implementing both Western and Traditional medical practices. Aside from his studies, Ashton has a great fondness of the outdoors and wildlife. He enjoys woodworking, fishing, and hunting; even more so when it is with family and friends. Ashton is eager to not only strengthen his Secwépemc culture and understanding of traditional ways of life but also to contribute to the path for reconciliation through his research in Cumulative Effects. 

Session: Guardianship (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 10:35 am PDT

Dr. Jill Blakley, PhD, MCIP, RPP, CLC

Professor at University of Saskatchewan

Jill holds a Ph.D. in Geography (University of Saskatchewan) specializing in environmental impact assessment. Her expertise centres on cumulative effects assessment (CEA) and strategic environmental assessment methodologies and best practices, particularly as applied to regional-scale natural resource development programs and mega-projects.

Session: Indigenous Perspectives on Regional Environmental Assessments and Cumulative Effects (panel discussion) on Monday, October 30 at 10:15 am PDT

Matt Chiasson

Cumulative Effects and Environmental Stewardship Coordinator at The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq

Matt Chiasson is a dedicated environmental steward and horticulturist with a profound appreciation for traditional landscapes. Currently, he plays a pivotal role in Cumulative Effects and Environmental Stewardship at the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq. As a member of the ICCE Technical Advisory Committee, he contributes significantly to the preservation and enhancement of the environment, aligning with the principles of sustainability and cultural respect.

With a foundation in Environmental Horticulture from Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (Dal/AC), Matt combines his academic knowledge with practical experience. His horticultural journey has taken him through various sectors, from naturalized landscape design and installation to the golf industry, and even the rapidly evolving cannabis sector. He is equally at home in small traditional farming, illustrating a holistic understanding of the horticulture landscape.

Matt's commitment to fostering growth extends beyond the greenery. Matt boasts a remarkable 20-year professional background in the snowboard industry. In this realm, he has excelled as a trainer, evaluator, coach, instructor, and mentor, guiding individuals from novice enthusiasts to elite Canada Games athletes.

Matt's diverse professional journey underscores his adaptability, leadership, and passion for making a positive impact. His work reflects his unwavering dedication to both environmental preservation and the empowerment of individuals, establishing him as a respected figure in his areas of expertise.

Session: Indigenous Research Methodology (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:05 am PDT

Ashley Childs

Lands Manager and Client Liaison at Shared Value Solutions

Ashley is a Lands Manager and Client Liaison with Shared Value Solutions. Ashley has a strong background in organizational and community development and she is a former member of the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects (ICCE) Technical Advisory Committee. Her focus for the last 7 years has been on providing project management, program and departmental development, strategic planning and technical services on environment and natural resource initiatives for Indigenous communities, specifically for the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia. She has worked on a wide-range of projects, including major complex, economic development programs, protected and conserved areas initiatives, capacity development, assessment and monitoring initiatives, such as the Guardian program, and cumulative effects development. Ashley is dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices and being an ally. She believes that through incorporating Indigenous protocols and laws into environmental practices, we can achieve the balance we have been seeking. In her free time, Ashley likes to spend her time in Five Islands, NS in the woods or with her dogs.

Session: Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 10:35 am PDT

Mark Cliffe-Phillips

Executive Director at Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Mark Cliffe-Phillips is the Executive Director of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (or Review Board), which is an independent co-management tribunal responsible for the environmental impact assessment process in the Mackenzie Valley of the NWT. The Review Board is the result of modern comprehensive land claims that created a resource co-management system that enabled Indigenous peoples of the NWT to have greater say in the decision making process. Prior to joining the Review Board, Mark was the Executive Director of the Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board, which was responsible for the licensing and permitting of Canada’s largest diamond mines. Mark has been working in the resource co-management sector in the Northwest Territories for over 20 years. He is also a founding Board member of the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects, where he is now a member of the Technical Advisory Committee. He frequently participates in various environmental assessment improvement initiatives across the North and the rest of Canada.

