Leah is from the George Gordon First Nation in Treaty Four. She works for the First Nation Land Management Resource Center providing support to Developmental and Operational First Nations under the Framework Agreement for First Nation Land Management. Leah is also a lawyer with an office on English River Urban Reserve in Saskatoon and has a Masters in Law. She is also the Chair of the Aboriginal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association for Saskatchewan and sits on other boards and committees.

Pearl is a Dakota/Lakota Sioux member of the Standing Buffalo First Nation. She received her Bachelor of Administration from the University of Regina in 2002 and her Master of Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy in 2011. In 2016, she completed a Certificate in the Professional Director Program offered through the Brown Governance and Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. She is presently working on her Master of Business Administration at the Shannon School of Business at Cape Breton University and is expected to complete it in the fall of 2017.

For the past six years, Pearl has been working with the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, most recently as the Regional Program Development Advisor with the Economic Development unit.

I have been involved with Aboriginal Economic Development for the past 19 years in different capacities from business plan assistance, Loans officer to Development officer.

At present I am a Development Officer with (INAC) Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada for the Community Opportunities program assisting with implementation of the Community Opportunity Readiness Program (CORP), Lands and Economic Development Services Program (LEDSP) and Community Opportunity Readiness Program Prioritization Framework (CORP PF) which is the major projects program.

Samantha Benesh has been an employee with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) since July 2015 where she started working as an intern. Now as a Regional Senior Program Officer with the Community Opportunities team, she assists First Nations and organizations with projects focused on capacity building and business growth.

She has received a Masters of Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Geography from Simon Fraser University. Samantha has also worked in the non-profit world with community development projects focused on food security and at-risk youth in Saskatoon and Vancouver.

Joel Brimacombe is a Senior Environment Officer at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada specializing in Environmental Assessment and Natural Resource Management. Joel has been working for various Federal Government Departments for the past 11 years in activities focusing within Environmental Management, such as Environmental Assessment, Contaminated Sites Management and Regulatory Compliance.

After living in the bright lights of London and Tokyo, Alex returned to Saskatoon to work for Cameco Corporation (Manager). From there he joined the Government of Saskatchewan (Director), then Rainmaker Global Business Development (Vice President) working on economic development projects in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 2014 Alex became President and CEO of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA).

Shaun Soonias is a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation in Saskatchewan. He is Board Director with Red Pheasant`s Economic Development Corporation and Executive Director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Economic Development Network (SFNEDN). Shaun has over 23 years of experience in social and economic development roles, having held senior positions with the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Justice, and Saskatchewan Advocate for Children & Youth. Shaun is a partner in two companies, NutraPonics Canada Corporation which focuses on food security through commercial, 100% organic vertical farming based on Aquaponics and Stonecutters Group which focuses on creating generational wealth by implementing Indigenous Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Shaun has worked with First Nations, municipal, provincial and federal governments on a number of key strategies and legislative processes and continues to work towards Indigenous inclusion in the economy from employment to economic development.

Born and raised in central Saskatchewan, DonnaLyn attended the University of Saskatchewan in the field of Agriculture. She was employed in that industry sector in various locations across the province for 10 years prior to assuming her appointment as Executive Director of the Humboldt & District Chamber of Commerce in 2009.

In February, 2014, DonnaLyn moved to Saskatoon to assume a position with the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA), leading the development of Square One, the Saskatchewan location of the Canada Business Network. Recently DonnaLyn was asked to take on the leadership role for SREDA in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Regional and Indigenous Affairs.

Aaron Samuel graduated from the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia with a Juris Doctor degree. Previously, he had completed a Bachelor of Arts in political science, with a minor in economics at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. While in school, he has taken part in students’ affairs such as being part of the student executive as Director of Indigenous Affairs, as well as a member of Allard School of Law’s Indigenous Law Students’ Association and finally a member of the Student Ambassador program.

This summer, he will be a communications intern with First Nations - Municipal CEDI. He’ll be assisting with internal and external communications, culminating with the dissemination of the CEDI toolkit.

Hugues Landriault is the Acting Manager of the Land Use Planning Initiative within the Lands and Environment Management Branch of INAC. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Ottawa (2000) and has 15 years of experience working within Indigenous communities and organizations such as CANDO and NALMA on lands and economic development projects and initiatives.

