Harm Reduction Saves Lives

Dolly Sirkudjuk Tinashlu was born in a tent along the shores of Hudson Bay on June 9, 1964, in Naujaat, Nunavut, formerly known as Repulse Bay. Her life is a beautiful testament to resilience, family, community, and cultural preservation. She is the proud mother of four sons and one daughter and has been blessed with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dolly is deeply committed to preserving and sharing Inuit culture. Through her teachings, traditional skills, cultural artifacts, and ceremonies such as lighting the qulliq, she helps keep Inuit knowledge and ways of life strong. Her dedication to passing these teachings on ensures that younger generations can remain connected to their identity, culture, and traditions.

Edward Flett, from St. Theresa Point Ansininew Nation, raised in the beautiful country of the Ansininew Territory, is very passionate in helping people.  He has worked at various capacities for his community and the region under the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority and the Island Lake Tribal Council which is now known as Ansininew Okimawin. Currently the leader of the STPAN Community Wellness and Prevention Program, Edward volunteers his time with the Underwater Search and Recovery Team, travelling to many Northern Manitoba Communities for recovery efforts. In his current role with STPAN CWP he focuses on helping the youth and young families battling addictions and other social issues.

Heather is deeply passionate about supporting our elders and ensuring they feel safe in the community and their homes.  She has over six years of experience in personal care home and various roles in Home Care Management. She also worked with children with FARHA Jordan’s Principle. Dedicated to making a difference, her journey with STPAN CWP started in April 2025 as PMSS case manager and later moving to her home community of STPAN to lead the OATS program.  All her efforts has reinforced her commitment to her personal mission. She believes in the potential for positive change and the importance of security and acceptance in our programs.

Jennifer is from the beautiful and loving community of St. Theresa Point Ansininew Nation. She holds the title of Aftercare Coordinator in the STPAN CWP organization, but that does not limit her to one specific field.  She is also certified as a mental health worker in First Nation Addictions.  She is very much passionate about helping people heal in our beautiful land. “Our lands hold valuable healing for the traumas we carry and I believe we can rise above those to make a better life for our people with our support, love, and care.”

Tanya Dawn McDougall is a dedicated educational leader, researcher, and community advocate with extensive experience in strategic program planning, trauma-informed education, and Indigenous knowledge systems. With a commitment to breaking down colonial systems and fostering culturally responsive care and education she provides personal and professional supports to community members and service providers in her home community of St. Theresa Point Ansininew Nation.

Kirsty Muller, RN, BN is the Addiction Services Program Manager for the Manitoba Anisininew Mobile Addictions Network (MAMAN) with Four Arrows Regional Health Authority.

She is an Indigenous nurse and leader with extensive experience in addiction medicine, harm reduction, and community-based care. Kirsty leads the development and delivery of low-barrier, culturally grounded addiction services across Island Lake Anisininew communities, including Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point, and Wasagamack, as well as an urban clinic in Winnipeg to support continuity of care. Her work focuses on providing opioid agonist therapy, harm reduction services, and trauma-informed care rooted in Indigenous values, community direction, and self-determination.

Kirsty also serves as Manitoba Regional Director for the Canadian Society for Addiction Medicine and sits on the Board of Directors for Main Street Project in Winnipeg. She is committed to advancing equitable access to addiction medicine and harm reduction services for Indigenous communities through relationship-based, community-led models of care.

Leslie Spillett, Ininew, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, (She/Her) is a community kohkum  who has been an activist in Winnipeg for the past 45 years. She has been involved in anti racism and decolonization movements for several decades and has been an advocate and educator for communities facing multiple oppressive systems. She is one of the founders of Ka Ni Kanichihk, a community based organization and led the development of programs and services focusing on cultural safety, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-oppression, cultural sovereignty and continuity and reclamation, youth and women's safety, education and wellbeing.

Leslie is a Kohkum at Ongomiizwin Education, Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health & Healing and at Ka Ni Kanichihk's Mino Pimatisiwin Sexual Wellness Lodge. 

Brenda Lafreniere - BSW, MMFT
Brenda is a member of Minegozibe First Nation and was born and raised in Camperville, Manitoba. She has immense gratitude for the land and culture that nurtured her growth within her community.

For more than thirty years she has devoted herself to health and wellness, family therapy and social justice, which includes clinical service, advocacy, consultation and program development. She incorporates a strength based, culturally safe approach, grounded in Indigenous knowledge and practice. She is honoured to work as a kohkum at Minopimatisiwin Sexual Wellness Lodge and is a strong advocate for breaking down barriers and creating space for equity and inclusion. She believes everyone should be respected for who they are and have access to safe, equitable living…the good life. Brenda is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and helper in ceremony, cedar baths and Sundance.

Audrey Richard is a proud Anishinabe Ojibway Ikwe who was raised in Minegoziibe. She is a citizen of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation and has relatives who also originated from the Sandy Bay First Nation. After thirty-one and a half years, Audrey retired from the University of Manitoba where she had been supporting the post-secondary aspirations of Indigenous and non-traditional students. 

Her latest position was Student Advisor/Counsellor with Mahkwa omushki kiim:  Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education (PINE), College of Nursing. Audrey graduated from the First Nations Community Wellness Diploma (2002), Bachelor of Social Work (2005), and Master of Education (2012) from the University of Manitoba.

She has been volunteering on Ka Ni Kanichihk’s Keeping the Fires Burning Committee since 2006, and she is currently one of the Kookums at the Mino Pimatisiwin Sexual Wellness Lodge since August 2023.  In relationship with her Anishinabe cultural view, Audrey works from a harm reduction lens and the intersection of systemic and colonial violence, mental health, and the use of substances to cope and prioritizing the health, safety and wellness of relatives who visit the Lodge.

