White Bear First Nation, Treaty 4 territory

After fifteen years of a successful career in First Nation gaming, Jonathan left the industry to serve his nation. He became elected in 2023 and since that time has helped his nation with economic development, good governance and treaty protection. Jonathan has his business administration degree from First Nations University of Canada and also has Elders who provide him with traditional knowledge.

Outside of work Jonathan values his family as a priority. He enjoys watching his children play sports and healthy fitness competition’s with his spouse.

FLUOR Canada

Candice Robertson-Shattler is proud of her Inuit ancestry and is committed to supporting Indigenous Nations, organizations, and individuals in achieving their desired goals. Firmly believing that we are stronger together, she started her own consulting company several years ago with the dream of connecting, collaborating, and committing to make a positive impact where ever she can.  Candice has 20 years of experience in the heavy civil construction, energy, not-for-profit, and education sectors and is currently supporting Fluor Canada in the Indigenous engagement space. 

Manager, Indigenous Engagement, Candu Energy Inc., an AtkinsRéalis company

As Manager, Indigenous Engagement, Sean supports Indigenous inclusion in Candu projects and programs. His responsibilities include creating opportunities for Indigenous participation across Candu projects and supporting Candu teams in meaningful engagement with Indigenous peoples.

Sean sits on Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Council for the Small Modular Reactor Action Plan (the Council). The Council is an Indigenous-led initiative established to support a coordinated, national Indigenous lens to small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) policies, programs, and decisions as the SMR Action Plan develops.

Glen Pratt is a member of the Gordon First Nation and has 20 years experience working with Indigenous communities throughout Western Canada. Has been an elected representative for his First Nation and Executive member as 3rd Vice Chief for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. He has held a number of portfolio’s including land claims,health, finance, justice and governance. He has chaired high level boards and commissions and currently sits on his communities Treaty Land Entitlement board.

President and CEO, National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food (NCIAF)

Kallie Wood is the President and CEO of the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food (NCIAF) and a proud member of Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation on Treaty Four Territory in Saskatchewan. With 35 years of leadership experience, Kallie previously served as Senior Indigenous Advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Saskatchewan. She holds a Master of Leadership and Management and is a mother and grandmother, with additional experience as a foster parent.

Heather is a Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, Special Advisor to the Business Council of Canada and Research Advisor to the Indigenous Resource Network.

Darrell Beaulieu is the President and CEO of Denendeh Investments Incorporated (DII) a 100% Dene owned corporation representing the 27 First Nations of the NWT. Mr. Beaulieu was appointed as the Spokesperson of the NWT Indigenous Leaders Economic Coalition.

Darrell served three terms as the Chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. He is a founder and past President of De’ton Cho Corporation from 1990 to 2000 and was the CEO from 1997 to 2002.

He currently sits on the Boards of Naka Power Utilities and the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and is a member of Northwestel’s Community Advisory Board and ATCO’s Indigenous Relations Advisory Committee.

JOHN ROWINSKI is Kanyen’kehà:ka, from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. He obtained his B.A. (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University. John opened a law office in Brooklin, Ontario in April 2008 after practicing for several years in downtown Toronto. In 2016, John renamed his practice Two Row Law, and moved it to an office on the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. After merging Two Row Law with Fogler, Rubinoff LLP in 2019, John began a new career as CEO of Noozhoo Nokiiyan LP in June 2020. In October 2023 John became CEO of Zhooniya Makak LP out of Hiawatha First Nation.

Vice President of Business Development & Strategy, George Gordon Developments Ltd.

Josh Montana is a strategic business leader from the George Gordon First Nation with over six years of experience across the oil, gas, potash, and renewable energy sectors in Western Canada. He brings a strong background in operations, stakeholder engagement, governance, economic development, and Indigenous relations. As Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, Josh specializes in high-level negotiations, project development, advocacy, and corporate strategizing. He previously held the position of Vice President of Stewardship and Relations at Musqua Environmental Services (formerly WLCS), where he led initiatives that strengthened partnerships and advanced Indigenous inclusion in the energy and mining sector. Josh holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Commerce. He is the founder of the Montana Foundation and has served on the boards of several organizations, including Namerind Housing Corporation, George Gordon Minor Sports, and GGFN TLE Holdings.

Alberta Minister of Indigenous Relations 

Rajan Sawhney was sworn in as the Minister of Indigenous Relations on May 16, 2025. She previously served as the Minister of Advanced Education, the Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism, the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Community and Social Services.

Prior to her service as an elected official, Mrs. Sawhney worked in the oil and gas industry for over 20 years in a variety of roles in economics and business development and served as the Vice President of Business Development for Fracture Modeling Inc.

Rajan Sawhney was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-NorthEast on April 16, 2019 and was elected the Member for Calgary-North West on May 29, 2023.