Session: Successful Examples of Indigenous-Led Cumulative Effects Projects, Programs and Initiatives (panel discussion) on Thursday, November 2 at 9:05 am PDT

Sophie Collins

Tmícw Technician at Qwelmínte Secwépemc

Sophie Collins is Secwépemc from Esk’etemc on her mom’s side and from the Woodland Métis Tribe on her dad’s side. Sophie is a guest in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Territory/Kamloops, British Columbia. She graduated from Thompson Rivers University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in math and minoring in physics. She was introduced to cumulative effects at Qwelmínte Secwépemc and quickly became engaged and inspired through the relationships and holistic study. She enhanced her learning by incorporating the concept of Walking on Two Legs: blending her Western Education and Indigenous Knowledge. Sophie’s goal is to work towards long-term reconciliation with the Province of British Columbia through her work and to preserve Secwepemcúl’ecw, the land of the Secwepemc People.

Session: Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 10:35 am PDT

Joe Desjarlais

Director of Research at BC Métis Federation

Joe Desjarlais is from a large Métis family in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. He is proud of his mixed Ukrainian and Métis ancestry, with kinship in the Red River of Manitoba and across Western Canada. He currently lives in North Vancouver with his wife Danielle and family. He graduated from Trinity Western University with a B.Ed degree and an M.A. degree, Interdisciplinary Humanities with a history focus. Joe’s journey of his own recovery of identity would not exist in its current form without the opportunities the BC Métis Federation have provided to ground his ideas and experiences in community life and relationship building with people and communities across the province, creating life-long friendships in the process. Joe is the Director of the BC Metis Federation Research Division. He was project lead and co-author of the BC Metis Federation Terrestrial Study Final Report and is the coordinator for the BC Métis Federation Terrestrial Cumulative Effects Initiative, and the Metis at Home Capacity Project. BC Metis Federation engages in community based research to understand the lived experiences of Metis across the Pacific Northwest, and is at the cutting edge of repatriation efforts in Canada.

Session: Indigenous Research Methodology (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:05 am PDT

Chief Judy Desjarlais

Chief of Blueberry River First Nation

Judy Desjarlais is the elected Chief of Blueberry River First Nation, a Treaty 8 Nation in Northeast B.C. She is of Dunne'Za (Beaver) and Nehiyaw (Cree) descent, and is the second woman ever to be elected Chief of her Nation. Judy advocates for First Nations communities, businesses and employees to prosper in their traditional territories and through their natural resources, while also protecting the environment and Indigenous way of life via sustainability and restoration.

Session: Addressing Cumulative Effects in the Traditional Territory of Blueberry River First Nation (tentative title; presentation) on Wednesday, November 1 at 9:05 am PDT.

Paulette Fox

President of Harmony Walkers Inc.

Paulette is an environmental scientist and a member of the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta, part of Treaty 7 and the Blackfoot Confederacy. She is a spiritual leader and Knowledge Keeper whose rich experience includes working with diverse teams to deliver on results related to Indigenous inclusion, participation, engagement, and consultation. She runs an environmental consulting business, Harmony Walkers Inc., and as a college instructor, in the classroom, Paulette brings Indigenous knowledge together with environmental science.

Sessions: Indigenous Perspectives on Regional Environmental Assessments and Cumulative Effects (panel discussion) on Monday, October 30 at 10:15 am PDT and Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 10:35 am PDT

Natasha Deganello Giraudie

Filmmaker and Nature Practice Guide at Rosa Guayaba

Natasha is an award-winning filmmaker and nature practice guide who helps Earth lovers become their most resilient selves. She was raised in Venezuela by the gentle laps of the Caribbean, under the watch of the tepuys and with the vibrant soundscape of the tropical rainforest.

Her work stems from a life of intimacy with nature and from the guidance she has received from two main streams:
          - 20 years of study with the Dalai Lama and nature retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh.
          - Many occasions since childhood to be in community with Indigenous wisdom keepers from around                  the world.

Her films have won numerous awards around the world, and she's had the pleasure of teaching nature practice at Stanford University, for groups at the United Nations, for the Dalai Lama Fellows, and for an online nature practice community around the world.