Colleen Robinson BA, BSW, RSW, FT
Mental Health Therapist/FNIHB
Eagle Cloud Woman, White Wolf Clan
Peguis First Nation
Mental Health Specialist/Clinical Therapist Life Skills Coach

She is honored to be a Kokum with Kani Kanichihk’s Mino-Pimatisiwin Sexual Wellness Lodge.  They offer spiritual, emotional, and cultural supports to our houseless community relatives.  She has over 35 years of experience providing trauma-informed, culturally safe training and counselling to individuals, families, and groups. Rooted in the Medicine Wheel Philosophy and the Seven Traditional Teachings, she is an NIHB-approved Clinical Therapist, a Registered Social Worker, a competent Life Skills Coach, and an experienced facilitator of Sharing Circles.  She is recognized for her workshops on trauma self-awareness, the intergenerational impacts of colonization, residential schools, and the Sixties Scoop, and decolonization as well as her expertise in curriculum development.

Gladys is Anishinaabe, registered with Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, and has family roots in Jackhead. She is also of Croatian heritage. Gladys has lived in Winnipeg for over 35 years.

During that time, she has earned certificates in Family Support Work, Death Doula Services, and End-of-Life Care, and is also an Indigenous Birth Worker. Over the years, she has gained a wealth of traditional knowledge and teachings. Gladys is a skilled seamstress who enjoys leading and assisting with regalia making, including creating ribbon skirts and dresses. She sings and drums with both a hand drum and the big drum.

Gladys has worked in a variety of settings, including group homes, schools, and drop-in centres. She is currently employed at the Mino Pimatisiwin Sexual Wellness Lodge. Gladys loves the time she spends at work, especially connecting one-on-one with relatives, meeting new people, and chatting with community members.

Gayle Pruden was born in Ashern, Manitoba on May 1, 1964. When she was a little girl she lived with her grandparents in Little, Saskatchewan. She loved her grandparents, and she has fond memories of them.

Gayle speaks Objibwe (Anishinobemowin) fluently and she is proud to speak her language. She believes creator gave her a beautiful gift, her Ojibwe language. She says, “It’s a powerful tool to have your language, speak it as often as you can”.

Gayle was raised in a good living home. She remembers going out on the land with her grandfather. Her grandfather would pick medicines and sing songs. Gayle lived a traditional culture. She remembers her grandmother smudging her underneath the blanket and remembers the smell so well.

Gayle speaks at youth conferences as a two spirited woman. She loves to tell stories to young people to help the cope with challenges in their lives. Gayle is jingle dress dancer for about 20 years, and she loves sharing the information about the story behind her dancing.

Gayle enjoys showing her beadwork to the youth, to inspire them and bring them positive feelings. Gayle is also a knowledge keeper; she shares her knowledge that she received from the grandparents and uses her language in the theatre. Gayle is an actor in a play who uses her Objibwe language.

Gayle is a kookum at Mino Pimatisiwin Sexual Wellness lodge. She also works with Manitoba Moons, CAAN, Voices of Women and Nine Circle Drumming.

Gayle speaks highly of her grandparents and the wonderful job they did raising her and teaching her to live off the land. She has so much love for her grandparents. They have influenced her to be strong independent person and to be proud of who she is. Gayle is proud to be two spirited Anishobe women and she loves helping the youth. She had adopted her daughter and helped raise her three grand children.

A Swiss, white settler newcomer raised on a dairy farm built on Anishinaabe Land and Metis territory, Treaty Two. Twenty-five years of experience working in a collaborative team in community-based comprehensive sexuality education with Manitoba youth and service providers. Instrumental in relationship building in rural, northern and First Nation communities as well as Winnipeg and the development of a northern program. Spent over the past decade continually learning and supporting Anishinaabe ceremonies and Indigenous led initiatives in the hopes of building right relations.

Vanessa an Anishinaabekwe & Eveline a Settler share their anti-oppressive approaches for working with Youth as they model healthy Indigenous led co-facilitation. Two decades of delivering thousands of workshops on substance use, sexual health & relationships inform this session. Ways to incorporate Ancestral Knowledge of Indigenous People with respect to NOT appropriating as a Settler will be discussed while addressing social location as it matters in the work we choose to do.

Michelle Monkman (she/her/iskwew) is a First Nations, master’s prepared Registered Nurse from Norway House Cree Nation, with family ties to Misipawistik, Pimicikamak, and Tataskweyak Cree Nations. With more than 22 years of experience, she is a senior health executive advancing First Nations–led health systems in northern Manitoba, informed by work across Indigenous communities at the national level.

Michelle brings extensive leadership experience spanning public health, harm reduction, primary care, long-term care, education, and system transformation. She has led the design and implementation of innovative models of care that advance cultural safety, address anti-First Nations racism, and improve access, quality, and measurable health outcomes.

Grounded in First Nations sovereignty, accountability, and Two-Eyed Seeing, Michelle’s leadership integrates Indigenous knowledge and western evidence to drive meaningful system change. She is recognized for leading complex, multi-sector transformation while maintaining a strong focus on community priorities and wellbeing.

Michelle has contributed to education, research, and policy development, including work that has influenced Indigenous health systems at a national level. She continues to advocate for equitable, responsive, and First Nations–led health systems grounded in the strengths of the communities she serves.

Troy Thauberger- Running Elk, Eagle Clan
Troy is an experiential advocate, community protector, and respected harm reduction leader from Winnipeg’s North End. His work is rooted in lived experience with homelessness, opioid addiction, street involvement, and extensive interaction with the justice system. Having navigated and overcome these challenges himself, Troy has dedicated his life to walking alongside others facing similar circumstances and creating pathways to safety, healing, and self-determination.