Steven is a proud member of the Blood Tribe and a rising leader in the Indigenous Business Community as the sole owner of Scout Engineering & Consulting Ltd., a company that continues to make an impact in Western Canada since being formed in 2017. Steven has been a consulting engineer for over 20 years and has managed projects valued from $200,000 to $100M, with specific expertise in construction and contract administration. He has in-depth knowledge of construction methodologies, contract administration, and the project life cycle. Steve has been responsible for securing funding, developing supporting reports and analysis, and leading projects from feasibility and concept development through construction. Steven contributes to policy reviews and development, including the only project focused on analyzing and innovating the Federal/First Nation infrastructure delivery system.

VP, Investments for the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC)  

 Scott brings experience, expertise and leadership capabilities around structuring, financing, and negotiating Indigenous partnerships in Alberta, including several deals directly involving AIOC. Scott’s previous experience positioned him as a principal architect of AIOC’s first investment, Cascade Power. 

Scott has directly supported a large number of Indigenous Communities across Western Canada in the equity ownership of major assets including renewable and non-renewable power generation, energy storage, hydrogen and critical minerals, oil and gas infrastructure, carbon capture utilization and storage and agriculture, in addition to key land acquisitions directly for Alberta Indigenous Communities. Scott’s previous experience spans Alberta economic sectors including energy, oilfield services, real estate, manufacturing, and international trade. 

Scott holds a CPA designation and is accredited as a Chartered Business Valuator and Chartered Financial Modeller. He is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors education program. 

BLG 

Cherie is the National Leader of BLG’s Indigenous Law practice and has an Indigenous law and commercial practice across a wide variety of sectors, including renewable energy and transmission, land development and financing on First Nations lands, and economic development initiatives for First Nations. Industry clients in the natural resource, energy, and infrastructure sectors will seek Cherie’s counsel when seeking to address the constitutionally protected interests of the Indigenous nations with which Canada shares its land and jurisdiction. Cherie is Mohawk from Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, and Ojibway from Wikwemkoong Unceded Indian Reserve. Amongst other awards she has been recognized in Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2025 for Aboriginal Law.

BLG 

Chris Roine is a partner in the corporate commercial group in our Vancouver office and is the western regional lead for our Indigenous Law Group. He has extensive experience representing business, government, and First Nations organizations on a range of partnerships, commercial arrangements, and governance matters. Chris works to build strategic and durable relationships between government, industry and Indigenous organizations. Prior to joining BLG, Chris served as the Director General for the western negotiations branch of Crown-Indigenous Relations.

Rob Blackstein is a corporate and transactional lawyer and co-chair of BLG’s Electricity Markets Group in Toronto. Rob is involved in all aspects of the energy and infrastructure industries, from upstream structuring between investors down to the project level, including project development, debt and equity financings, construction, operations, mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions, both domestic and cross-border. Rob works on a wide range of infrastructure and energy projects and transactions for public authorities, indigenous communities, lenders, equity providers, operators, customers, developers and design-builders. His experience in Canada’s energy is extensive and spans transmission, distribution and generation (solar, wind, hydroelectric, gas and nuclear), district energy projects and hydrogen.  Rob acts on a number of the sector’s most significant and marquee energy and infrastructure transactions, including complex bilateral arrangements as well as number of “first of a kind” projects. Rob is continuously involved in representing indigenous communities on various energy projects, from greenfield development stage projects through to secondary market sales with respect to operating projects.

Chairperson, FNPA 

Chief Felix Thomas has over 30 years of senior governance and management experience with First Nations. First elected as a councillor in 1991 Felix was the first elected chief in 1993 until 1999. Felix was also Executive Director of FSIN’s Health and Social Development Commission from 1999-2002. Chief Thomas was re-elected in 2003 until 2008 when he was elected Tribal Chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council until 2017. He was a partnering a private company specializing in long term car rentals. He has since returned to Kinistin Governance as Chief.

Over the years, Chief Thomas has been instrumental in National, regional and local volunteer boards. Chief Thomas has co-chaired Assembly of First Nation, Chiefs Committee on Health, Chairman of Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, Co-chair Thundering Ahead, a $40 million capital campaign.  Chief Thomas is currently chair Wanuskewin Heritage Park and First Nations Power Authority. 

Chief Executive Officer, Cowessess Ventures Ltd.

Jake Sinclair is the CEO for Cowessess Ventures Ltd. and is a successful business owner based in Regina, SK. He is an Alumni of University of Regina with a BBA, and MBA with the Levene School of Business. Jake is from George Gordon First Nation and grew up in his home community. Since leaving his community he has work experience as an entrepreneur and with the Provincial Government, dedicating 7 years with SLGA and Ministry of Trade and Export. In his spare time, he likes to stay active by participating in organized events like marathons and golf tournaments.