Session: Field Notes on Meaningful Collaboration with Indigenous Wisdom Keepers: Insights for Developing Regenerative Partnerships (presentation) on Tuesday, October 31 at 11:25 am PDT

Mindy Henyu

President at Infinitely Iskwew Consulting Ltd.; Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Director at Surepoint Group

Mindy Henyu is a proud Tahltan and Cree woman with an extensive background collaborating with First Nation governments, the energy industry and the BC provincial government for the past 25 years. Mindy is the Director of Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships for Surepoint Group and is the elected representative for her traditional family group for the Tahltan Central Government; she is the TCG designate for Tahltan Nation Development Corporation, as well as part of the Indigenous Advisory Committee for the Northern Development Initiative Trust. She prides herself in being a Reconciliation Activator. 

Mindy trusts that by working together to cultivate mutually prosperous business and employment opportunities it creates space for inclusive economic growth in our Canadian economy and overall reciprocal prosperity. As a mother of three, she is passionate about social justice and actively involved in issues around: Indigenous rights, gender-based violence, food security, and safety of children.

Session: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 9:35 am PDT

Chief Byron Alexander and Jasmine Jesso

Indian Head First Nation and Newfoundland Naturals

Newfoundland Naturals is an education-based company owned by Chief Byron Alexander of Indian Head First Nation and his partner, Jasmine Jesso, in Ktaqmkuk. They are a Mi'kmaw couple living on the west coast of Newfoundland who teach about medicinal plants, fungi and how to reconnect to the land. They feel strongly about food sovereignty and self sufficiency. They hunt and fish with the seasons, grow their own food and forage the rest from the land. By living this lifestyle, they have come to realize that our connection to ourselves, the land and Mother Earth starts with our food supply and reconnecting to Mother Earth.

Session: From Mushrooms to Boardrooms: A Journey Towards Addressing Cumulative Effects with Indigenous Leadership and Knowledge (presentation) on Monday, October 30 at 11:05 am PDT

Sunny LeBourdais

Council Member at Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band

Sunny LeBourdais is an elected Council member of the Pelltíq’t te Secwepemc (Whispering Pines/Clinton Band). She holds an M.Sc. from Simon Fraser University and B.Sc. and B.Ed. from TRU, and has managed and coordinated businesses and projects for the Okanagan, Ktunaxa and Secwepemc Nations.

Sunny served as Director of Transformation for the Qwelmínte-Secwepemc, a collective united through QS-G2G Sku7pecen’s Journey Letter of Commitment and the Director Governance at the Secwepemc Nation Building Initiative where she brought together Secwepemc Nation members through on-the-land gatherings and action. She was the project coordinator on the SSN’s Indigenous Impact Assessment Process for the proposed KGHM Ajax Mine near Kamloops, BC and served on the BC Minister’s Advisory Committee for the revitalization of BC’s Environmental Assessment Act.

In her role as the QS Director of Transformation, she developed and oversaw the successful implementation of the TeamSku7pecen Knowledge Builders program, which intends to stand up the next generation of leaders and technicians who will be stewards of the land. In her work, Sunny relies on the concept of “Walking on Two Legs” whereby both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems come together in balance to affect change, while giving due recognition to Secwepemc laws, traditions, customs and land tenure systems.

Sunny lives on the Whispering Pines ranch/reserve where she was raised near Kamloops, BC with her son, Raven, and family. She lives for horseback hunting and fishing in her traditional territory surrounding Clinton, BC.

Session: Walking on Two Legs: Lessons in Secwepemc Law (fireside chat) on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:55 am PDT

Dr. Ryan MacDonald

Hydrologist at MacDonald Hydrology Consultants Ltd. (MacHydro)

Ryan has been conducting research and working in the hydrological sciences for over fifteen years. His work focuses on hydrometeorological processes, climate change and land use modelling, and freshwater ecosystems. He has worked throughout western Canada and has an excellent understanding of key issues facing water resources in this region. He has conducted extensive work related to stream temperature in mountain environments and is interested in how thermal regimes affect aquatic organisms. He has been a modeller and technical team manager for multi-stakeholder collaborative modelling initiatives looking at large-scale water management in Alberta and British Columbia. He has led cumulative effects projects in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon, specifically addressing complex watershed-scale issues. His background in hydrometeorological processes, modelling, and inter-disciplinary studies enables him to pursue research questions that can be applied in a practical management context.