Aa a trusted peer-Troy has journeyed from utilizing shelter and support services to holding leadership roles within Winnipeg’s homelessness, harm reduction, and community safety sectors. His ability to build authentic relationships with individuals who are often disconnected from traditional systems has made him a powerful advocate, mentor, and frontline responder.

As a co-founder of Red Response and lead of its specialized intervention team, Troy works alongside individuals impacted by sexual exploitation, or excluded from safety and health measures due to sex work. He walks alongside relatives experiencing violence, substance use, and homelessness. Grounded in lived experience, harm reduction principles, and values of respect, dignity, and self-determination, he believes that every person—regardless of their circumstances, profession, or life experience—has an inherent right to safety, autonomy, and freedom from violence.

His expertise includes harm reduction, overdose prevention and supporting individuals to navigate complex systems while maintaining their dignity, choice, and self-determination.

In 2025, Troy served as a Red Response lead for the Managed Alcohol Program (MAP) supporting wildfire evacuees in Winnipeg, overseeing one of Manitoba’s largest emergency harm reduction responses during the crisis. Under his leadership, hundreds of displaced individuals accessed culturally safe, low-barrier supports, reducing harms, preventing overdoses, and improving connections to health and social services during a period of significant upheaval.

Grounded in Indigenous teachings, lived experience, and an unwavering commitment to community, Troy is recognized for his leadership, fierce protection and dedication to supporting those who are most vulnerable. Through his work, he continues to create safety, restore dignity, strengthen communities, and ensure that those most often overlooked are seen, heard, and supported.

Jess (North Star Dancing -Wolf Clan )-Metis founder of the Red Response Team
The Red Response team is an Indigenous-led emergency response unit dedicated to immediate national intervention for victims of sexual exploitation and gang-related violence. The team provides 24/7 support for Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals, advocating for clear distinctions between those choosing to work and those who are trafficked.

With over 15 years of transformative experience in Justice, addictions, exploitation prevention, and harm reduction, Jess is a systems disruptor and community-rooted advocate. She has led provincial initiatives against human trafficking, served in leadership roles throughout the shelter system and specializes in supporting underserved relatives navigating addiction, drug use, violence and discrimination. Jess serves as a board member on the Global Alliance against trafficking women. Her career and life is guided by traditional teachings and harm reduction principles including dismantling barriers that sustain violence, particularly against Indigenous communities, and holding systems accountable for their role in perpetuating systemic injustices and the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2S+.

Sally Woodside, Harm Reduction Coordinator with CAAN. Granddaughter of Irish immigrants, wife & mother of two wee boys, Sally currently lives and works on the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation.  Sally has been working with and walking alongside Indigenous organizations in varied capacities for the past 8 years; from Indigenous Harm Reduction & community engagement to Indigenous research & governance.

Vanessa Gladue is an Indigenous person with lived experience who has held many different Helper roles within health and social care. She is a lead facilitator for the  Help for the Helpers  project. 

Adrian Earl Robinson is an Indigenous person with lived experience who has held many different Helper roles within health and social care. He is a lead facilitator for the Help for the Helpers project.

Ginetta Salvalaggio is a family physician and professor, and is the lead academic partner on the Help for the Helpers project. 

Tracy Wilson is an Indigenous woman with lived experience who has held many different Helper roles within health and social care.  She is a knowledge keeper with the  Help for the Helpers  project. 

Chris Trimble is a Two-Spirit, Red River Métis, health educator. Their spirit Name is Apisimôsos(White Tail Deer), and they are Owl Clan. He is currently working for Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. (K.I.M.) as a Health Promotion Educator in the Harm Reduction Program, where he provides substance use, healthy sexuality and mental health education within 23 northern First Nations. 

Ken MacKenzie, RSW, MSW, BSW, is currently employed at Keewatinohk Inninew Minoayawin where he has been practicing, primarily in the area of Indigenous Harm Reduction for the last four years. During his time at KIM, Ken’s focus has been the design, implementation and evaluation of harm reduction programs including but not limited to Managed Alcohol programs, Opioid Agonist Treatment and other community driven Harm Reduction programs for the First Nations people living in Northern Manitoba. Ken has a Master’s degree in Social Work after completing his research in Bunibonibee Cree Nation, which developed a liberatory framework for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous practitioners to work together in decolonizing ways. He also has a Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg and Louisiana State University. Ken is a proud member of the Manto Sagahekan (Gods Lake First Nation) Sundance family completing the required, four sundance ceremonies at the community’s annual sundance ceremony, to earn this honor. He has also participated in several indigenous healing ceremonies including sweatlodges, yuwipi, shaking tent and the harvesting, preparation, and use of traditional Indigenous medicines. Ken’s Social Work practice over the past 28 years has been in administrative and clinical capacities across Manitoba in the areas of Mental Health and Substance use, Child Welfare, Manitoba Justice, Adult Services for the Intellectually impaired, Community Forensic Mental Health Services, and Adult Crisis Response services. Working across these structures and practices Ken has used this unique location, education and teaching/learning opportunities to engage in decolonizing actions to support Indigenous people, families and communities in overcoming the harms that they continue to endure from the colonial structures and practices that do great harm to all through the use of trauma informed, anti-oppressive, ant-racist and decolonizing approaches in his ongoing work with the Inniniwuk, Anishininnewuk, Dene, Anishinaabe and Lakota people of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. This work has and continues to challenge structures and practices to finally put an end to First Nations specific racism in human service organizations across Manitoba.

Jennifer van Gennip is the Executive Director of Action Hepatitis Canada, a pan-Canadian coalition of 86 organizations providing community-based accountability on Canada's commitment to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Jennifer specializes in developing messaging and communications materials to support campaigns for policy or social change, and helping communities discover the collective power they hold when they organize together.

