Meet our board members

President

Shane is an educator, Ph.D. Candidate (Trent), and Joseph-Armand Bombardier Scholar of Mi'kmaw and Newfoundland settler ancestry. He is a member of the Qalipu First Nation on the southwestern coast of Newfoundland, where he was born and raised, and has been living in Tkaronto since 2006.

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Social Work with the Faculty of Community Service, School of Social Work, and the Academic Coordinator of the Certificate in Indigenous Knowledges and Experiences with Toronto Metropolitan University (formally Ryerson University). Shane joined the Board of Directors in January 2019.

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Treasurer (Board)

Mack Young is Métis and a recent BBA graduate from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Currently, he works for Hydro One Networks Inc. and is the Treasurer of the Indigenous Friends Association.

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Board Member

Ruth is an activist turned accidental academic. Koleszar-Green identifies as an urban Indigenous person, and is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She is from the Mohawk Nation and is a member of the Turtle Clan.

Ruth is interested in Onkwehonwe (the Mohawk word for "original people") knowledges, approaches and world views. As a teacher, Ruth utilizes Onkwehonwe pedagogies including storytelling, experiential learning, and reciprocal relationship building.

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Board Member

Cerolia is a strategist at heart with a specialty in marketing and digital transformation. She is a BBA graduate from Schulich School of business at York University and has a strong passion to utilize business as a tool to make the world a better place.

Cerolia is a non-indigenous ally with hopes to inspire more people to join the community. She decided to be part of the Board of Members to help the organization develop stronger marketing strategies and stay true to IFA's mission and vision.

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Board Member

Rowen is a non-indigenous ally and chartered accountant with extensive experience in the Financial Services industry. She is currently the Senior Director of RBC’s Global Markets Financial Control team. Prior to joining RBC, she worked with a variety of financial institutions, building her career predominantly with investment banks in the UK.

Rowen is passionate about giving back to her community and is honoured to co-chair RBC’s 2022 Employee Giving Campaign for the CFO Group. She believes strongly in the value of diversity and inclusion and hopes to help IFA develop a sustainable model to continue providing Indigenous youth with the capabilities to find their voice through building bridges and communities in technology-related spaces.

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Board Member

Jeong-Wan is a non-indigenous ally and is currently a programmatic marketing transformation lead at Google. She holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from McGill University.

Jeong-Wan has been passionate about empowering women and students since the start of her career, with industry leadership and volunteering experiences across various career development organizations, including IAB Canada, General Assembly, Monday Girl, University of Toronto's Rotman Commerce, and Girls E-Mentorship. She is committed to bringing her perspectives and experiences from working in tech, media, and with women to contribute to the IFA's mission of increasing the representation of Indigenous knowledge and people within the tech industry.