New Moon Gala

Special Guest Speaker

HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK, Melanie Mark

Melanie Mark is a trailblazing Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree and Ojibway matriarch and the first First Nations woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2016. Mark is also the inaugural First Nations woman to serve in BC's Cabinet as the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (2017- 2020) and later as the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (2020-2022).  

Mark has been disrupting the status quo throughout the nonprofit sector, public service, as an elected official and entrepreneur for the past three decades. Mark has a Criminology Diploma from Douglas College/ Native Education College and a Political Science Degree from Simon Fraser University.  In 2024 she was the recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. 

Mark is tenacious. She is a bold and strategic leader, with a demonstrated track record of advancing social, environmental, and economic justice. Mark retired from politics in 2023 to focus on her daughters and her two businesses: Remarkable First Nations Regenerative Industries & HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK Consulting. Mark is a passionate advocate for education, sport, culture and clean tech and has an unwavering belief that we can and must "Paddle Together" to implement the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.