Speakers

Dale Ahenakew

Dale Ahenakew

Human Resources Generalist

Assembly of First Nations

Leslie Anne St. Amour

Leslie Anne St. Amour

Lawyer

Durant Barristers

Leslie Anne St. Amour (she/her) was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley and Kingston areas. She is a member of the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation and has mixed Algonquin and settler heritage. Leslie Anne graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2020 and is currently an Associate at Durant Barristers. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Aboriginal Legal Services and the Board of Directors of the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station.

Shawna Cote

Shawna Cote

Executive Director

Qu'Appelle Valley Friendship Centre

Jackson Dionne

Jackson Dionne

Executive Director

Indigenous Wellness Training Society

Shauna Ironstar

Shauna Ironstar

Associate Vice President Human Resources

First Nations Bank of Canada

Jillian Janega-Connell

Jillian Janega-Connell

Chief Operating Officer

Anchored Recruiting & HR Solutions

Jillian is the Chief Operating Officer with Anchored Recruiting & HR Solutions, an Atlantic Canadian HR Consulting firm in Atlantic Canada. Jillian worked at Cabot Cape Breton as the Director of Strategy and Planning while helping lead the HR team for over three hundred employees. As the Director of Strategy and Planning she was responsible for the development and implementation of internal processes, policies, employee wellness initiatives, training programs as well as the annual internal audit process in an effort to improve both the employee and guest experience.

Jillian spent almost two years in the North working with Indigenous communities and organizations as an HR advisor with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in Inuvik, NWT. While there, she served on the Regional Training Partnership committee which had representatives from across the Beaufort Delta Region, aiming to improve training and employment prospects for their communities. Jillian has her Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Cape Breton University), Bachelor of Business Administration (Cape Breton University) and her Advanced diploma in Human Resources (Nova Scotia Community College) along with her CPHR designation (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources). While being a strong community advocate Jillian is a past board member of the Cape Breton Partnership and is a current Board member of the National Advisory Committee for the Future Skills Framework Project with Tourism HR Canada.

Gary Muuren

Executive Vice President, Human Resources

Nch’kay Development Corporation

Shona L. Nelson

Band Manager & Chief Administrative Officer

Doig River First Nation