Chelsea Cook is a dedicated community leader and harm reduction advocate serving as Network Coordinator with the HELP Network in rural Manitoba. She works to improve access to Hepatitis C testing + treatment, HIV connection to care, and culturally grounded health services for Indigenous and marginalized communities. Passionate about peer-led initiatives and reducing barriers to care, Chelsea leads outreach events, education projects, and partnerships with healthcare providers. As a young Indigenous mother, she brings lived experience, resilience, and authenticity to her work. She is committed to strengthening equitable rural health responses and amplifying community voices.

Candace is a Metis artist, student, doula, sundancer, cedar bath practitioner, and community worker from Treaty 1, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has worked in and for the Indigenous community for the past 21 years. Candace is cofounder of Zaagi'idiwiin Indigenous Doula Training and for the past 10 years has provided trainings for Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. Currently Candace is working with Ka Ni Kanichichk to created an Indigenous HIV doula program to support newly diagnosed relatives living with HIV in Treaty 1 territory. 

Kimberly Templeton is the Director of the Manitoba HIV Program, based out of Nine Circles Community Health Centre in Winnipeg. She holds a Masters degree in Science from the University of Manitoba. Kim has worked in provincial health program administration in Manitoba for 20 years, first leading cancer prevention and screening programs at CancerCare Manitoba, and now in HIV care. 

Victor Mondaca is of the Mapuche people, whose traditional lands, Wallmapu, span parts of Chile. He now lives on
Turtle Island, in the area now called Winnipeg, Manitoba. A father , husband, and Sundancer , Victor brings lived experience with trauma, houselessness, displacement, and substance use to his work in harm reduction. Together with his wife, Mandy Mondaca, he co-founded Nahuen Consultation, a community safety and social impact consulting company focused on community education, conversations, relationship, and safer environments. In his executive leadership role at N’Dinawemak, Victor supports Relatives through transitional and supportive housing programs grounded in harm reduction, dignity, and cultural safety. His education and training work, including Beyond the Stigma: Science, Drugs & Empathy, explores how science, lived experience, empathy, and public understanding can reduce stigma and create safer communities.

Melissa, a 2-Spirit/Indigiqueer individual, proudly holds citizenship with the Manitoba Métis Federation, tracing her ancestral roots to the Red River Settlement, Northern Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. She also embraces the identity of a person with lived experiences, having resided in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside for more than a decade, where she faced challenges related to addiction and homelessness. Melissa has emerged as a prominent national activist within the HIV/STBBI (Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections) community, leveraging her strength-based narrative to address the disparities that Indigenous individuals living with STBBIs encounter. In addition to her position as the Manager of the Village Lab, Melissa serves as an HIV at Ka Ni Kanichihk, coordinating a monthly sharing circle for people living with HIV/STBBI. Melissa's remarkable contributions earned her a Community Fellowship from the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research at McMaster University, a recognition closely tied to her work with Ka Ni Kanichihk. Simultaneously, she is pursuing her education as a student in the Inner-City Social Work Program within the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, actively working towards her Bachelor of Social Work degree. In her spare time, Melissa generously volunteers her efforts with the Nine Circles Community Health Centre, where she serves on the Board of Directors and the Lived Experiences Advisory Committee.

Danielle Hart (she/her) is Cree (Norway House), French, and Ukrainian. She is Two Spirit and queer, and works within the healthcare system to support folks without housing or at risk of losing housing. Danielle has a Master’s degree in Community Health Sciences. She grounds her work in anti-colonial, harm reduction, and culturally-grounded perspectives.

Tara Christianson (she/her) is Red River Métis, citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, and member of the Bison Local. Tara was born and raised on Treaty One territory and has lived in Winnipeg for the past 19 years. She is a mother, partner, daughter, sister, and auntie. 

Tara completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg, a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. Building on the findings from her master's thesis, Tara began her PhD in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba in September 2025. 

Tara’s research is grounded in the knowledge and experiences she has gained from direct practice work within Winnipeg’s mainstream healthcare system as well as having served as a graduate research assistant on multiple community-based research projects through the Village Lab. Her research interests include decolonization, homelessness, substance use, harm reduction, and how these issues intersect and inform health equity and inequalities. Through this, Tara hopes to enhance service delivery and increase culturally safe spaces within healthcare.

Heather Courchene is an Anishinaabe woman from Sagkeeng First Nation whose work is rooted in Indigenous harm reduction, cultural safety, and community wellness. Grounded in her identity, traditional teachings, and ceremonial way of life, she supports people with dignity, compassion, and respect. Heather has extensive experience in overdose prevention, naloxone education, peer engagement, and connecting individuals and families with essential resources. Her approach blends cultural knowledge with wholistic, trauma‑informed practices that strengthen safety and reduce stigma for people who use substances.

A community leader and advocate, Heather helps advance Indigenous‑led harm reduction initiatives and builds meaningful relationships with Elders, knowledge keepers, health practitioners, and people with lived and living experience. She contributes to community‑focused programming, cultural initiatives, and the development of Indigenous‑centered resources. Heather’s work reflects a deep commitment to culturally grounded harm reduction that supports healing, empowerment, and wellness across communities.

Danielle Peebles is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) and a registered band member of the
Keeseekoowenin First Nation, with family connections to Sagkeeng First Nation and Peguis
First Nation. She lives in Winnipeg’s North End on Treaty One territory. Danielle is a mother,
partner, daughter, sister, auntie, ceremony sister, and community auntie.
Danielle is a registered social worker with the Manitoba College of Social Workers and holds
two undergraduate degrees and a Master of Social Work (Indigenous Knowledge) from the
University of Manitoba. She has 15 years of experience in the social services field and draws on
experiential therapy and traditional healing methods to provide care and to walk alongside
people in their healing journeys. Her practice is grounded in anti-racist, anti-oppressive, harm-
reduction, trauma-informed, and person-centred approaches.