Session: Successful Examples of Indigenous-Led Cumulative Effects Projects, Programs and Initiatives (panel discussion) on Thursday, November 2 at 9:05 am PDT

Pepita Elena McKee

Founder and CEO of Impact Resolutions Ltd.

As CEO and founder of Impact Resolutions, Pepita Elena McKee has created a ground-breaking and transformative human environment company. Hands-on experience and an extensive network of contacts helped her think carefully about company culture to curate a diverse, passionate, and experienced team with the combined experience to work together and focus on common goals to tackle many socio-economic challenges. Her expertise includes socio-economic, health, gender, and cumulative impact assessments, intersectional qualitative and quantitative research and analyses, Indigenous relations, rights, and title holders, and stakeholder engagement and consultation.

Session: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 9:35 am PDT

Jessica Nelson

Intern Program Coordinator at Qwelmínte Secwépemc

Jessica is a proud Syilx woman from the Upper Nicola Syilx Band, and she holds her stəmtimaʔ (maternal grandmother's) teachings close to her heart as she walks through this world. Growing up, she was raised by her family matriarchs, and she has spent the majority of her life learning and growing within Secwepemc’ulécw. After completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in English at Dalhousie University, Jessica went on to complete her Bachelor of Education at Thompson Rivers University in the spring of 2023.

Jessica has been actively immersed in language mentorship with her sw̓aw̓asaʔ (maternal aunt) and łəłsəsiʔ (maternal uncle), and she finds great value in the generational knowledge exchange with her language teachers. She acknowledges that knowledge exchange between youth and elders is an Indigenous pedagogy practice that highlights the reciprocal generational exchange of knowledge. Jessica is honoured to be a part of the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Office team and is committed to Walking On Two Legs with youth. Her passions include language, title and rights, education, and uplifting Indigenous youth to be the next generation yecwemínem, or stewards and caretakers of the land. In her free time, she enjoys spending time on the tmicw, which encompasses the land, waters, and everything above and below, through gathering medicines, hiking, and being by the water.

Session: Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 10:35 am PDT

Dave Nordquist

Title and Rights Director and Natural Resource Director at Adams Lake Indian Band

Dave is a member of the Adams Lake Indian Band. The Adams Lake Indian Band is one of 17 bands of the Secwepemc Nation in the interior of British Columbia. Dave is currently the Director of Natural Resource and Director of Title and Rights for the band and has been with the band in various positions since June 1997. Previous to that, he was employed by the BC Ministry of Forests in the Salmon Arm Forest District.

Dave’s duties for the Adams Lake Indian Band involve providing Title and Rights advice to the Adams Lake Band Chief and Council and managing the Natural Resource Department. He is also involved in developing and maintaining the bands referral system. In addition, he has implemented a comprehensive Cultural Heritage Program for the band to see that all Elders are interviewed and their knowledge recorded as well as providing the material to the band’s school, Chief Atahm, for curriculum development. 

Under the referrals process, the band becomes involved in defining what consultation and accommodation looks like. This includes developing the science to understand the impacts and what the cumulative and socio-economic results of a project moving forward are. To help visualize these relationships, the band has employed ALCES with excellent results within the community.

Dave is the past President for NAFA, and also sat on the FN Council of Advisors for the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia. Dave graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 1997.  He is also a Registered Professional Forester with the Association of British Columbia Professional Foresters.

Session: Indigenous Perspectives on Regional Environmental Assessments and Cumulative Effects (panel discussion) on Monday, October 30 at 10:15 am PDT

Tim Robinson

Director of Salmon Recovery Program at Fort Folly Habitat Recovery

It remains Tim's privilege today, as it has been since 1995, to be working on behalf of Fort Folly First Nation. Initially, the Fort Folly Habitat Recovery program (which Tim helps lead) realized a high level of success carrying out stream restoration projects locally, adjacent to the small south-eastern New Brunswick First Nation community. In the late 1990s, Fort Folly leadership understood that the unique sub-population of inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon were soon to be listed as endangered and under severe threat of going extinct. A Recovery Team was established to preserve what remained of the population and work to restore the numbers of returning adult salmon to key 'index rivers' within the Bay of Fundy. Since the year 2000, to present day, Tim and his Habitat Recovery crew work alongside Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada Agency Biologists and Ecologists on the critical habitat rivers rivers in south eastern NB rivers that still have some remnant adult salmon returning. Since 2010, with the opening of the causeway gates on the Petitcodiac River, which once produced 20% of the entire inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon assemblage and had become extirpated, Fort Folly is leading innovative collaborations through broader partnerships to re-establish salmon recovery there. 

