Indigenous Community Advisory Circle

Bio coming soon

Kate Kent is Anishinaabe from Pinaymootang First Nation. She currently works as the Political Operations Manager at the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO), supporting the Grand Chiefs’ Office in implementing initiatives that strengthen leadership capacity and collaboration among the 32 First Nation members. In 2019, Kate helped establish the SCO Youth Council, creating a platform for young leaders to participate in decision-making and represent their Nations at international forums including the United Nations. A UWinnipeg alumna, Kate studied Indigenous Studies and Urban and Inner-City Studies, deepening her understanding of community development and social justice. Her professional experience includes political coordination, policy development, and community engagement. Kate remains deeply committed to reconciliation, mentorship, and advancing Indigenous self-determination through education, leadership, and meaningful community partnerships across Manitoba.

Mary Jayne Armstrong is the Senior Health Analyst with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) and proud member of St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation. Mary Jayne has a background in law, Indigenous studies, and psychology. She earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Manitoba, followed by a Juris Doctor at the Faculty of Law in 2013. She was called to the Manitoba Bar in 2014.

In the area of policy and intergovernmental work, she has performed research and analysis, developing strategic recommendations on legislation and regulations. She is deeply motivated and passionate about advocating for policy changes that support the rights and well-being of First Nations Peoples.

Will Goodon is from the Turtle Mountains on the Canadian side. He grew up in a Métis community surrounded by his cousins. They lived on a farm that backed on to Sharpe Lake and across the lake was the provincial park. His father and uncles taught him to hunt, fish, trap, and gather berries and other traditional foods. His father’s mother was Michif from the US side of the border, and his father was from the Canadian side. Will’s community spoke Michif in his grandparents’ generation, but they have lost most of it now. He is proud to be a citizen of the historic Métis Nation. Will helped develop the Métis Nation Homeland map and has spoken to over 50 schools, universities, military bases, private sector bodies, and other groups about nationhood and identity. He has worked for his nation for almost 27 years.

Maxine Issiqut Angoo (she/her) is a queer Inuk woman from Whale Cove, Nunavut, now living on Treaty One Territory. Raised in both rural and urban communities, she is deeply committed to the well-being of Inuit. As a founding member and the first staff of Tunngasugit Inc., Western Canada’s first Inuit Resource Centre, Maxine became Executive Director in March 2025. She sits on several national and regional advisory committees focused on 2SLGBTQQIA+ inclusion and suicide prevention, ensuring Inuit voices guide meaningful change. In 2022, she co-created a “Safe Space Tea Talk” with an Inuk Elder during the Inuit Studies Conference, later adopted by a 2SLGBTQQIA+ Inuit group in Ottawa. Rooted in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit values, Maxine builds relationships that honour Inuit identity, challenge stereotypes, and remind others that 2SLGBTQQIA+ people have always been part of Inuit history- our stories are living, resilient, and here to stay.

Dodie Jordaan is currently CEO at the Winnipeg Indigenous Executive Circle. Understanding your own identity, knowing who you are and where you come from, and working somewhere where you and everyone who comes through those doors has a place where they belong is a vision that resonates for Dodie. Dodie has a BA with a minor in Native Studies and a major is Psychology and is Métis, First Nations with the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, as well as of European descent.

As an Indigenous person Dodie truly believes that we need to have governance and autonomy of our own decisions, our own programming and services, our own wellness, learning, families, communities, etc. It is critical that we work with an anti-oppressive lens and understand how colonization and systems have affected and continue to affect Indigenous people and all people.

Dodie is a Sundancer, a mother and a partner as well as an advocate for cultural reclamation and culture as prevention, intervention, and social justice.

Albert McLeod is a Status Indian with ancestry from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the Métis communities of Cross Lake and Norway House in northern Manitoba. He has over 30 years of experience as a human rights activist and was one of the founders of the 2-Spirited People of Manitoba. Albert is a commercial art graduate from Assiniboine Community College in Brandon and an experienced artist in beadwork, Indigenous regalia-making, and leather crafts. He was the director of the Manitoba Aboriginal AIDS Task Force from 1991 to 2001. In 2018, Albert received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from UWinnipeg. He was also a member of the sub-working group that produced the MMIWG - 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan Report in 2020-2021. In 2020, Albert joined Team Thunderhead, the team that won the international competition to design the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument in Ottawa. He is a current board member of Winnipeg’s Urban Shaman Gallery: Contemporary Indigenous Art. Albert lives in

Winnipeg, where he works as a consultant specializing in Indigenous peoples, 2Spirit re-emergence, cultural reclamation, and cross-cultural training.

