THE NORTHERN COUNCIL
FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION
About Us
NCGC was born out of the desire to build a network of northern Canadians who want to make a local and global impact toward a just, equitable and sustainable world.
Our history
The Northern Council for Global Cooperation, formerly the Yukon Development Education Center, was established in 1988 as a Yukon society. NCGC has grown substantially since first receiving funding from Global Affairs Canada in 2013. We have invested significant time and effort establishing trusted and valued partnerships with Northern Peoples and organizations by supporting, listening, and learning.
We have grappled with best practices and strategies to meaningfully engage Northern Peoples on global issues. Past programs and activities have included social media campaigns, programs for youth and educators, public speaking events on global issues, gatherings designed to create connections between local and global peoples, and more.
While these programs and activities have been successful, NCGC believes we need to reframe how we engage Northern Peoples to deepen understanding, and create volition to take action on global issues. Explore our new programs!
Our people
Our Team
Tracey Wallace
Connecting people, experience and knowledge is Tracey's passion. She is constantly listening, learning and reflecting on the world around her. Her career path has included working with Canadian and international educational and community development organizations, in Southern Africa and northern Canada. Prior to joining NCGC in 2014, Tracey worked with the Yukon Human Rights Commission and Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition. She holds a Master of Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE).
Jodi Gustafson
Jodi Gustafson is a settler born and raised in what is today known as the Yukon, Canada. That upbringing and later life experiences instilled a profound respect for and curiosity about the natural world, and how we relate to it. She has worked on environmental management projects with organizations including the International Whaling Commission, the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee, and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs. Aotearoa/ New Zealand has been her second home since 2007. In 2017, Jodi joined the inaugural cohort of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. She gratefully lives between Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa and Whakatōhea lands in Aotearoa, and Southern Tutchone lands in the Yukon where she was born and raised.
Athulya Joseph
Informed largely by principles of relationships and respect, Athulya has developed a deep commitment to linking inner transformation with social change. Athulya is a settler born and raised on Turtle Island with ancestral roots in South India. She finds inspiration in exploring how ways of being and design thinking can be harnessed to tackle the challenges within our global systems. She is grateful to hold a Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa as well as to continue unlearning and critically reflecting on those teachings.
Jodi's role in her work revolves around supporting communities in efforts to fulfil ancestral stewardship responsibilities, and in this capacity she was humbled to support the Yukon First Nations Climate Action Fellowship with development of the Reconnection Vision from 2021-2023. Jodi continues collective work to evolve governance, education, conservation and economic models beyond colonial frameworks in her role coordinating the Illuminating Worldviews offering in partnership between the Northern Council for Global Cooperation and RIVER. She has a Masters in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge where she studied as a Gates Cambridge scholar.
Our Board
William Gagnon
William Gagnon is an expert in healthcare systems decarbonization and sustainable medicine. As the Director of Implementation at the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, he supports health care leaders in decarbonizing their practices. Formerly with DoctorsWithout Borders (MSF) and the Centre for Sustainable Medicine (Singapore), William spearheaded initiatives to decarbonize facilities, electrical systems, and vehicles in Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda and Singapore, where he learned firsthand the challenges of balancing sustainability with safety, security and critical healthcare needs, both in underdeveloped and hyper-developed countries.
William is also the part-time Executive Director of the Northwest Territories Medical Association, and the Director of Strategy for POWER Wellbeing. A French Canadian, William holds a Bachelor’s in Building Engineering from Concordia University, a Master’s in Bioresource Engineering from McGill University, two LEED professional accreditations. He is currently pursuing a PhD in healthcare systems decarbonization at Carleton University.
William is a Project Management Professional and he has studied climate and leadership at Harvard and Cornell. In August 2023, William wasamong 25,000 Yellowknife residents evacuated due to catastrophic wildfires. Named a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader by Corporate Knights, he often speaks about climate on global stages. William chairs th Northern Council for Global Cooperation. You’ll often find him skiing or sailing on Great Slave Lake.
