Sustainable Solutions, Indigenous Insights
Meet the Team
Dialogue, Equity, Water
The Métis have long been interpreters and intercultural bridge builders. These skills have been passed down intergenerationally, giving our team a unique perspective on communication, relationship-building, and land-based methodologies.
Chief Executive Officer
Courtney Vaughan, BA, MA, PhD Candidate
Courtney has over 15 years of practice in experiential and land-based education. She is a Métis woman from just outside of Sault Ste. Marie with a lifetime worth of land and cultural knowledge. She has worked in various roles with the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and is currently their Environmental and Climate Change Lead Specialist. She has worked for various research and consulting firms, federal public agencies, academic institutions, and non-for profits pertaining to Indigenous rights, arts and culture, recreation, stewardship and conservation; equity, diversity and inclusion; and experiential and community-based education. She has explored this field across Canada, Latin America, and East Africa. She has worked for clients such as Canada Council for the Arts, Parks Canada, Heritage Canada, the Métis Nation of Ontario, Canadian Geographic, and the Canadian Women's Foundation.
Executive Assistant
Sam Cuddy, BA
Originally from Credit River, Ontario, Sam traveled to Montreal, Quebec to attend Concordia University in 2015. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in First Peoples Studies and Sociology. Since graduating, Sam has prioritized working in relationships with Indigenous people to stay connected to her own Métis family. She has experience working in corporations, government, museums, nonprofits, and charities utilizing her skills in research, outreach, and administration. In recent years, Sam has focused more so on the intersection of arts and culture. She returned to post-secondary in 2021 to pursue an education in American Sign Language Interpreting, with the goal of contributing towards a more inclusive world for all people. Leading up to the 2017 Canoe Expedition where Sam and Courtney met as paddlers, she had spent every summer growing up canoeing and backcountry camping at summer camp and with family. These experiences helped shape her relationship to herself, others, and the land.
Our Story
Get to Know Us
We met in 2017 as paddlers in the Métis Nation of Ontario Canoe Expedition. We started training in early May, focusing on improving our outdoor skills, preparing for community events along the way, and building cohesion in our new team - the people we'd soon be spending the next three months with, day in and day out. At the time, I think it's fair to say none of us had any idea just how close we'd become.
Sam however, showed up late for training.
She walked in the room, right as the rest of us were gearing up to do a team building activity. Our trip coordinator yelled "Get on someone’s shoulders!" Without giving Sam any time to process the new environment, Courtney yelled "You!! Get on my shoulders!! And I'm Courtney!!" Without any time for proper introductions, Sam immediately climbed onto Courtney’s shoulders with the help of two other perfect strangers, our fellow paddlers.
From that moment on we two were an inseparable team.
The trip was difficult, to say the least. It was physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally draining, as the most rewarding experiences often are. But throughout, we found support and open dialogue in one another. Being on the waterways, and familiarizing ourselves with the canoe and broader lifestyle of our ancestors, fortified our trust and respect for eachother, and allowed us to accomplish a great feat, canoeing across Ontario, as a team.