Kyle Mason is a member of the Peguis First Nation, and a dynamic, award-winning Indigenous entrepreneurial leader, consultant, and speaker whose work is rooted in resilience, innovation, and community empowerment. Raised in Winnipeg’s North End by a single parent and as the son of Indian Residential Survivor, Kyle experienced first hand the challenges of poverty, housing insecurity, and systemic barriers.

Kyle is a serial nonprofit founder and builder. He has launched and scaled multiple organizations from the ground up, often with minimal resources, raising millions in private donations and leading successful capital campaigns. His ventures include: his own consulting firm, relaunching the Dryden Food Bank and Indigenous Tourism Manitoba, co-founding the Kapabamayak Achaak Healing Forest, and founding the North End Family Centre and the North End Christmas Toy Drive and Party.

Monica Cyr is a proud Red River Métis woman of the Saabe clan, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba —the Homeland of the Métis Nation. Monica is a cultural educator, researcher, community consultant, published author, anti-racism advocate, mentor, and active member of the College of Dietitians of Manitoba. For several years, Monica served as Director of Primary Care (DOPC) at the Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre, Winnipeg’s only Indigenous Community Health Agency. Over the years, she has transitioned from DOPC to Director of Research and Senior Clinical Operations Lead. Monica’s exemplary leadership and her love of research have led to the unprecedented expansion of our organization through her creation of a research arm at AHWC. Further, Monica’s networking ability helped bring groundbreaking research, such as Our Health Counts (OHC), to Winnipeg. OHC is the first-ever Urban-Indigenous population data health survey that has representation from all three Nations (FNMI) and was launched in September 2023. Monica continues to build up an impressive portfolio with research partners who value the six R’s of Indigenous research, including UManitoba, UWinnipeg, UGuelph, UToronto, and the Australian National University, which has allowed AHWC’s Urban Indigenous Research Lodge to branch out and hire a growing research team. Her academic achievements include a master's in Human Nutritional Sciences, and she is currently completing a PhD program in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Rady Faculty of Health, UManitoba. Monica’s PhD project will develop an evaluation tool for Canada’s only Indigenous-led Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic, utilizing culturally responsive Indigenous evaluation methodologies. Her research is rooted in community-based urban Indigenous feminist governance, self-determination, and resurgence as its theoretical underpinnings.

Kali Moss is an entrepreneur, wife, mother, and lifelong hockey player from Norway House Cree Nation. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Sage Solutions, a Winnipeg-based firm that supports Indigenous and Indigenous-serving organizations through meaningful engagement and strategic collaboration. Grounded in ceremony, Kali’s professional, volunteer, and personal efforts are guided by respect, balance, and accountability to community. Over the past decade, she has led projects focused on health, education, governance, and Indigenous identity, earning a reputation for clarity, diplomacy, and compassionate leadership. At UWinnipeg, she contributed to the Indigenous Identity consultations and What We Heard report (2024). As Chair of the ICAC, Kali brings both professional expertise and lived experience to strengthen relationships between the University and Indigenous communities, advancing reconciliation and Indigenous excellence across campus life.

Tegan Ledoux, is a Red River Métis student, in her final year of the Bachelor of Science program in Geography. Tegan is currently working as a research assistant for Dr. Edward Cloutis in the C-TAPE lab, with a research focus on the analysis of Martian and lunar meteorites.

Michelle Pereira is honoured to serve as the Board Representative for the ICAC and is deeply grateful for the trust placed in her through this appointment. With a leadership background rooted in relationship-building, inclusive governance, and community collaboration, she is committed to supporting the University’s ongoing reconciliation journey and advancing initiatives that reflect the voices, priorities, and lived experiences of Indigenous students, faculty, staff, and communities.

Michelle brings extensive experience engaging with First Nations across Manitoba through her role as Director of Marketing & Communications at Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba, where she contributes to the province’s transition to Extended Producer Responsibility and participates in consultations that include First Nations governments, environmental leaders, and municipal partners.

As Chair of the Board of Regents, she is dedicated to fostering a respectful, accountable, and learning-centered environment. Michelle approaches her role on the ICAC with humility, gratitude, and a deep commitment to listening, collaboration, and meaningful action.

Cathy Mattes is a Michif curator (MMF citizen, Westman Local-Southwest Region), writer, and art history professor based in Sprucewoods, Manitoba. Her curation, research and writing centers on dialogic and Indigenous knowledge-centered curatorial practice as strategies for care. She has a PhD in Indigenous Studies from the University of Manitoba and currently teaches at UWinnipeg in the History of Art and Curatorial Studies programs. She is the Coordinator for the History of Art program and currently is a UW Senate member. Mattes has also been beading since she was 20 years old and has taught beading and moccasin-making in workshops, university courses, and around her kitchen table with family and friends.