Aubrey-Anne Laliberte-Pewapisconias is a nêhiyâskwew from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation on Treaty 10 Territory and Little Pine First Nation on Treaty 6 Territory. She holds a Master of Sustainability in Energy Security from the University of Saskatchewan where she built energy literacy toolkits rooted in Indigenous knowledges and language. She takes great pride in her role as the ImaGENation Program Manager at Indigenous Clean Energy where she works with Indigenous Youth to build clean energy projects in their communities.

Dedicated to fostering collaboration with Indigenous Peoples in the realm of climate action, Aubrey-Anne has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP27, served as Canada’s 2023 Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction negotiator at the G20 Youth Summit, was listed as a 2023 Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalist, and recently was listed as one of Corporate Knights’ 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders.

President and Owner, Juno Engineering Canada

Brad Fuhr is the President and Owner of Juno Engineering Canada, bringing over 25 years of specialized experience in electrical, control, and instrumentation engineering. His diverse portfolio spans the power generation, oil and gas, chemical/petrochemical, pipeline, and commercial facility sectors. A licensed professional engineer in both Canada and the United States, Brad also serves as the principal engineer at Juno, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers, drafters, technicians, and support staff.

An active member of the Committee on the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I and the Alberta Safety Codes Council, Brad remains at the forefront of evolving industry codes and regulations. He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Energy Industry Electrical Engineers Association (EIEEA).

Founding Director, Aboriginal Leadership and Management Programs, The Banff Centre for Management

Andrew Bear Robe is the Founding Director, Aboriginal Leadership and Management Programs at the Banff Centre for Management. In the past, he was also Director of Policy & Research for Aboriginal Land Claims, Provincial Relations in Alberta, Executive Manager and Tribal Manager for Siksika Nation, President and CEO of Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, and a Sessional Instructor at the Universities of Lethbridge, Calgary and Old Sun Community College. He holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of Calgary and an M.A. in Political Science.

Founder & President, Willow Brook Farms

Colin Kobza is a passionate entrepreneur, former elite hockey player, and the visionary Founder & President of Willow Brook Farms. Drawing on his Métis heritage and a deep-rooted commitment to community, Colin leads a mission-driven enterprise focused on food sovereignty, sustainability, and empowering Indigenous and Métis communities.

After overcoming Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in his early 20s, Colin discovered a profound connection to nature, health, and healing through gardening. This personal journey inspired the creation of Willow Brook Farms—an innovative organization that designs and builds state-of-the-art aeroponic grow facilities and butcher operations to support year-round, local food production. With over two decades of leadership and entrepreneurial experience—including founding the Boonstock Music Festival, which grew to host over 60,000 attendees—Colin brings relentless drive, resilience, and a heart for service to every project.

Advisor, Economic Development, Cold Lake First Nations

Kyle Martin is an Economic Development Advisor for Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN), where he leads initiatives to expand and diversify the Nation’s economic interests. His role focuses on corporate development and capital investment across CLFN’s portfolio of business entities. Kyle has supported the Nation in structuring and executing major transactions in both clean and conventional energy. His previous experience includes roles in carbon finance and oil & gas, with work spanning both domestic and international markets.

He holds degrees in Political Science, International Relations, and Business, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to strategic economic development.

President, Wawatewak Corporation

Mark dedicated 23 years to Manitoba Hydro, one of the largest publicly owned electrical utilities in North America. He held several leadership roles in various sectors of the company, including Senior Lead Negotiator, Indigenous Relations, Customer Service & Distribution and the Executive team. Mark Sweeny is a member of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Treaty 5. In recent years, Mark was the Senior Aide to the Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), a political advocacy organization of Nations within Treaty 5.

Mark is currently President of the Wawatewak Corporation, which aims to own and operate an energy corridor from Churchill to Northern Alberta. The corporation’s board is comprised of traditional and political leadership representing a coalition of nations.

Ranjith (Ran) Narayanasamy is a visionary leader and a passionate advocate for sustainable energy solutions. As the President and CEO of PTRC, he oversees the development and implementation of innovative low carbon energy technologies in Canada and Internationally. He joined PTRC in February 2022, bringing with him a wealth of experience and expertise in engineering, business, and Indigenous economic development. Ran holds a master’s degree in engineering and a master’s in business administration from the University of Regina. Ran has strong Board Governance experience and completed Directors Education Program from Rotman School of Business. Ran volunteers for non-profit organizations in Saskatchewan and participates in fundraising activities. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Premier award for public service excellence and accomplished Alumni recognition from University of Regina & Ran is passionate about making a positive impact and meaningful change in the world.

Karen Ogen is the CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance, a society of First Nations in support of responsible LNG and Natural Gas development in Canada – with a priority on the environment, and on First Nations consultation and engagement.

Karen brings extensive experience to her role, having served as elected chief of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation for six years, 2010-2016. She was also a council member for the Nation 1987-1990 and again 2019-2022. 

She is familiar with the needs of Indigenous communities throughout B.C. and seeks to increase economic opportunities for First Nations through providing information and education regarding responsible resource development.