ACED 205 Aboriginal Governance Development

Presenting Organization
Cando

Description 
This course focuses on the twin topics of effective leadership and the role and mandate of the Board of Governors or Tribal Council. This includes balancing the leadership and management needs of an organization and sharing these functions effectively with the board. The governance functions of the mission statement, the role of the board, recruiting and orienting new board members, and board-executive director relations will be critically examined through experiential models and practices. Students will keep a single notebook or binder to hold their written notes and class handouts. This will develop the student's organizational skills and allow them to monitor their own progress in the course. This course is targeted for those who are employed and/or have administrative experience.

What Participants will Learn by Attending 
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

  • develop general leadership and governance skills;
  • learn to work in teams and with a diversity of people;
  • acquire problem-solving skills in situational cases;
  • develop communication skills, better manage conflict, and decision making;
  • develop interpersonal leadership and governance strategies;
  • analyse various models of leadership and governance;
  • practice interpersonal communication skills; and
  • create and set organizational priorities, goals and visions.

Instructors
Ken Tourand and Angela Wesley

Presenter Biographies

Ken Tourand is the President of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT), BC’s only Indigenous Public Post-secondary Institution. Ken started at NVIT in 1995 as a faculty member and after holding a number of administrative positions, became President/CEO of NVIT in October 2010. Ken holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership and Training. Ken is Cree Metis and is a member of Metis Nation British Columbia. Ken is passionate about Indigenous Education and has presented at many conferences and roundtables regarding Indigenous Education and the unique role that NVIT plays in meeting the needs of Aboriginal students and Aboriginal communities. Since becoming President in 2010, Ken has focused on Indigenous Board Governance and the unique relationship between the Board and the CEO. Ken has had the opportunity to work with a number of Indigenous organizations on Strategic Planning and Board Governance including the Huu-ay-aht Group of Businesses, Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Interior First Nations, and the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers. Ken has served on many Boards and is the past Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Committee for College and Institutes Canada. Ken was instrumental in creating the National Indigenous Protocol for post-secondary institutions. Ken is married to Darlene and has two wonderful children, Jacob and Stephanie.

 

Angela Wesley is a citizen of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations (Nuu-chah-nulth). Since establishing Wes-Can Advisory Services in 1992, she has worked extensively within her own community and with First Nations communities throughout British Columbia providing advisory and facilitation services in the areas of strategic planning, community development, communications, community engagement, and governance capacity building. She has been one of the champions in her Nation’s self-governance journey, having been involved throughout all stages of negotiation and ratification of the Maa-nulth First Nations treaty, the first multi-nation modern day treaty under the BC Treaty Commission process. Angela was key in the development of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Constitution, a document which received a high level of support from citizens and is now the highest law of the land for the Nation and its citizens. She continues to be an active participant in the implementation of the treaty within her own Nation and on behalf of all 5 signatories to the treaty as their representative on the tripartite Implementation Committee. Angela has been the Board Chair/President for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Group of Businesses since 2012 (forestry, fisheries, gravel, hospitality, lands, management limited partnerships). She was a long serving Speaker (Legislative Chairperson) for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Legislature and Annual People’s Assemblies. She is actively involved in international discussions on indigenous governance and leadership and has served as a Commissioner on the British Columbia Treaty Commission since 2018. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Toquaht First Nation Holdings Board, the New Relationship Trust, and the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC and previously served as Executive Member and Chair of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and on the Board of Directors of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Angela resides in her husband Gerald`s traditional territory of Kitsumkalum in Terrace, BC and enjoys the company and teachings of her 12-year old grandson Drakon.