Danielle provides consulting, facilitation, training, and curriculum development. She is an
instructor with Yellowquill University College in the First Nation Addiction & Mental Health
Diploma Program, a facilitator with the Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute (CTRI) and maintains
a private therapeutic practice supporting adults and youth impacted by mental health concerns,
addictions, trauma, and intergenerational impacts. A fourth-generation residential school
survivor, she is committed to ongoing learning, cultural reclamation, and to sitting and walking
alongside people in a good way.

Gillian Kolla Gillian Kolla is Assistant Professor of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University. She is a public health researcher who uses community-based research methods to examine and address the barriers to healthcare and social service access confronted by people impacted by marginalization, particularly people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness. Sarah Torraville Sarah is the Co-Program Manager of the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP) at the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador. Sarah began as a volunteer with SWAP in October of 2021 while completing her Master of Science in Medicine due to her passion for harm reduction and desire to support people who use drugs. Since then, her passion for harm reduction has only grown while getting to know people through her role at SWAP. She enjoys educating community members on the importance of safe use practices, sharing in peoples’ lives, and providing a comfortable space. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her partner and pets and dancing competitively. Emma Penton (she/her) Emma has been involved in front-line harm reduction work through the St. John’s Status of Women Council (SJSWC) and volunteers with Overdose Awareness St. John’s (OARS), where she has been closely connected to the realities, strengths, and challenges faced by people who use drugs in her community. Driven by this work, she is now working towards an MSc in Community Health at Memorial University, focusing on rural harm reduction, gaps in services, and PWUDs’ lived experiences. Emma is dedicated to reducing stigma, breaking down barriers, and expanding access to care by centring community voices.

Sarah is the Co-Program Manager of the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP) at the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador. Sarah began as a volunteer with SWAP in October of 2021 while completing her Master of Science in Medicine due to her passion for harm reduction and desire to support people who use drugs. Since then, her passion for harm reduction has only grown while getting to know people through her role at SWAP. She enjoys educating community members on the importance of safe use practices, sharing in peoples’ lives, and providing a comfortable space. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her partner and pets and dancing competitively. 

Susan Smith is a community organizer who started out in the punk scene over 25 years ago. She has strong harm reduction values and has brought lived expertise and deep care into her practice. Currently she is co-managing the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP) with the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador, distributing harm reduction supplies across the vast province. She’s committed to decriminalization, prison abolition, and encouraging systems to center restorative justice instead of carceral punishment. Susan has spent the last 10 years working with people who use drugs and sex workers advocating for decriminalization. In her spare time Susan plays with her two puppies and organises Heavy Metal Karaoke.

Emma Penton (she/her) Emma has been involved in front-line harm reduction work through the St. John’s Status of Women Council (SJSWC) and volunteers with Overdose Awareness St. John’s (OARS), where she has been closely connected to the realities, strengths, and challenges faced by people who use drugs in her community. Driven by this work, she is now working towards an MSc in Community Health at Memorial University, focusing on rural harm reduction, gaps in services, and PWUDs’ lived experiences. Emma is dedicated to reducing stigma, breaking down barriers, and expanding access to care by centring community voices

Vanessa an Anishinaabekwe & Eveline a Settler share their anti-oppressive approaches for working with Youth as they model healthy Indigenous led co-facilitation practice. Two decades of delivering thousands of workshops in substance, sexual health & relationships inform this session.

Chris Trimble's Spirit name is Apisimôsos(white tail deer). They enjoy teaching people about sex and drugs, and doing sacred things. 

Karen Sharma (she/her) is a first-generation South Asian living in Winnipeg - Treaty One territory.  Karen is currently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, where she has worked for the past eleven years.

As the Commission’s Executive Director, Karen's job to lead promotion and protection of human rights in Manitoba through administration of Manitoba's human rights complaints system; the development of policy and research; and the delivery of human rights education.  

Prior to joining the Commission, Karen worked in leadership positions within Manitoba Labour and Immigration and Manitoba Advanced Education and Training.  

In addition to her professional work, she currently serves on the board of directors of Manitoba Possible and the Manitoba Council of Administrative Tribunals. Karen has co-organized Queer People of Colour Winnipeg, a collective that created programming that centered and celebrated Two-Spirit, Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, people of colour. She is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the Women's Health Clinic. 

Prior to assuming this role, Karen worked with the Commission as the Director of Investigations and Policy.  Karen currently serves as the Chairperson of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies.

Daniel Thau-Eleff is a Winnipeg-based playwright, performer, founder and Artistic Producer of Moving Target Theatre, and Executive Producer of Manitoba Association of Playwrights. He calls his plays “personal-political,” meaning they explore issues of human rights or social justice, through individual characters' struggles, mixing documentary and autobiographical elements into fiction. Daniel has performed his solo-shows all over Canada and he has led over 50 dialogic Theatre for Living workshops.

Daniel was the project lead and co-director of the Peer Voices and Imagining Safety videos, created in partnership with Manitoba Harm Reduction Network. Together with filmmaker Julie Epp and the participants, he developed a theatre/video process for these projects, which he studied for his Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. In 2018, Daniel was recognized for his theatre work with the Manitoba Human Rights Commitment Award.

https://MovingTargetTheatre.com/

Julie Epp is a Winnipeg-based filmmaker, videographer, and National People & Engagement Lead at a national architectural firm. As a queer artist with a background in art therapy and narrative practice, she is known for her thoughtful, collaborative approach to working in sensitive and complex spaces.

Her work brings together storytelling, relationship-building, and a commitment to equity, often centering the voices of people with lived experience. Julie was the filmmaker and co-creator of Peer Voices and Imagining Safety, developed in partnership with the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network and theatre artist Daniel Thau-Eleff. She is currently collaborating with MHRN on an HIV-focused video project, and with the Canadian Public Health Association to support the development of stigma reduction training for service providers.

Her work explores important social issues through storytelling grounded in authentic relationships and trust.

Jamey is a 67 year resident of Selkirk, Manitoba and carries 50 years experience of navigating substance use.   Jamey has been an active leader with the Selkirk Peer Advisory Council for ten years, supporting access to housing, STTBI testing and Treatment and safer practices in substance use in Selkirk.

Jamey was a part of the creative groups for both Peer Voices and Imagining Safety in Selkirk. Jamey is an active advocate for harm reduction services, as well as detox and treatment capacity within Selkirk and other rural communities. Jamey loves to use humor as a tool in our harm reduction tool kit.

Heather Witherden is an award-winning storyteller who has shared her personal monologue about using Naloxone to audiences in Western Canada, as part of the show, 'Moms Moms Moms'. It's a story of healing and love made possible by harm reduction.

Bodey is a proud member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, born and raised in the tri-community of Opaskwayk Cree Nation, The Pas and the RM of Kelsey. Bodey is closely connected to the community with lots of family and friends. Bodey is an advocate for harm reduction and continues to educate and support anyone who’s willing to listen.

Bodey is a proud member of the Peer Advisory Council that works alongside and informs the Play It Safer Network - The Pas/OCN. Being part of the Peer Advisory Council led to the opportunity to be part of the Imagining Safety in Northern Manitoba Video Project, where Bodey took part in the theatre and movement workshops, filming the project and even supported Daniel and Julie with the editing process for the video. Bodey is extremely proud of this video and the messages it shares and the positive impact it has had on those he’s shared it with.

Karen is the interim Director of Community Initiatives at Main Street Project, where she leads the development and implementation of innovative, evidence-based harm reduction initiatives. Karen supports programs including Emergency Shelter Services, Mobile Outreach, Housing and Harm Reduction Programs. She holds undergraduate degrees in Criminology and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Manitoba, and a Master of Arts in Gender and Social Justice from the University of Alberta. Her work is grounded in a commitment to dignity, accessibility, and community-centered care.

Bri is a harm reduction nurse with experience in public and clinical health holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Manitoba. Her approach centers on building trust, reducing barriers, and supporting people who use substances with respect and care. Bri has spent one year as Harm Reduction Manager at Main Street Project, overseeing both the safe supply and managed alcohol program. She continues this work as a nurse, providing frontline, relationship-centered care in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and community partners.

Leigh Elliott (she/her) — Peers Executive Director Leigh has a Master of Arts in political theory with a focus on biopolitics, agency, and the harmful conflation of human trafficking and sex work. Previous to her position as Executive Director, Leigh worked with Peers Victoria as the Operations Manager and as a researcher conducting community-based research on sex work, housing, gender-based violence and violence prevention. Leigh is a big advocate for sex worker rights and intersectional approaches to health and social service work and is honoured to be working alongside such an amazing and empowering community ❤️.

Wanda Tschritter (She/her) has been working in the HOPPS program since its inception. She is a big advocate for peer-based work, harm reduction, and community care.

Ken MacKenzie, RSW, MSW, BSW, is currently employed at Keewatinohk Inninew Minoayawin where he has been practicing, primarily in the area of Indigenous Harm Reduction for the last four years. During his time at KIM, Ken’s focus has been the design, implementation and evaluation of harm reduction programs including but not limited to Managed Alcohol programs, Opioid Agonist Treatment and other community driven Harm Reduction programs for the First Nations people living in Northern Manitoba. Ken has a Master’s degree in Social Work after completing his research in Bunibonibee Cree Nation, which developed a liberatory framework for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous practitioners to work together in decolonizing ways. He also has a Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg and Louisiana State University. Ken is a proud member of the Manto Sagahekan (Gods Lake First Nation) Sundance family completing the required, four sundance ceremonies at the community’s annual sundance ceremony, to earn this honor. He has also participated in several indigenous healing ceremonies including sweatlodges, yuwipi, shaking tent and the harvesting, preparation, and use of traditional Indigenous medicines. Ken’s Social Work practice over the past 28 years has been in administrative and clinical capacities across Manitoba in the areas of Mental Health and Substance use, Child Welfare, Manitoba Justice, Adult Services for the Intellectually impaired, Community Forensic Mental Health Services, and Adult Crisis Response services. Working across these structures and practices Ken has used this unique location, education and teaching/learning opportunities to engage in decolonizing actions to support Indigenous people, families and communities in overcoming the harms that they continue to endure from the colonial structures and practices that do great harm to all through the use of trauma informed, anti-oppressive, ant-racist and decolonizing approaches in his ongoing work with the Inniniwuk, Anishininnewuk, Dene, Anishinaabe and Lakota people of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. This work has and continues to challenge structures and practices to finally put an end to First Nations specific racism in human service organizations across Manitoba.

Hubert Watt was raised in God's Lake First Nation, a remote Inniniwuk community located in what is now known as northeastern Manitoba.  Hubert’s connection with the land, water and all things is deeply rooted in his approach to everything he does.  He has worked in many different roles in Gods Lake First Nation over the past several years and as Hubert will tell you, “I have worked with the people for most of my life and try my best to help them in any way I can”.  These roles include working at God's Narrows School in the early 90's for about 5 years with students, parents and teachers as an education liaison.  Hubert then worked in Gods Lake First Nation Band Administration with the Federal Social Assistance program for a few years, working with Community Members who received financial support through this program.

