Grand Chief Edward John is a Hereditary Chief of Tl’azt’en Nation located on the banks of the Nak’al Bun (Stuart Lake) in Northern BC. He is an Indigenous leader who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of social and economic justice for Canada’s Indigenous people, having worked as a leader in Indigenous politics, business and community development.
Matt Vickers is an accomplished businessperson who has been at the forefront of establishing links in a cross-cultural business environment since 1970. Matt is the owner of Vickers & Associates, a management and financial consultancy, that has a successful track record of matching the needs of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal potential business partners in organizing and developing business ventures.
Ruth Williams has been a leader in social and economic development for Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia for over 30 years. She has been a member of dozens of organizations over the years, almost invariably assuming a leadership role.
Brian Payer is Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and operates Brian Payer and Associates, a consulting company that focuses on business development, market enhancement and strategic economic development primarily with Aboriginal individuals, corporations and organizations.
Jerry Asp is one of western Canada’s most prominent Aboriginal leaders. He is committed to enhancing the quality of life for Aboriginal people through the creation of new business opportunities and development of skills and capacity in the community. In addition to supporting Aboriginal business development, Jerry has also applied his leadership skills to serve the public.
Sophie Pierre is a respected leader among BC First Nations. Prior to her appointment as chief commissioner, Pierre led the St. Mary’s Indian Band for 30 years as elected chief and was the administrator of the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council for 25 years. She also served as the tribal chair of the Ktunaxa Nation Council, chairperson of the First Nations Finance Authority, president of St. Eugene Mission Holdings Ltd. and co-chair of the International Advisory Committee to the Indigenous Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy for the University of Arizona.
Kekinusuqs, Dr. Judith Sayers is a Strategic Advisor to First Nations and corporations on First Nations issues. She an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and Business as well as Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Victoria.
Dr. John Claxton is a founding member of Ch’nook and Professor Emeritus with the Sauder School of Business. As a faculty member at Sauder, John focused his teaching and research on the application of analytical tools to marketing and strategy formulation. In addition to his work at UBC, he has held visiting appointments at London Business School, INSEAD, IEA-OECD, and Cranfield Institute of Technology, plus teaching assignments in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Richard George joined Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), now Aborigninal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) in July 2002, as Advisor, Income Assistance. He graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and from the British Columbia Institute of Technology with a diploma in Financial Management. Richard George is a member of the Ahousaht Tribe.
David Walkem is the Chief of the Cooks Ferry Indian Band and vice-chair of the Nicola Similkameen Innovative Forestry Society. He is also the president of Stuwix Resources Joint Venture, which manages a forest licence for eight shareholder Indian bands in the BC interior. >More
Dale has worked in the Financial Services industry for 30 years in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In his current role as District Vice President, TD Canada Trust, BC southern Interior Mr. Safinuk support 16 branches located in the Okanagan and Columbia Kootenay areas of of BC.
Dr. Han Donker is Chair of the School of Business at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has a Ph.D. in Finance and Accounting from CentER at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands and a MSc in Economics from the Free University of Amsterdam.
Dr. Dave Tynam is Dean of the Faculty of Management at Vancouver Island University and is a well-published tourism researcher and administrator whose recent work has included research on special event volunteer motivations, community involvement and the social economy, provincial articulation agreements in tourism, and a study on Alpine Ski Athletes satisfaction with their overall experience in the sport.