Session: Successful Examples of Indigenous-Led Cumulative Effects Projects, Programs and Initiatives (panel discussion) on Thursday, November 2 at 9:05 am PDT

Drew Rose

Knowledge Builders Program Coordinator at Qwelmínte Secwépemc

Drew Rose is a proud Nehiyaw (Cree) & Métis from Red Pheasant Cree Nation of the Treaty 6 territory in Saskatchewan. Drew has had the privilege of being welcomed into the Secwépemc Nation to seek an education, play hockey and work for the past 18+ years. He, his wife Charlotte, and daughters, Mikoh and Kodah, have been humble First Nation guests on Secwepemcúl’ecw and now call Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc home. Drew is presently studying at Thompson River University where he has received his Associate of Arts Degree, Certificate of Aboriginal Studies, Bachelor of Education degree and will be continuing with his Masters of Education. Drew’s First Nation experience and truth is rooted in his Nehiyawak (Cree people) and Indigenous teachings, where he grew up enriched by the love of his culture and family who bestowed Nehiyawak teachings of ceremony, language, advocacy, and protection of their inherent rights. His Indigeneity helps shape his approach in engaging and inspiring Indigenous students, where they can relate to, feel supported, and valued by a First Nations teacher. It is through his Indigenous teachings and pursuit of post-secondary education that he feels an inherent need, like his Ancestors, to advocate for youth and contribute to creating a space that upholds Indigenous rights and access to education that Walks in Two Worlds (Indigenous & Western ways of knowing).

Session: Guardianship (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 10:35 am PDT

Bruce Shelvey, PhD

Academic Research Consultant at BC Métis Federation

Bruce Shelvey is a settler from Treaty 2 territory in southwestern Manitoba and now works, lives, and thrives in Kwantlen and Katzie unceded traditional territory in Langley, BC. After earning his MA in History from the University of Victoria (1992) and his Ph.D. in History from Arizona State University (1999), Shelvey taught at the University of British Columbia and then at Trinity Western University, where he is now an Associate Professor of History and Environment. Shelvey is the Director of the Masters in Interdisciplinary Humanities program, is a founding member of the Institute of Indigenous Issues and Perspectives, and serves on numerous academic committees aimed at reconciling settler society with Indigenous peoples. He has taught, researched, and written about Indigenous-Canadian relations for the past 30+ years and has developed specializations in Indigenous Research Methodology and community-based research practices. Shelvey’s advocacy work with the BC Métis Federation began in 2013, an academic advisory role that has grown alongside the expanding function of the Federation’s Research Division.

Session: Indigenous Research Methodology (panel discussion) on Tuesday, October 31 at 9:05 am PDT

Francis Skeard

Councillor at Qalipu First Nation

Francis Skeard is a Forester, Project Manager, Business Analyst and Community Advocate. He is a four-term Councillor of the Qalipu First Nation, founder/chair of Kikmanaq Indigenous Cultural Revival Association, founder/chair of Crossroads Family Resource Centre and volunteer with Charlies Place Land Guardians. He has been employed in a variety of natural resource management roles with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for 33 years and is planning to retire in spring 2024.

Session: Indigenous Perspectives on Regional Environmental Assessments and Cumulative Effects (panel discussion) on Monday, October 30 at 10:15 am PDT

Spencer Taft

Cumulative Effects Manager at Tsleil-Waututh Nation

Spencer has worked at Tsleil-Waututh Nation in various roles since 2015. He started working for the nation's natural resource management company, Inlailawatash, and was involved in ecosystem restoration, vegetation management and renewable resource management projects. Since 2018, he has managed Tsleil-Waututh's Cumulative Effects Monitoring Initiative, which is working to understand and quantify total changes to Burrard Inlet since European contact in order to uphold Tsleil-Waututh rights, inform decision-making and governance, and help guide ongoing and future stewardship work in Tsleil-Waututh territory. Spencer holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology, and a Master of Science in Forest Biology and Management from the University of Alberta.

