First woman and first Indigenous person to hold the position
The transition into the position of Executive Director of the BQCMB is the culmination of 18 months of work, as Tina has been leading the development of a modernized Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Barren Ground Caribou Management Agreement since October 2020.
“It’s been a challenging process,” she explains. “I have been slowly learning the ropes (from retiring Executive Director Ross Thompson) while developing a proposed new management agreement and finishing up with some of my previous contracts. But I am very excited and motivated to take the reins and help amplify the BQCMB’s voice in the future.”
Only the third person to serve in the role since the BQCMB was created in 1982, Tina is also the first woman and first Indigenous person to serve as Executive Director. But she is well known to BQCMB members, having attended BQCMB meetings for many years as technical advisor to Athabasca Denesułiné board members.
For over 15 years, Tina has been working with First Nation communities as a wildlife biologist, regulatory officer, policy analyst, and advocate. This was initially through her work with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in fish habitat protection, and predominately with the Athabasca Denesułiné on barren ground caribou stewardship and assisting communities in the protection of Treaty and aboriginal rights.
Most recently, Tina worked as project manager with Ya’thi Néné Lands & Resources, for the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) in Nuhenéné, the traditional territory of the Athabasca Denesułiné.
Chair Earl Evans is enthusiastic about Tina’s ability to support the multi-jurisdictional co-management board. “Tina is a strong communicator who knows how to bring people together, which is exactly what this board was created to do,” he says. “I have no doubt she will be successful in guiding the BQCMB into a modernized era of caribou management and helping board members collaborate and share information about the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds and the threats they face.”
Tina is looking forward to her first BQCMB meeting as Executive Director. The meeting, scheduled for May 3-5, 2022 in Winnipeg MB, will also be the first in-person BQCMB meeting since November 2019. “It will be wonderful to see our members face-to-face,” she says. “Virtual meetings have their place, but having our government, First Nations, Metis, and Inuit members from across the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou ranges sitting at a table together, sharing information about the herds is so much more effective.”
Tina resides near Paddockwood, SK with her husband and dogs.
