Marion Colleen Erickson is a Dakelh grandmother (Ut’soo) from the Nak’azdli community and a member of the Lasilyu (Frog) Clan. An active community member who participates in the balhats (potlatch) system, she believes that cultural identity is the foundation of health and wellness, and is committed to improving the health and wellness of First Nations.
A former two-term Chief of Saik’uz First Nation, Colleen is a recognized community leader and veteran member of the RCMP. She currently teaches part-time at her local college, focusing mostly on Aboriginal Studies.
Colleen has a Master’s degree in Education, with a special focus on the traditional philosophies of Carrier teachings.
Colleen’s past board experience includes roles within local government, Elder society and business and she has held numerous school district appointments. She brings a wealth of negotiation, financial administration, mediation and leadership skills to the FNHA board, as well as extensive cultural and traditional knowledge.
Tammie Myles (Interim Vice-Chair)
Tammie Myles is Stz’uminus First Nations and Danish. Bridging the two cultures in her work and life has given her enhanced opportunities for learning and developing within Western society and Aboriginal traditions.
Tammie is the owner and director of Mother Earth Whispers, an organizational wellness and leadership development company. She also instructs at the University of Toronto in the Master of Social Work – Indigenous Trauma Resiliency Program, and also at Royal Roads University and Vancouver Island University.
Tammie has a Master of Arts in Leadership and Training and is pursuing a doctorate in Relationship Dynamics and Metaphysical Science.
With 30 years’ experience in First Nations communities in training and organizational and community development, including significant management experience with Aboriginal Friendship Centres, Tammie brings an ability to incorporate Indigenous methods and approaches into organizational culture philosophies, wellness and development.
Angela George (Interim Secretary-Treasurer)
Angela George is Coast Salish and carries two ancestral names, sits’sáts’tenat and qʷənat. A mother of four, she is married to Gabriel George, grandson of Chief Dan George, and lives and works in Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
With a passion for canoe racing, singing and dancing, Angela believes that practicing traditions and having a strong sense of identity and connection to our ancestors is vital to community wellness, development and sustainability. She loves to learn and teach weaving, holding this link to her late mother and Squamish ancestry dearly and striving to carry this sacred practice with integrity.
Angela has an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) in Indigenous Business Leadership from SFU.
Traditionally groomed, Angela has a strong understanding of her culture and its spiritual teachings as well as the impacts of colonization and the barriers that plague First Nations communities. Angela has dedicated her career to the betterment of First Nations people and communities.
Janice Abbott (Director)
Janice Abbott has an Institute of Corporate Directors Designation and board experience with the Aboriginal Mothers Centre Society (2019 to present). She is a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Governor in Council Appointee (2017 to present).
The Chief Executive Officer of the not-for-profit Atira Women's Resource Society since 1992, Janice has led the society through extraordinary growth.
Janice's education and training includes a degree in sociology. She has managed major housing developments from planning and design to project construction and has experience with municipal, federal and provincial levels of governments.
Leah Ballantyne (Director)
Leah Ballantyne is a Cree First Nations lawyer with several years' experience in First Nations organizations. She has a wide range of advocacy skills with team-based projects and activities, as well as First Nations health care and tripartite experience.
Leah has extensive Board experience as well as experience in First Nations governance, budget preparation and management, expenditure monitoring and grant-proposal writing.
Part of the Assembly of First Nations Indigenous Knowledge Advisory Group, which focuses on Indigenous knowledge around the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, Leah is engaged in advocating for Indigenous rights. She wants to continue to advance the rights of Indigenous peoples, including the right to health.
Dr. Sheila Blackstock (Director)
Sheila Blackstock is Gitxsan First Nations.
An Associate Teaching Professor and Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at Thompson Rivers University, Sheila has over 32 years’ of nursing experience. She has worked in leadership positions and in rural and regional Indigenous nursing practice in specialty areas, community health and occupational health nursing.
Sheila has a Master of Science in Nursing and an advanced specialty in Occupational Health Nursing. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Alberta, exploring incivility experiences of new graduate nurses and looking at the role of oppression in health care organizations and the impact on structural empowerment.
Sheila’s board experience includes being a founding member of TRU’s Indigenous Health Nursing Committee and its first Chair. In this role she promoted Indigenous nursing education and curriculum development in partnership with Indigenous communities, incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems and personal, professional, and social responsibilities in developing responsive and respective relationships.
Michael Bonshor (Director)
Michael Bonshor is a member of Dzawada'enuxw First Nation and is designated as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
President and CEO of Visions First Nations Financial Services and Ki'mola Indigenous Capital, his work has included strategic planning, negotiations with industry and government and the development of business structures, capital financing partnerships and private equity investments.
Michael sits on the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, and chairs the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing Limited Partnership and the Audit and Finance Committee of the BC Infrastructure Benefits Inc.
Helen Joe (Director)
Helen Joe is Sto:lo, a member of the Tzeachten Band, and widely celebrated as a Cultural and Spiritual Advisor.
A firm believer that culture is medicine, Helen applies her extensive knowledge of cultural teachings to both personal and professional work. She has over 25 years of justice experience, including service on the BC Parole Board and a three-year term as Chair. Helen has also worked extensively with victims and inmates directly and lead justice policy reform.
Over the past few years, Helen has been teaching and sharing the cultural ceremonies to people of many nationalities and ages and helping them to understand the protocols and reasons for the ceremonies of our people.
A speaker and teacher of the Halq’emeylem language and long-time leader of Longhouse gatherings, Helen is committed to advancing First Nations ways of being and knowing as essential to health and well-being.
Outgoing Directors
Effective May 1, 2021, Dr. Elizabeth Whynot, Norman Thompson, Jim Morrison and Marilyn Rook are no longer on the FNHA Board. We would like to thank them for their many years of service and dedication to the FNHA Board and First Nations communities.