Session: Successful Examples of Indigenous-Led Cumulative Effects Projects, Programs and Initiatives (panel discussion) on Thursday, November 2 at 9:05 am PDT

Dr. Juan Carlos Tejeda González

Full Time Professor and Researcher at University of Colima

Dr. Juan Carlos Tejeda González is a Civil Engineer with postgraduate studies in Environmental Sciences. He works as a full time Professor and Researcher at the University of Colima in Mexico and specializes in Strategic Environmental Assessment. He is currently co-chair of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Section at the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Technical Committee for the Mexican Civil Engineering College (CICM), member of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and Affiliate of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA). He is not an environmentalist, but a Civil Engineer who believes that we can make things different to create a better future for our kids.

Session: Successful Examples of Indigenous-Led Cumulative Effects Projects, Programs and Initiatives (panel discussion) on Thursday, November 2 at 9:05 am PDT

Jennifer Turner

Energy Director at Equitable Origin

Jennifer is an energy changemaker with extensive experience in unique projects that are intended to better align resource development with public interest.

Today she leads the energy program at Equitable Origin, a non profit that aims to partner with partner with businesses, communities and governments to better support responsible energy development with the goal of generating better outcomes. Over 10 years ago, Equitable Origin was the first to create a framework for certified oil and gas, in response to negative impacts imposed upon Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. They are currently launching a framework for renewable energy (wind and solar), with a focus on human rights throughout the supply chain.

With over 10 years experience working on rigs throughout western Canada, Jen is also a subject matter expert in operational safety, with a focus on psychological safety, mental health, and community and gender-based impacts.

Jennifer holds two science degrees from Memorial University. She is a former Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre and current Vice President of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association.

Session: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 9:35 am PDT

Silas White

Strategic Governance, Policy and Government Relations Specialist at Impact Resolutions Ltd.; Mayor of Gibsons, BC

Session: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (panel discussion) on Wednesday, November 1 at 9:35 am PDT

Biography coming soon.

Barry J. Wilson

Systems Dynamicist and CEO at CE Analytic Ltd.; Founder of the RavenWater Learning Circle™

Barry J. Wilson is a systems dynamicist, speaker and trainer specializing in holistic cumulative effects assessment. He works closely with Indigenous nations and communities, governments, leaders and change-makers on cumulative effects programs and frameworks supporting policy and decision-making. 

Barry starts with the understanding that everything is connected and seeks to apply two ways of knowing – Indigenous Knowledge and western contemporary science. He believes that together these ways of knowing hold the answers to unlocking prosperity by caring for the Earth that sustains us.

Barry is also an active volunteer appointed to the Canadian Indigenous Center for Cumulative Effects Technical Advisory Committee, serving as President and co-founder of the non-profit BC Tomorrow helping youth explore sustainability in their watershed, and he is Co-chair and charter member of the Rotary Club of the Rivers focused on helping people and communities around the world be in wise relationship with the environment and our economies. 

Barry and his wife and business partner, Karen, live in Salmon Arm, BC, Canada, which is located in Secwepemcúl’ecw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwepemc Nation. Together, they founded CE Analytic Ltd., an environmental consulting agency known for excellence in cumulative effects assessment, strategic planning, multi-stakeholder engagement, communications and multimedia production.

While his geographic focus has been in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, his projects have taken him north to the Sahtu Region of the NWT, east to Ontario and Saskatchewan, and south to California. Living and working in Secwepemcúl’ecw, Barry has been privileged to work closely with several Secwépemc communities on ground-breaking cumulative effects assessment for major Environmental Assessments, including the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, the proposed KGHM Ajax gold mine, and the twinning of the Trans Canada Highway.

Sessions: Why Cumulative Effects Should Be Indigenous-Led (keynote) on Monday, October 30 at 9:25 am PDT and Indigenous-Led Holistic Cumulative Effects Assessments: Piloting Safely Through the Turbulence (presentation) on Thursday, November 2 at 10:45 am PDT