Board Directory

Darrell Bernard owns and operates Kluskap Ridge RV & Campground with his wife Sharon, and in partnership with Austin & Rosemarie Christmas. Darrell has spent most of his life living the traditional way of his people. Darrell has performed for nearly 30 years with the Mi’kmaw Drum Group, Sons of Membertou. The Sons of Membertou have performed traditional and contemporary music, both nationally and internationally.

Darrell is a retired civil servant having served his community of Membertou as a council member for 26 years. He has also served on the board for the United Way and is a proud dad and grandfather.

David Daley is a Métis man, and long-time resident of Churchill, Manitoba. David and his wife Valerie have worked hard to become a part of Churchill’s tourism industry including owning and operating the Wapusk General Store (hand-built by Dave) and Wapusk Adventures Dog Sled Camp (paw-built by Dave’s dogs).

Dave serves his community as the Chairman of the Churchill Métis Local, President of the Churchill Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Manitoba Indigenous Tourism Advisory Committee for the Province of Manitoba.

Frank Antoine is the co-founder of Moccasin Trails, a cultural tourism company based in Kamloops, BC. He worked at Quaaout Lodge & Spa at Talking Rock Golf Resort for more than a decade and was vital in the development and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism programs and projects in the Skwlax community.

He is a strong cultural ambassador and proud to share the traditional knowledge he carries. Frank has sat on a variety of tourism boards, including the Adams River Salmon Society, Shuswap Trail Alliance, Hat Creek Society, McAbee Group, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, as well as Indigenous Tourism of British Columbia.

Jamie Thomas is the Director of Culture and Tourism for the Lennox Island First Nation. She has worked diligently to identify the artistic abilities, cultural skills and traditional knowledge throughout the community. She is responsible for assisting in building capacity in and around the community and is responsible for creating strategic plans to ensure that Lennox Island is part of the Indigenous Tourism experience being offered to visitors coming to Prince Edward Island.

Jamie believes that grass-root engagement is fundamental to the success of any and all initiatives she is involved in. She is passionate and committed to the work she does. She approaches things with an open mind and prides herself on being a visionary who believes that any idea is worth exploring.

Jamie has over 22 years of experience working with First Nations communities both on and off-reserve at the National and Provincial levels. She has sat on numerous boards and committees and has given professional presentations to a variety of audiences across the country. Jamie has received certification from UPEI in Mediation, Facilitation and Conflict Resolution. Jamie was also a recipient of the Queens Golden Jubilee Medal.

In 2017, Parks Canada awarded the Lennox Island Mi’kmaq Cultural Centre with the Sustainable Tourism Award while in 2018 they received the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada’s Most Improved Tourism Business award, both under her direction.

Jason Waub-Addick Johnston is Anishinaubae from Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation (Neyaashiinigmiing) in Ontario. Jason has focused his education and professional careers around appreciating, understanding, and educating people about his and other Indigenous histories and cultures, and the natural world. Currently, Jason is the Interpretative Program Coordinator for Cape Croker Park in Neyaashiinigmiing. With his colleague, Jason is developing year-round, experience-based cultural tourism programming. This encompasses the natural and cultural history of their traditional Anishinaubae territory around Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. This programming allows community members to share their traditional knowledge and revitalize their connection to our culture. It also provided the means to educated Canadian and international visitors about Anishinaubae culture, language, and our rich and extensive history dating back since time immemorial.

Jason holds a Master of Science in Environmental Science from Thompson Rivers University. His Master’s thesis, and three subsequent published international academic papers, focused on the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples, histories, and cultures within Canadian national park and protected area tourism sectors. Additionally, he has received a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree from Thompson Rivers University, Fish and Wildlife Technician and Fish and Wildlife Technologist diplomas from Sir Sandford Fleming College, and an Outdoor Adventure Naturalist Diploma from Algonquin College.

In 10 of the past 12 years Jason worked for Parks Canada in Visitor Experience – Bruce Peninsula National Park, Fathom Five National Marine Park, Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Jasper National Park, and Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks. During this time, he worked as an Indigenous Interpreter and Visitor Experience Supervisor. He supervised front-line visitor experience and interpretive staff at one of the busiest Parks Canada sites in the country. Jason developed and delivered dozens of interpretive programs focused on Indigenous histories and cultures, natural history, and wildlife. Jason has also worked as an interpretive and wilderness guide for two Indigenous-owned, world-renowned ecotourism lodges on the coast of British Columbia; Spirit Bear Lodge and Knight Inlet Lodge. Over the past two years, Jason has worked as an instructor for the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, developing and instructing multiple courses within the discipline of natural resource science, teaching Indigenous students in various First Nation communities throughout British Columbia.

Joe Bailey, of the Dené people, is the principal owner of North Star Adventures and is the primary guide working directly with the guests in Yellowknife. Joe has had the opportunity to experience many exciting and sometimes harrowing northern adventures from being raised in a tent in -40C to tracking grizzlies and being chased by black bears.

Bailey is committed to sharing Indigenous culture with people from around the world and honouring Indigenous heritage.

Member of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Marie-Pierre had the opportunity over the past ten years to collaborate with all the Quebec First Nations. In addition to a multidisciplinary academic study in business administration and mathematics, she has first-hand professional experience of Indigenous realities. For the past two years, she has held the position of development advisor for Indigenous Tourism Quebec and she is strongly motivated to contribute to the optimization of the Indigenous tourism sector. Her commitment and ability to adapt will certainly lead her to meet the diverse needs of Indigenous tourism businesses. With a great interest in reconciliation as well as the promotion of the diverse Indigenous cultures, Marie-Pierre feels particularly interested in the development opportunities within the tourism sector.

Patricia Dunnet is the General Manager at Metepenagjag Heritage Park (MHP) in Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation (Red Bank) New Brunswick. MHP is a state of the art facility that celebrates Mi’kmaq culture through music, oral history, exhibits, trail tours of the traditional Mi’kmaq lands and hands on cultural activities. The park’s mandate is to preserve, protect, and promote two significant National Historic sites, the Augustine Mound, and the Oxbow, both ancient and historic sites of the Mi’kmaq dating back more than 3,000 years.

Sheila is the founder and executive chef of sijjakkut, a 100% Inuit owned company that prides itself in the preservation and promotion of Inuit culture through inuksiutit menus. Sheila has shared menus in Iqaluit, Ottawa, Toronto and New York City. She also collaborated with other accomplished chefs in a New Arctic Kitchen event in Nuuk, Greenland.

Shortly after making Iqaluit her home in 2010, Sheila started working with the delicate and unique flavours of Inuit foods to create delicious fusion dishes. She quickly discovered a demand for inuksiutit menus and has been catering local events since 2011.

Sheila’s participation in MasterChef Canada Season IV catapulted her passion for inuksiutit dishes to a national audience. She has been featured in the Globe and Mail as one of the top emerging chefs in Canada, was featured in a Chatelaine article and has contributed a recipe with The Kit. She has appeared in Chuck and the First Peoples’ Kitchen, Moosemeat and Marmalade and NHK’s Gatten!

Sheila is Inuvialuk and is enrolled in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.