NWT - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Research and Policy Advisor

Job Titles:

• Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Social

Bruce Cooper is the Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Social Services for the Government of the Northwest Territories. He has served in a variety of senior leadership positions in public (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador) and non-profit sectors for over 20 years, including as Assistant Deputy Minister (DM) (Policy and Planning) with the Labour Relations Agency, Health and Community Services, and Child, Youth and Family Services. Bruce has also served as DM of both Health and Community Services and the Human Resources Secretariat within Executive Council and Deputy Secretary to Treasury Board for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is a former Executive Director and Registrar of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers, Sessional Lecturer at Memorial University and Assistant Executive Director of Health and Community Services - St. John's Region. He holds bachelor and masters degrees of social work from Memorial University and has engaged in a variety of continuing education efforts including training in Labour Relations through Queens University.

Job Titles:

• Manager, Planning

Cassandra Trevisani is the Manager, Planning, Reporting and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Social Services with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Cassandra has been with the Department of Health and Social Services since 2020, upon moving to Yellowknife after completing her master's degree. She has held a variety of roles in the corporate planning, reporting and evaluation area including Senior Risk and Performance Analyst and Senior Health Analyst, Social Demographics, prior to moving into her current role. She is responsible for providing leadership and vision for strategic and business planning, system performance and accountability, and research and corporate reporting functions. Cassandra holds a Master of Arts degree in School and Applied Child Psychology from the University of Western Ontario.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director

Anne has been a guest on Yellowknives Dene First Nation land, Chief Drygeese territory since 2021. She is excited to work at Hotıì ts'eeda and support health and wellness initiatives that benefit northern and Indigenous people.

Job Titles:

• Chief

Dr. John B. Zoe was the Chief Land Claims Negotiator for the former Treaty 11 Council of the NWT from 1994 until its conclusion with the establishment of the Tłı̨chǫ Government in 2005. John is now a senior advisor to the Tłı̨chǫ Government, and Chairperson of Hotıì ts'eeda. He has an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta in recognition of his work in the development of the new government, as well as his contributions to projects that are built upon a foundation of Tłı̨chǫ language, culture and way of life. He is a recipient of the Order of the NWT, is a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, and is Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Alberta. His publications include articles on Tłı̨chǫ ethno-archaeology and place names, sacred sites, and the history of settlement types and traditional architecture.

Job Titles:

• Canada Research Chair in Population Health

Dr. Sangita Sharma is the Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Professor in Indigenous and Global Health Research in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. She has over 30 years of experience working with Indigenous communities (e.g. Inuit, Inuvialuit and First Nations in Alberta, Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut (NU) and Alaska Natives, Apache, and Navajo in the USA) focusing on chronic disease, diabetes, and cancer prevention research. Dr. Sharma obtained her PhD from the University of Manchester Medical School in 1996 and since then she has worked with numerous communities in over 20 countries. Since moving to Canada in 2010, she has been leading the multi-disciplinary Indigenous and Global Health Research Group (IGHRG) examining the risk factors for chronic disease as well as barriers to and opportunities for improving access to healthcare services and patient experience with communities throughout Canada. As a Principal Investigator, Dr Sharma was awarded the Silver Medal by the British Nutrition Society in 2010 for her health intervention program "Healthy Foods North" which was implemented in six communities in NWT and NU in partnership with Inuit and Inuvialuit communities. Dr. Sharma has over 157 peer-reviewed scientific publications. Currently, she is leading eight large projects with 25 communities in NWT and NU to capture the unintended consequences of COVID-19 and COVID-19 preventive measures on all aspects of health and wellness. These projects also include looking at access to healthcare during the pandemic, gathering suggestions for improving public health messaging, and documenting experiences with COVID-19 vaccination and side effects, as well as examining community immunity from the vaccine and/or exposure to the virus.

Gina Dolphus is of the North Slave Hairskin Tribe and was born and raised in Délı̨nę, NWT. Her work is dedicated to her late mother and grandmother of Délı̨nę, who inspired her to learn sewing and beading. Gina also studied clothing design at Northern Lakes College in Alberta. She enjoys researching designs and perfecting her skills, which she uses to create her unique fish scale art and clothing. Gina says she is teaching beading and designing to her daughters so they know that it's important to carry on the tradition. She believes that as Dene women it is important to carry on the skills from generation to generation, such as from Gina's grandmother to mother and on to herself. Gina has also been an invited artist to the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik in both 2002 and 2003.

Job Titles:

• Community and Youth Engagement Specialist
• Member of the Kaska Dene

Hilary is a member of the Kaska Dene and Gwich'in Nations. She was born and raised in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. She went on to earn a BA in Anthropology, with a minor in History from MacEwan University. She is grateful for her upbringing, as her parents instilled in her an appreciation for the land, and provided many opportunities to learn and engage in traditional practices. Hilary is excited to be back in the North, and working at Hotıì ts'eeda. She looks forward to engaging with the communities in support of health initiatives across the territory.

Job Titles:

• Research and Communications Specialist

Job Titles:

• Administrative Officer

Linda is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. Her father immigrated to Canada and brought the family over when she was four. After a year in Kemptville, ON, her family then moved to Cambridge Bay Nunavut in 1973. Linda grew up in Cambridge Bay, NU went to high school at Sir John Franklin and stayed at Akaitcho Hall residence in Yellowknife, NT. She has worked for the Government of the NWT and Government of Nunavut for 13 years in administration and various Inuit Organizations in Cambridge Bay before moving to Yellowknife in 2004 taking a position with ATCO Frontec Ltd as Office Manager for 11.5 years. Her specific training and abilities is secretarial and administration. Linda has two children a daughter 33 and son 28 and two beautiful grandsons who were all born in the NWT.

Job Titles:

• Communications and Knowledge Translation Advisor

Rachel is responsible for organizational communications and provides expertise to stakeholders to effectively communicate research results. Rachel was raised in Yellowknife, and has worked in communications for non-profits, business, and government. Her interest in communications for health research and knowledge translation stems from her work with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Gender and Health in Montreal and from earning a professional certificate in knowledge translation from the Learning Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She also has a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and a Master of Arts in media studies from Concordia University. Rachel is committed to working towards equity in health care, services and outcomes across the Northwest Territories.