Maggie Crump
Maggie Crump (she/her) has spent most of her career working in Indigenous governance, treaty implementation, diplomacy and intergovernmental relations. She has provided strategic advice on Indigenous self-government negotiations and implementation for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and Kwanlin Dün First Nation, as well as to the Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ delegation at UNFCCC negotiations. She has also provided political advice and managed intergovernmental relations for the Senator of the Northwest Territories and Gwich’in Tribal Council.
Maggie has a B.A. in International Development from Dalhousie University and a M.A. in Political Economy from Carleton University. Her social justice background informs her intergovernmental work; she prioritizes relationship-building and government-to-government engagement in order to advance the priorities and interests of the communities she works with.
Maggie is a settler Canadian and has lived in a number of cities across Canada, as well as in Denmark, Ghana, and Norway. In 2022, she returned to Whitehorse and she now lives and works on the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, where she was born. Maggie enjoys sewing, beading, and berry picking, as well as visiting with friends and family.
Jane Downing
Originally from Montreal, Jane holds a BSc (Life Sciences) from Queen’s University at Kingston, and a Master of Education degree from the University of Athabasca in 2017. Jane has completed coursework in Gender and International Issues in Distance Education as well as Inclusive Leadership. In her work with NCGC, Jane has rekindled a lifelong passion for gender equality and inclusion and is interested in how education can further the pursuit of a just and equitable global society and move us closer to achieving these goals.
Jenna Blanchard
I started my journey in the Northwest Territories living along the Mackenzie River in the town of Inuvik. My experience there has guided me towards the work I am doing today. I am a settler on this Land; I grew up in Prince Edward Island. I am currently living in Yellowknife, and I am deeply proud to call the Northwest Territories home. My experiences in health care as a registered nurse, and time spent within the communities deeply shapes the passion I lead with towards more equitable and safer spaces for all people in health care systems today.
Along with being a labor and delivery nurse, I currently work as a program coordinator for the Northern Birthwork Collective; an organization that provides cost supported programming and services for all stages of the reproductive journey. This role has expanded my way of thinking in how I approach caring for those seeking support. My vision of creating change is to first listen to those most impacted, then share a space at the table to help advocate for those voices to be heard in decision making processes.
The learning and unlearning I have gone through and will continue to do, is an example of my own lived experiences, stories, relationships built and opportunities I’ve had in my travels; my love for the Land and those sharing these spaces is impactful in my work and who I am today. I am learning that building relationship takes time, and I am committed to this process.
Élise Brown-Dussault
Once I won a peanut butter eating contest by consuming 8 kilos of the stuff in about 3 months. The person who won second place (at 7 kilos) says he can't eat peanut butter anymore due to oversaturation. I can still eat it, so that's how I know I am the true winner. When I'm not eating peanut butter, spot me nerding out over bones I find in the forest. Or screeching away as a first-year violinist. Or making money trying to support my peanut butter, bones, and violin habits.
Leila Cai
Leila (Suk-hing) was born and raised in China, of Han descent. Leila studied at the University of Manitoba since moving to Turtle Island, and now works for a land claim organization in Dënéndeh. Coming to this land as an immigrant, Leila is grateful to share space with and learn from the first peoples of the North. She has a background in impact assessment, having worked with Indigenous communities, scientific researchers, governments and think tanks on different types of projects. In everything she does, Leila leads with a passion for shaping a fair decision-making process that provides a level playing field for underserved communities. People experience trauma differently in this era of climate anxiety. Growing up in a small town in southeastern China, Leila dares to imagine a rosier version of what a world in the throes of global catastrophes might look like: those most vulnerable must have a say at the decision-making table. For that, we all have a part to play.
NCGC is an active member of the Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation (ICN).
The Inter-Council Network (ICN) is a dynamic network of provincial and regional member-based Councils for International Cooperation committed to social justice and social change. Rooted in communities across Canada, the ICN is a leader in public engagement at a local and regional level, and is recognized for bringing regional knowledge and priorities to the national level.