In 2006 Hubert was elected as a Councillor, for several terms and in 2020 he was elected as chief of GLFN for 2 terms.  While working as Chief of Gods Lake First Nation, Hubert Watt led and supported his community through the suicide crisis which began in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the crystal methamphetamine crisis, which was declared in October of 2022.  Hubert Watt has been a community champion in the establishment of the community-based crystal methamphetamine community member stabilization facility, Buskeh Banoon Recovery Center, and in November of 2024, he took on the role of Coordinator for Buskeh Banoon Recovery Center which has provided stabilization services and supports for over 200 community members struggling with withdrawal from crystal methamphetamine and other substances.  His approach in doing this work blends both Inniniwuk (Cree) and western based science to support the healing of community members from Gods Lake First Nation.  

Sherry Halcrow is a 34-year-old Inniniw woman from God’s Lake First Nation and the mother of four children, ages 1 to 18. She currently works as an Inniniw Harm Reduction Clinician at the Buskeh Banoon Stabilization Centre. Sherry has spent many years in the helping profession, including several years as a Brighter Futures worker with the local health program. She has lived experience with substance use disorders and mental health challenges, including past struggles with stimulants. Over the past four years, she has worked extremely hard in her recovery. Sherry’s story is one of both hardship and joy. She has overcome many challenges faced daily by First Nations women from Northern Manitoba and is a leader and inspiration to her family and community. Sherry is committed to supporting community members on their journeys of hope and recovery.

Paula Migliardi is the Program Specialist with Healthy Sexuality and Harm Reduction, Population and Public Health. Paula has over 2 decades of experience in collaborating with diverse communities in community-based research and program evaluation. Her main areas of interest include sexuality and sexual health, and harm reduction. Paula has been instrumental in establishing drug checking services at Street Connections. 

Meagan Jonker (she/her) is a Health Education Facilitator and Drug Checking Technician at Nine Circles Community Health Centre. Being one of two technicians at Nine Circles, Meagan was a keenly involved with launching the service in the spring of 2025. Meagan has worked and volunteered extensively in both recovery and harm reduction spaces. If she's not working the front-lines, you can find Meagan spear-heading labour relations, and workplace health & safety initiatives, advocating for safety and support for all. 
 

Jason P. Zweiban is an advocate for harm reduction community and has experience as both a peer and a service provider. His journey began in the rave and queer communities through Project Safe Audience, an initiative aimed at providing non-judgemental information to others at music events. After volunteering with ANKORS at the Shambhala Music Festival in the mountains of BC, Jason returned with a passion for drug checking. He has since dedicated himself to bringing drug testing services to the Winnipeg community by advocating for increased access to substance testing of all kinds. He currently works with several agencies, including Sunshine House on the MOPS (Mobile Overdose Prevention Team) to use his knowledge of FT-IR and reagent drug checking services to promote education about drug checking services. 

Lenard Monkman is an Anishinaabe journalist with CBC, known for his reporting on Indigenous issues and communities across Canada. In 2025, he was named the recipient of the Indigenous Health Fellowship, awarded jointly by the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), recognizing his commitment to in-depth, responsible reporting on health issues affecting Indigenous peoples.

Monkman served as producer of Zoongidewin, a project that explores HIV rates in Indigenous communities with a prairie focus. The documentary launched across CBC platforms in June 2026. Through this work, he has helped bring nuanced, community-centered storytelling to a national audience, shedding light on both the challenges and resilience of those living with HIV.

With a career grounded in Indigenous journalism, Lenard Monkman continues to contribute meaningful, culturally informed reporting that amplifies Indigenous voices and perspectives within mainstream Canadian media.

Vanessa is Saulteaux from Lake Manitoba First Nation, Treaty 2 Territory. She is a mother, grandmother and over the last year has become a voice for those living with HIV. She has shared her story in First Nations, at conferences and at women’s organizations. She has seen the struggles of what life is like for many of our people who live in Manitoba and would like to continue advocating for those who have HIV and those who might be at-risk of HIV. 

Jennifer Meixner is a Red River Metis citizen who lives, learns, works, and plays in Treaty 1 territory and the Red River Metis homelands. Jen is an anti-oppressive justice-oriented practioner, educator, researcher, and creative capacity weaver. Jennifer is passionate about promoting decolonial and relational intelligence among individuals, organizations and systems. With nearly two decades of experience across sectors in social services, Jennifer is a leader with a keen ability to translate big picture ideas to actionable steps, and a gift for the stewardship of stories. Jennifer is a Registered Social Worker with a Masters in Indigenous Governance, and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Conflict Resolution. Jennifer is also an accredited Gladue Writer and Sexual Health Facilitator. Jennifer worked for Manitoba Justice for a decade doing comprehensive complex case management, Court Ordered assessment and recommendations, and was an expert witness in Provincial and Court of King’s Bench related to Gladue and pre-sentencing assessment and recommendations. Jennifer went on to work at the Office of the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) as an Advocacy Officer, advancing the rights and interests of children across the province. Jennifer has since worked for a First Nations government in the area of Indigenous rights and advocacy, as well as a consultant supporting organizations in developing capacity and serving the community. Jennifer is a post-secondary educator in the Faculty of Social Work and is a life-long learner currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work with research interests in community-based paticipatory research, decolonial feminist scholarship, decolonizing FASD, and justice. Jennifer is an avid community volunteer, currently sitting on the Board of Directors in the role of President for the Manitoba College of Social Workers, Board of Directors in the role of President for the St. Andrews Community Club, Board of Directors for the Manitoba FASD Coalition, and a network member for the Selkirk Harm Reduction Coalition.

