Marilyn Baptiste

Marilyn Baptiste is a former councillor and former Chief of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation in British Columbia, one of the six First Nations that make up the Tsilhqot’in Nation which was awarded the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision declaring Aboriginal title in 2014.

Marilyn co-founded the First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM) to challenge mining development projects in Xeni Gwet’in land, while supporting other areas of British Columbia facing similar challenges. She has collaborated with community leaders from the Yunesit’in and the broader Tsilhqot’in Nation to permanently protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and the surrounding areas as Dasiqox Tribal Park.

For her work in leading her community to defeat a large mining project and preparing submissions for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency mining review, Marilyn has been the recipient of several awards. Her passion and dedication were recognized through FNWARM when she received the 2010 Boreal Initiative Award (in recognition of the fight to save Teztan Biny after the federal government’s initial denial of the Prosperity Copper Gold Mine’s application).

Marilyn has also been given the Wilderness Committee’s Eugene Environmental Award and the Activist of the Year Award by the Council of Canadians. In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s largest international award for grassroots environmental activism, for helping to shut down Taseko Mines Ltd’s New Prosperity gold and copper mine, one of the largest mining projects ever proposed in British Columbia. Marilyn lives in the Nemiah Valley of British Columbia and remains committed to defending First Nations’ values on the land and in her community.

 Eli Enns

Eli Enns is an internationally recognized expert in Indigenous-led conservation. From Tla-o-qui-aht Nation on his father’s side, and of Dutch Mennonite heritage on his mother’s side, Eli promotes holistic solutions for community and ecosystem health and well-being. With a background in political science, Eli is a ‘Nation-builder’ with values and approaches rooted in Indigenous economic theory and practice.

In 2017, a decade after co-founding the Ha-uukmin Tribal Park in his own territory, Eli co-chaired the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE) for the Pathway to Canada Target 1, which culminated with the groundbreaking 2018 report, We Rise Together: Achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) in the spirit and practice of reconciliation. IPCAs are now a central component of Canada’s conservation efforts. Eli supports Indigenous Nations across Canada to advance their conservation efforts via his roles with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation and the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership.

Nuu-chah-nulth values and concepts that guide Eli’s life and work:

• hishuk-nish-tsa-wahk – “Everything is one and everything is interconnected.”

• iisaak – “To observe, appreciate, and act accordingly.”

Frank Brown

Frank Brown is a member of the Heiltsuk Nation from Bella Bella. His Hereditary Chiefs-Yím̓ ás name is λáλíya̓ sila meaning “preparing for the largest potlatch.” He is an adjunct professor in resource and environmental management at Simon Fraser University. He is also the executive producer and co-curator of the Sacred Journey travelling exhibition. He recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Vancouver Island University and is a BMO Indigenous Advisory Council member. 

Frank is a leader in the Pacific coast-wide ocean-going Indigenous canoe resurgence and served as initiator and events planner for the Tribal Journeys to Bella Bella in 1993 and 2014. He was the founding director of the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department and director of Land and Marine Stewardship for the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative. Frank co-developed and is implementing an Aboriginal Eco-Tourism training program with the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, Vancouver Island University and North Island College. He also supported the development of an Indigenous Guardians training program with Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative and Vancouver Island University. 

Frank has served as a director of Aboriginal Tourism BC and was chairperson of the Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation. He co-established and was the co-program manager for the FP Innovations, First Nations Forestry Program. He is a Senior Leader for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative.

Lisa Young

Lisa Young is the Executive Director of Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), a leading Mi’kmaw natural resources and environmental management organization. Lisa joined UINR shortly after graduating with a BSc in Biology from York University. Lisa participates on a number of committees including Pitu’paq, Bras d’Or Lakes Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative, Mi’kmaq Forestry Advisory Committee, the Joint Committee on Climate Action, and the Advisory Committee on Climate Action and the Environment.

Steven Nitah

Steven Nitah brought his community of Łutsël K'é Dene First Nation (LKDFN) to the table with the Government of Canada during his time as elected Chief. On April 10, 2010, LKDFN signed a formal agreement to start negotiations on the creation of a protected area in Thaidene Nëné, which was established in 2019. Steven remains involved as a member of Thaidene Nëné's management board which is presently being established.

Steven was also a core member of the Indigenous Circle of Experts, contributing to the historic report We Rise Together, achieving Canada’s conservation goals through “the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.”

Steven was Senior Advisor to the Indigenous Leadership Initiative for nearly a decade where he advised Indigenous Nations and advanced Indigenous-led conservation at the national level.

Steven is currently Managing Director of Indigenous Affairs at Nature4Justice, where he will be exploring innovative financing opportunities for Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship, particularly related to the management of carbon.

Faisal Moola

Faisal Moola is an associate professor in Geography at the University of Guelph and the former director general of Ontario and Northern Canada for the David Suzuki Foundation. He has expertise in forest conservation and management, ecology and ethnoecology of plants, environmental policy and Indigenous-led conservation, and has contributed to a number of significant conservation and sustainability policy outcomes in Canada, including the protection of over two million hectares of temperate rainforest in British Columbia by Indigenous peoples and the expansion of the Greenbelt in Ontario. Professor Moola is the lead for the Biological Outcomes and Indicators Research Stream of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership.

Robin Roth

Robin Roth is a human-environment geographer with expertise in the political, social and cultural dimensions of conservation governance based at the University of Guelph’s Geography, Environment and Geomatics Department. Her research program promotes the critical understanding of biodiversity conservation. She and her students have explored the implications of conservation and development policies in Southeast Asia and the enabling and constraining factors that give rise to effective collaborative, Indigenous-led models of conservation in North America. She is the coordinator of the Master’s of Conservation Leadership at the University of Guelph and Associate Editor of the journal Biological Conservation. Dr. Roth is the Principal Investigator for the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership.