EntrepreNorth

Benjamin Scott | Founding Director / Co-Lead 

Benjamin Scott is a member of the Tłı̨chǫ 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. He is the creator of The Multi-Directional Business Compass which offers an Indigenous-centred perspective for thinking about business, community, and economic impact in a more circular and holistic way. The Compass framework now serves as the foundation of EntrepreNorth’s programming to empower Indigenous entrepreneurs to build sustainable business and livelihoods across Northern Canada. Benjamin offers strategic business services through Feed the Fire Business Consulting to support Indigenous focused organizations on pathways to economic self-determination, resurgence and resilience. He holds a MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership from SFU, a BA in Urban Studies from UofC, a Leadership Certificate from UofA, and is an Action Canada Fellow Alumni.​

Xina Cowan | Co-Director

​Xina lives and works in Yellowknife on Chief Drygeese Territory. Her ancestry is Irish, Scottish, and Mohawk and she is honoured to be learning her family's shared histories. She is the granddaughter of Barbara Monture Malloch and the great-granddaughter of Gilbert 'Slim' Monture from Six Nations. After studying Human Relations at Concordia University in Montreal, Xina moved to the Eeyou Itschee Cree community of Wemindji in 2013 and began her career in Indigenous programming. Since then, Xina’s work has taken her all across the North. As EntrepreNorth’s Co-Director she is primarily responsible for leading Marketing and Communications, Community Outreach, Partnership Development, and Stakeholder Relations. Xina is also a certified Coach and is the Host and Producer of EntrepreNorth's podcast series Venture Out which shares the brave stories of Northerners who are inspiring innovation and community wellbeing through business. ​
 
Prior to joining EntrepreNorth, Xina was the Development Manager for Indigenous projects at Youth Fusion and was the Editor of WIOT Magazine at Rezolution Pictures. Her (not so) side passion is promoting Indigenous fashion designers and artists. She is a Marketplace Jury Member for Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival (IFA) and is particularly invested in supporting the incredible talent coming from the Circumpolar Arctic. 

Tate Juniper | Impact Fund Catalyst

Tate is Sahtu Dene and a member of the Délı̨nę First Nation's Band. He was born in Yellowknife NWT on Chief Drygeese Territory, traditional lands of Yellowknives Dene First Nation. He is the grandson of Doreen Cleary and the late George Cleary, a former chief of Délı̨nę. He is the son of the late Gary Juniper and the late Cheryl Cleary.

 Tate has a diverse educational and professional background in finance, the culinary arts, and electrical trade. He has worked on fishing barges on the coasts of Haida Gwaii, has done Wildland Firefighting in the Beaufort-Delta, and many other things in-between. Recently, Tate began a videography career that is grounded in authentic representations and portrayals of Indigenous people. In 2021, he traveled 40,000 kilometers to take portraits and record stories from Indigenous communities across America as part of his project, We Are The First. He is guided by the belief that authentic representation comes through conversation and listening, and seeks to demystify what it means to be a contemporary Indigenous person.
​
 As EntrepreNorth’s Impact Fund Catalyst, Tate's work centres on creating impact investment opportunities for Northern Indigenous communities that highlight financial sovereignty, sustainable and ethical practices, and the perspective of wealth creation through an Indigenous lens.

Tammy Oliver-Snook | Program Manager

​Tammy Oliver-Snook, B. Comm., CAPM, was born and raised in rural Newfoundland and Labrador where she learned first-hand about entrepreneurship and loving the land. She studied at Memorial University for a Bachelor of Commerce and a minor in Economics and later became a Certified Associate in Project Management.

In her young career, she has worked in a variety of industries including banking, security, marketing, event planning, and now entrepreneurship.Tammy is always eager to expand her knowledge and get involved. Active in her community with initiatives that align with her values, she is currently volunteering as a Board of Directors’ member with Habitat for Humanity Northwest Territories based out of Yellowknife, NT.

​She enjoys communicating with others and problem-solving by taking a big-picture perspective without losing sight of details. Tammy has always been passionate about inclusion and womxn empowerment. During her time as Miss Newfoundland and Labrador, her goal was to encourage people be themselves, unapologetically.

​

Tanya Roach | Marketing Specialist

Tanya Roach is a writer, throat singer and public speaker living in Yellowknife, NT. She is of Inuit and Scottish ancestry and spent her childhood in the Nunavut and Northwest Territories child welfare system.
As an adult, she became involved in writing through the NorthWords NWT Writer's Festival Society where she serves on the Board of Directors. Writing is a tool for self-empowerment, reflection and cross-cultural communication and education. At the heart of her writing, she explores intersecting identities with a holistic and strength-based mindset.

She has spent time living in Edmonton, AB, attending the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. After college she spent time working in the medical travel and hospitality field then gravitated towards books through working at book stores and libraries.
​
Cultural revitalization is a strong interest for her and is involved activities such as Inuit throat singing, qulliq lighting and providing culturally relevant content for literary agencies and television.

Rilee-Anne Lloyd | Finance Manager

Rilee Lloyd was born and raised in rural Manitoba. She graduated from the Professional Program of the School of Contemporary Dancers in affiliation with the University of Winnipeg; obtaining a BA honours degree in fine arts. She was awarded membership into the Golden Key International Honour Society for academic achievement. She had the opportunity to perform, choreograph, and teach across Canada during her contemporary dance career.

When Rilee retired as a dancer she began taking accounting courses through the CPA Western School of Business. She went on to obtain her Chartered Professional Accounting designation. Rilee has spent most of her accounting career working in public practice in Audit and Assurance services. Although she worked on engagements in many different industries, she primarily worked with not-for-profit and agriculture clients.

​Rilee previously served as a volunteer board member for the Prairie Fusion Arts and Entertainment organization. She believes art plays a vital role in community. 

Shirley Adamson | Elder in Residence

Shirley Adamson was born for Ágüná (the Wolf Clan), is an elder of the Tagïsh Ch’än and citizen of the Tà’án Kwäch’an Council. Currently Ms. Adamson is a curriculum developer of the Tagish language for the Yukon Native Language Centre and instructs its credit course for Simon Fraser University. She also is developing and instructing a non-credit course of the Tà’án Kwäch’an dialect. She is a Trustee and Chair of the Yukon First Nations Languages Trust. A life-long advocate of aboriginal languages, cultures, and rights she focuses on helping with Yukon First Nations youth and elders. Ms. Adamson actively promotes the rights of Aboriginal Peoples through public speaking engagements, presenting workshops and as a mentor to many youth and youth groups.
​
Ms Adamson’s elected and appointed positions have included in part: Chairperson of the Tà’án Kwäch’an Council; Yukon Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations; Grand Chief of Council of Yukon First Nations; she served as the CEO of Northern Native Broadcasting, Yukon, CEO of Keyah Productions Inc., Director and Chair of the Board of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network; Director with Northern Vision Development, Director of the Board for Da Daghay Development Corporation, Chair of the Lanalxh Prosperity Trust; Trustee with the Yukon Hospital Corporation and Chair of its First Nations standing committee; Board member of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, during her tenure she sat on its Executive Committee Governance Committee and Aboriginal Issues Committee, which she also chaired.

Paul Andrew | Elder in Residence

Paul Andrew was born in the Mackenzie Mountain and currently resides in Yellowknife. At the age of eight, Paul was taken to residential school. He returned to his community and served at Tulita Chief at the age of 22 and later Dene Nation Vice President. Paul is a student of Dene history including environment, Dene understanding of Cosmology, pharmacology, ecology and Aboriginal Spirituality.

After many years as Chief, Paul began his 30-year career with CBC. His focus has been and still is on teaching about Dene language and culture, building relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, healing and reconciliation, and regaining pride for the Elders and hope for the youth of the Northwest Territories.
​
Paul has received many awards including the CBC Team Building Award, NWT Literacy Award, and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He has served on many boards such as the Dene Language Committee, the NWT Forum on Community Wellness and Addictions, Aurora College Board of Governors and is an Elder Advisor to various groups and organizations.

Brad Poulter | Entrepreneur in Residence

Brad Poulter is a born and raised northerner and the founder of Barctic Technology: a Yellowknife-based technology and marketing firm. Its software has helped thousands of mainly Canadian companies sell products around the world. Barctic has also worked with dozens of northern companies and organizations to help them build technological capacity and systems to help them compete globally.
 
After fishing his honours Degree in Business from the University of British Columbia, Brad returned to the North to do communications work for the Office of the Premier. After a brief stint as a scuba dive master, Brad served 10 years managing business service programs and communications at the Business Development and Investment Corporation. He also taught marketing at Aurora College.
 
Brad is an avid adventure seeker, investor, educator and technology enthusiast with a passion to better the north through entrepreneurship, innovation and home-grown out of the box ideas. He offers 1-1 support to our program participants in the areas of e-commerce, web design, and digital marketing.