Ms. Krueger has researched and written on Mexican agrarian co-ops, which earned her a Master Degree in Collaborative International Development from the University of Guelph. She is former vice-chair of Good Food Junction Co-operative, first director and treasurer of Saskatoon Car Co-op, director of Saskatchewan Co-operative Association and Executive Director of the Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op. Before joining Co-operatives First, Ms. Krueger was Research Liaison at the University of Saskatchewan Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.

Julia Angus is Cree, from the Thunderchild First Nation, Treaty 6 Territory and is the Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator for western Canada. Although Julia’s recent employment history is within the Child Welfare field, moving on to her new role with Co-operatives First has provided her with a new opportunity to engage and reconnect with the Indigenous communities to bring back the traditional utilitarian method of doing business using the Co-op business model.

Randy Johns has worked in socio-economic development in northern Saskatchewan for over 35 years. He started with the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission (now Employment and Social Development Canada), and also spent time working for Northlands College before helping found Keewatin Career Development Corporation in 1996, and taking on responsibility as KCDC’s CEO.

I am 19 years old and have lived on Flying Dust First Nation my entire life. My priorities in life are God, my beautiful family and my diverse community. I have a mother, father, sister and 2 brothers. Without my family’s constant support and wisdom I would not be who I am today. My dad has always been my biggest inspiration to become involved in business, he is a successful co-owner of Tawaw Cabins lake resort and Chief of Flying Dust. I enjoy reading, writing and watching hockey in my spare time. My goals for the future are to be accepted into a business college or university to do Business Administration and build a business on Flying Dust.

Davy Coyle is the Manager of Government Relations and Community Development for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (Saskatchewan Region) in Regina. Davy has served with INAC for the past decade in various programs, including Governance, Additions to Reserve and Urban Aboriginal Strategy. Prior to working with INAC, Davy worked with Service Canada and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for five years.

Davy is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (Joint Honours in Political Science and Philosophy) and an active community volunteer in Regina, where he has served on multiple boards.

Devon Fiddler is a Cree Woman from the Waterhen Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. Devon is a social entrepreneur, and the Chief Changemaker of SheNative Goods Inc, a brand of handbags and accessories. Devon has built SheNative to help empower and change perceptions of Indigenous Woman and girls.

Devon has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Aboriginal Public Administration from the University of Saskatchewan, and has completed numerous leadership, economic development, entrepreneurship and business certificate programs in the last five years, including Praxis School of Entrepreneurship and Netmaker Academy.

In 2016, Devon received the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the under 29 category. Devon’s most recent achievement was becoming one of the top 5 She-eo Ventures of 2016.

Kendal is one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs and motivational speakers. He is an Indigenous Entrepreneur who grew up on Sweetgrass First Nation, SK. He grew up single-parented, living on welfare and no opportunity to be involved in after school sports. In grade 5, his best friend from South Africa gave Kendal a helping hand by giving him the opportunity to take part in soccer. He never forgot about what his friend had done for him when he later founded the popular clothing brand, Neechie Gear. A portion of profits help fund underprivileged youth to take part in sports.

After finishing two degrees from the University of Saskatchewan, Kendal grew the brand from a small 1 bedroom apartment to a small kiosk to several pop-up stores and recently opened a new headquarters in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The brand is now sold to consumers across North America through other exclusive retail partners and online (www.NeechieGear.com). Kendal recently launched a new company, Netmaker Enterprises with a focus on helping others turn their passion into a business.

Walter does work with various organizations and families in Saskatoon and area for the last 40 years. He is the Elder for the Saskatoon police service and other organizations and has been married 50 years and is a grandfather and great grandfather.

Ray Wanuch was Born in Edmonton, Alberta, raised on the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement and is of First Nations descent from the Ermineskin Cree Nation. He obtained a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge in 1989; and also possesses the Technician and the Professional Level Certification from Cando.

Prior to working with CANDO, Ray was the CEO of Settlement Investment Corporation. He then moved on to facilitate and manage the Métis Settlements Economic Viability Strategy, which received international recognition for sustainable development.

Donny Parenteau is a versatile vocalist & multi-instrumentalist who performs with energy and enthusiasm on the fiddle, mandolin, mandocaster, harmonica, acoustic and electric guitars.

Donny spent 12 years touring the world with Neal McCoy, recording on multi-platinum selling albums & played on numerous shows along with performances on The Grand Ole Opry & The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Alongside McCoy, Donny has shared the stage with country artists and genuine music icons such as Charlie Daniels, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Reba McEntire and many more.

www.donnyparenteau.com