Chief Jen Thomas

Chief Jen Thomas is a proud member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and daughter of former Chief Maureen Thomas and Stanley Thomas. She leads various community events like the annual Christmas Craft Fair and baby celebration. She was instrumental in working with families to open Registered Education Savings Plan accounts, so children will have secure funding for post-secondary education. Jen believes the success of our youth is the success of the nation and works to help TWN youth reach their full potential.  

She has also worked with various First Nations organizations in the past two decades, including the BC Aboriginal Fisheries Organization, First Nations Summit, Assembly of First Nations, and BC Childcare Society, which has expanded her insight into First Nations governance and strengthened her leadership capacity in the community.  

Her goals for the future are to see all our members thrive; bring our people together for more good times, rather than sad occasions; find more resources for people with disabilities and chronic diseases; learn as much as possible about our members’ experiences; and find more training opportunities for members to hold top positions within our nation. 

Wes Johnsen

Wes Johnsen is the Director, Net Zero at Bruce Power, a role primarily focused on commercial business opportunities that leverage the carbon free advantages of nuclear to enable complementary technologies to help Canada transition to fully decarbonized energy systems across all sectors of the economy. Key areas of interest include environmental attributes and credit creation, energy storage, low-carbon hydrogen, synthetic fuels and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Previous to this, he led Bruce Power’s Power Trading organization, which included all commodity trading activities and the dispatch of the nuclear fleet to the grid. He has proudly worked in the nuclear industry for close to a decade and is extremely passionate about the environment. He recognizes the importance of successfully navigating the Energy Transition to decarbonize the world, while maintaining an affordable, reliable and secure energy system. 

Wes has been active and participated in the majority of the North American deregulated power markets across the course of his 20-year career, bringing a unique skillset specializing in commercial roles guiding companies through complex commodity markets performing risk management and proprietary trading activities. Along with Bruce Power, he has worked across the sector, gaining diverse experiences with Capital Power, TransAlta, Suncor and Tidal Energy Marketing (Enbridge).  

Wes holds a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance from the University of Calgary and is also a CFA charter holder.  

Andrea Barrack

As Senior Vice President, Corporate Citizenship & ESG, Andrea Barrack is responsible for RBC’s ESG strategy, including performance management, reporting, and scaling knowledge and insights across the enterprise. Andrea is also responsible for RBC’s global Citizenship strategy and serves as the Executive Director of the RBC Foundation, one of Canada’s largest corporate donors. Her mandate includes delivery of measurable social, employee, brand and business impact through community investments. 

Prior to joining RBC, Andrea was Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship at TD Bank. She also served as an Executive Advisor on ESG, Sustainability and Climate Change at Deloitte, and as CEO at Ontario Trillium Foundation. 

Andrea is an active volunteer – she participated on the Board of the International Planned Parenthood Federation at the regional, national, and global level for over 15 years, chaired the Dean’s Council at Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) from 2014 – 2020 and was an inaugural board member of Ontario Health from 2019 to 2021. She is currently an Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and teaches in the ESG Certification Program. 

Andrea Barrack earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of Guelph and a Master of Health Science in Health Administration at the University of Toronto. In 2016, she was named in the Women’s Executive Network Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Trendsetter and Trailblazer category. In the 2022 provincial election she was the Ontario Liberal Party Candidate for University Rosedale. 

Megan Leslie

Megan Leslie is President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada. Since taking on this role, Megan has led WWF-Canada’s bold 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada by expanding habitats, reducing carbon in the atmosphere, lowering industrial impacts and, as a result, reversing wildlife loss and fighting climate change. She is also passionate about engaging Canadians to take action for nature. 
 
Before assuming the role of President & CEO, Megan was WWF-Canada’s Vice President, Oceans. Prior to that, she was a Member of Parliament representing Halifax for two terms during which she was deputy leader of the Official Opposition, environment critic and vice-chair of the government committee on environment and sustainable development. As a Parliamentarian, Megan introduced a motion to ban plastic microbeads, which led to a ban on the Canadian manufacture, sale and importation of these products. She also expedited the creation of Sable Island National Park Reserve. 
 
Megan is the proud recipient of an Honourary Degree from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and she serves on the ArcticNet Board of Directors

Chris Duff

Christopher Duff is a speaker, author, entrepreneur and trailblazer fiercely committed to helping young people live and work in purpose. As Executive Director at the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity, he is mission-driven to improve policies and system infrastructure in the youth workforce development ecosystem. He loves early morning bike rides, learning about space exploration (everything NASA), and he actually owns a microscope!

Bill Lomax

Bill Lomax is the President and CEO of the First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) and a member of the Gitxsan Nation. Bill grew up in Terrace, B.C. before heading south to spend 22 years working on Wall Street and in Private equity in the United States. As a graduate of UBC’s law school and obtaining his MBA at Columbia University, Mr. Lomax began his career as a lawyer facilitating land claim negotiations for the British Columbia Treaty Commission. He later worked for the U.S. Federal Department of Justice before entering the investment sector in the United States, working for firms such as Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Lomax believes the First Nations Bank of Canada will be a catalyst for economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable in Indigenous Nations and communities.

The First Nations Bank of Canada is a federally chartered bank, with decades of experience serving Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples throughout Canada. The FNBC has 22 branches or service centres in 6 provinces and three territories and more than $1B in holdings.

Sage Lenier

Sage Lenier is an activist fighting for an education system that properly prepares Gen Z for a climate-changed future. Recently, she has been honored by TIME Magazine as one of ten 2023 Next Generation Leaders.

Pattie Gonia

Pattie Gonia is a critically acclaimed drag queen, environmentalist and community organizer. They’re on a mission to create a world where more people take action for both people and our planet. 
 
Over the past 5 years Pattie and her community 1 million people strong have raised more than $2 million dollars for diverse led organizations advocating for issues from climate change to diversifying the outdoors to protecting LGBTQ lives. 
 
Recently Pattie was named a Time Magazine Next Gen Leader and named Outside Magazine Person of the Year. Her content reaches 4.5 million people per month across social platforms and sold out live performances across America using the art as activism to educate and entertain. 
 
This summer, Pattie just wrapped filming a TV series about environmental solutions with Bonnie Wright from Harry Potter coming to a streaming platform early 2024. 

Instagram: @pattiegonia

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault

Steven Guilbeault is the Member of Parliament for Laurier–Sainte-Marie in Montreal and has been a leading figure in the fight against climate change throughout his career. From activist to strategic advisor for dozens of governments and businesses in Canada and abroad, Minister Guilbeault is a pragmatist who seeks to make a difference by building bridges and relationships.

He was first elected in 2019 and appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage, where he supported the cultural sector throughout the pandemic and brought forward important pieces of legislation. Following the 2021 election, he was appointed Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Minister Guilbeault’s commitment to the environment started at the age of five, when he climbed a tree to protect it from real estate developers who were about to cut down the woods behind his home in La Tuque, Quebec. Twenty-five years later, he scaled the CN Tower in Toronto to call for Canada to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Steven cofounded Équiterre, the largest environmental organization in Quebec, in 1993 and acted as its senior director from 2007 to 2018. He also served as director and campaign manager for Greenpeace. A strategic advisor at Cycle Capital Management, a fund dedicated to the development of clean technologies, for more than ten years, he also worked for Deloitte and Touche and for Copticom, a consulting firm specializing in issues related to the green economy, the social economy and transportation.