Board Selection Process
In 2020, based on the recommendations in the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation Survivor Engagement Report, we recruited the first permanent Survivor-led Board of Directors for the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation. Our first permanent Board of Directors represent compassion, strength, unity and healing.
Announcing our First Survivor-led Board of Directors
November 12, 2020 Virtual Event
Official Launch of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and Board of Directors Announcement.
Official Launch of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and Board of Directors Announcement.
Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Minister Bennett shares remarks on the new permanent Board Members of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and their vital work to address the legacy of the Sixties Scoop.
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Minister Bennett shares remarks on the new permanent Board Members of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and their vital work to address the legacy of the Sixties Scoop.
ABOUT THE BOARD RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS
The nation-wide recruitment process was implemented based on the recommendations in the National Survivor Engagement Report, as per the guidance of the Interim Board. This meant the process needed to adhere to the following principles:
- Recruitment focused on and reflected feedback from Survivors regarding the skills, experience, and qualities they believe are critical for a permanent Board. Please see the Board Job Description and refer to Recommendation 3 & 4 in the Engagement Report.
- The recruitment process ran in an open, inclusive, and transparent manner. This meant ensuring there was strong awareness of the process, ample opportunity for individuals to apply, and a clear articulation of how the selection process worked and who was involved.
- Recruitment efforts sought to engage and consider a broad range of potential candidates. This meant doing everything possible to encourage Survivors of diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply and to remove barriers that could inhibit a wide range of applicants.
- The recruitment process must demonstrate credibility. This meant creating a process that was thoughtful and as objective as possible, mitigating the risk of personal or political bias.
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HOW WAS THE PROCESS ADMINISTERED?
Role of the Ad-Hoc Selection Committee
The Ad-hoc selection committee was chosen to ensure another layer of objectivity in the recruitment process. It was composed of five individuals with no interest in assuming board positions themselves, the ad-hoc committee was assembled for the sole purpose of supporting the board selection process. Their roles included reviewing and assessing the 32 short-listed candidates and developing a ranked list of nine final candidates for the last stage of assessment—reference, police, and vulnerable sector checks. The Ad-hoc Selection Committee prepared a rationale for their selections, which was presented for final approval to the Interim Board of Directors.
Who WAS on the Ad-Hoc Selection Committee and How Were They Chosen?
The Ad-Hoc Selection Committee members were identified by the Engagement Team and Expert Advisors and approved by the Interim Board. They were specifically selected based on their:
- Experience, credentials, and credibility related to their understanding and commitment to Sixties Scoop Survivors.
- Impartiality and lack of any conflict of interest that would interfere with an objective review of applicants.
- Stated commitment to adhere as closely as possible to the criteria outlined in the Engagement Report, representing Survivors’ collective aspirations for the Foundation’s leadership.
- Willingness to support this work in a purely volunteer capacity (no member of the Selection Committee is being compensated for their time).
- Commitment to strict confidentiality throughout the process.
Ad-hoc Selection Committee Members
Dr. Allyson Stevenson
Research Chair in Métis Studies, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Allyson Stevenson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies and the Gabriel Dumont Institute Research Chair in Métis Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. She received her MA and PhD in History from the University of Saskatchewan. She is an adoptee from Kinistino, Sk raised in Regina. Her research focuses on the Sixties Scoop and the emergence of the Adopt Indian and Métis program. Her book, Intimate Integration: A History of the Sixties Scoop is forthcoming October 2020 with University of Toronto Press. She has published articles on the Sixties Scoop, Indigenous Women’s political activism, and histories of Métis resilience and resistance.
Research Chair in Métis Studies, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Allyson Stevenson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies and the Gabriel Dumont Institute Research Chair in Métis Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. She received her MA and PhD in History from the University of Saskatchewan. She is an adoptee from Kinistino, Sk raised in Regina. Her research focuses on the Sixties Scoop and the emergence of the Adopt Indian and Métis program. Her book, Intimate Integration: A History of the Sixties Scoop is forthcoming October 2020 with University of Toronto Press. She has published articles on the Sixties Scoop, Indigenous Women’s political activism, and histories of Métis resilience and resistance.
Dr. Renee Linklater
Director, Shkaabe Makwa, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Renee Linklater, PhD is a member of Rainy River First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. She has over 25 years of experience working with Indigenous healing agencies and First Nation communities. Renee has worked across the health and education sectors as a frontline worker, program evaluator, curriculum developer, educator/trainer, and researcher. She is an international speaker on trauma and healing and is the author of Decolonizing trauma work: Indigenous stories and strategies. Renee is the Director of Shkaabe Makwa at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and is actively involved in several system level initiatives across the Ontario.
Banakonda Kennedy-Kish Bell
Elder-in-Residence, Faculty of Social Work, Aboriginal Field of Study, Wilfrid Laurier University
Banakonda Kennedy-Kish Bell is an Elder-in-Residence with the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, Aboriginal Field of Study at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is an Indigenous cultural advisor, teacher, and Traditional Practitioner, and has served Indigenous communities for over forty years.
Dr. Cornelia Wieman
Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority
Dr. Cornelia (Nel) Wieman works for the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in Vancouver, BC in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer as the Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer (A/DCMO). She is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Nel is Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist (Anishnawbe – Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Manitoba). She completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Bernadette Iahtail
Executive Director & Co-Founder, Creating Hope Society of Alberta
Bernadette Iahtail is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Creating Hope Society, an Indigenous, accredited non-profit agency established to recognize the sixties and seventies child welfare scoop of Aboriginal children. We believe the child welfare scoop of Aboriginal children is a continuation of the Residential School era, and it is time to halt the cycle of Indigenous children being separated from their families and communities. Creating Hope Society's mission and vision is to "Create hope, support healing, honour truth and reconcile our differences."