Tristan (he/him) is a Metis and Settler person from Selkirk, Manitoba. Tristan is the Network Coordinator for the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network and has over a decade experience in housing advocacy and service delivery.

Jan Marie Graham is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Studies, Brandon University. Her research interests are the lived experiences of people with mental health issues and/or who use substances, newcomers, and International Students; and issues in rural health care.

Amber Beaulieu (she/they) is Anishinaabe from Gaa-wiikwedaawangaag (Sandy Bay), currently living and working in Portage la Prairie as the Network Coordinator for MHRN. She is a prominent community organizer and Indigenous leader known for her work in Manitoba, which focuses on community safety- championing Indigenous-led, non-police safety and intervention strategies rooted in traditional teachings, and systemic reform- speaking directly on funding reallocation and defunding police systems to support proactive community-based care. 

Amber is recognized for their impactful work with Indigenous Youth Roots (formerly known as Canadian Roots Exchange) and 4R's Youth Movement, and brings over two decades of experience in advocacy, education and politics. 

Tanya Fortune is a peer advocate that has been involved with Manitoba Harm Reduction Network Portage la Prairie since it first began in 2019, and currently sits as one of the longest standing members of the PAC. Tanya has an extensive background in community facing roles, like the Healthy Baby and Families First programs, and brings this experience to the work she currently does in the community. Tanya is passionate about harm reduction and community care, and is also involved in consultations by local organizations and advisory groups for special research projects, just like this one! 

Samara (she/her) is a white settler Queer Femme who lives and works on Treaty 1 territory and has had the privilege to work across Manitoba in the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe, Ininew (Cree), Dakota, Dene, Anisininew, and homeland of the Red River Métis. 

Samara is a Registered Social Worker and has worked within community health in a variety of roles over the past 15 years. She is currently a Sexuality & Reproductive Health Facilitator at SERC Winnipeg and has experience facilitating workshops for youth and service providers on a wide range of topics. Her work is grounded in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, and harm reduction approaches, and is informed by a commitment to equity, relationship-building, and meeting people where they are at.  Samara enjoys spending her time by the water with her family, baking, gardening, and playing roller derby!

Kaitlyn White (she/they) has been providing sexual health education in Westman for sixteen years. Much of her time has been spent working with youth in rural and remote settings, and she's passionate about giving young people the information they need to make informed choices about sex and drugs. She's a fierce advocate for harm reduction in all of its forms. Outside of work, you'll find Kaitlyn hanging out with her four kids and beloved cocker spaniel, Ruby, caring for plants, listening to podcasts, and loving many people who use drugs. 

Miyotehewin ᒥᔪᑌᐦᐁᐃᐧᐣ Okihcitaskwew  (Kind-hearted Warrior Woman) 

okimaw (CEO), CAAN Communities, Alliances & Networks- December 2019 to present

Finance and Research Director, All Nations Hope Network -Oct 1999 to present

Nehiyaw iskwew ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ  ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ  (Cree Woman) with direct ties to the Kisikaw Piyesis(Bitternose)/Itittakoose Family from George Gordon First Nation and the Desnomie/McLeod Family from Peepeekisis First Nation, in Saskatchewan on the land now called Canada.  Descendant of both the Moose clan and the Bear Clan, living as an ancestral scientist, a knowledge keeper and baby catching bundle carrier.

Waniska (Awakened) to the ways of the ancestors, practising traditional ways of knowing, healing along the way, seeking pimâtisiwin (life) for all nations through Indigenous practices, language, ceremonies, culture and traditions, working as a Co-Creator for Kisi Manito (Great Mystery) honoring the ancestors along the way.

In the colonized world, she is a leader as the CEO of CAAN and celebrates 30+ years of responding to HIV, HCV and colonial impacts to Indigenous communities through culture, ceremony, humour, and Indigenous ways.

Maxine Issiqut Angoo (she/her) is a queer Sipiniq Inuk woman originally from Whale Cove, Nunavut, who currently lives in Winnipeg on Treaty One Territory. Raised by her grandparents and grounded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit values, she brings both lived experience and community leadership to her work. Maxine is a founding member and Executive Director of Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre, where she supports culturally grounded programming, advocacy, and services for urban Inuit.

Maxine also shares Inuit culture by teaching Inuit games, drum dancing, and the lighting of the qulliq. She has been teaching traditional songs to her nine-year-old daughter, Quinn. Quinn participates in Tunngasugit’s Inuit Youth Program, where she has been learning to throat sing. Together, they share culture across generations, with Quinn singing while her Anaana drum dances.

Maxine is passionate about Indigenous wellness, suicide prevention, 2SLGBTQQIA+ inclusion, youth empowerment, and ensuring Inuit voices are meaningfully represented in research, policy, and community decision-making. Her work is guided by a commitment to creating safer and more inclusive communities where Inuit can live authentically, access support, remain connected to culture, and thrive.

Chasity Swan is a 24 year old Inuit and Ojibway woman from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Chasity is the Inuit child first initiative Manager to Tunngasugit, Western Canada’s’ first Inuit resource center located in Winnipeg. Chasity is an active member with the Inuit community in Winnipeg and uses her throat singing to demonstrate and teach about Inuit culture. Chasity has performed at various events and festivals. Such as, Indigenous day live, sahkihiwe festival, and WASAC night for the Winnipeg jets.

Aleatra Sammurtok is a Winnipeg-based Inuit throat singer with roots in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. She began throat sing as a teenager and is passionate about keeping Inuit traditions alive and actively supports her community through cultural programming and leadership.