EntrepreNorth

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Benjamin Scott | Project Director

Benjamin Scott is a member of the Tlicho Nation and a true Northerner at heart. He has a passion for supporting organizations to redefine business practice through an Indigenous worldview, and sharing business knowledge and tools to help build entrepreneurial leadership and capacity within communities. In addition to his role as Project Director of EntrepreNorth, in his spare time, Benjamin offers strategic business services through Feed the Fire Business Consulting and is also working on launching a software application to help professional practitioners maximize their most valuable resource, time. Prior to diving into entrepreneurship, Benjamin worked alongside First Nation communities to improve homes, save energy, and reduce costs, and spent about ten years working in government in a number of management roles targeted at maximizing benefits for Northerners, closing gaps in the labour market, and leading the development of territory-wide skills and postsecondary education strategies. He holds a MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership from SFU, a BA in Urban Studies from UofC, a Leadership Certicate from UofA, and is an Action Canada Fellow Alumni.

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Xina Cowan | Community Manager

​Xina spent the first 29 years of her life in Montréal, QC and now calls Yellowknife, NWT home. After studying Human Relations at Concordia University, she moved to the Eeyou Itschee Cree community of Wemindji in 2013 and began her career in Indigenous leadership and community building. Since then, Xina’s work has taken her all across the North. As EntrepreNorth’s Community Manager, her focus is marketing and communications, community engagement and partnership development. 
 
Prior to this position, Xina was the Development Manager for Indigenous projects at Youth Fusion – a non-profit that aims to increase scholastic perseverance. Xina was also the Editor-In-Chief of the Indigenous online magazine WIOT. Her (not so) side passion is promoting Indigenous fashion designers and artists. She is a Community Outreach Associate for Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO) and is particularly invested in supporting the incredible talent coming from the North.

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