Our Team
Jacqueline Jennings
co-founder and Executive Director, Nehiyaw / Red River Métis (MMF)
Jacqueline (she/her) an impact investment professional, entrepreneur, and Indigenous innovation strategist. She has worked with Microsoft, Lululemon, and Aritzia and led the creation of national venture accelerators, The Fireweed Fellowship and The Next Big Thing and program development for regional initiative EntrepreNorth.
Previously a Venture Partner at Raven Indigenous Capital, Jacqueline now serves as Investor In Residence at Roanhorse Consulting where she co-leads the Rematriating Economies Apprenticeship. She is also a visiting professor at SFU Beedie School of Business, a 2024 Echoing Green Fellow, and a Boston Impact Initiative Fellow. Jacqueline sits on the boards of Community Futures Sunshine Coast and the Salish Regenerative Society, contributing to regenerative economic transformation through both capital and land-based systems change. She is a mother and horsewoman and enjoys connecting to culture through learning traditional craft like hide-tanning.
Charlene SanJenko
Storytelling & Research Lead, Splatsin
Charlene SanJenko (she/her) is an Indigenous Storyteller, Impact Producer, and an Intuitive Media Visionary who works in the space of social impact and inclusive innovation.
She is a two-time founder, author, filmmaker, and speaker with 25-year commitment to expanding human potential: “Our imagination reconnects us to the truest essence of who we are; as we SEE possibility, we BELIEVE more deeply.”
Charlene believes in the power of impact-first storytelling to regenerate hope and wholeness in society as we return to the sacred art of storytelling.
Agnes Seaweed Wisden
Program Manager, Kwakwaka’wakw
Agnes is a Na̱mg̱is artist, educator, and community leader with over 15 years of experience creating culturally grounded programs rooted in Indigenous knowledge and mentorship. Founder of Sea Wisdom Design, her jewelry has been showcased internationally—including at the Emmy and SAG Awards. Agnes brings a powerful blend of entrepreneurship, youth mentorship, and curriculum design, developed through roles in post-secondary education, K–12 systems, and employment programs.
Josh Nilson
entrepreneur-in-residence
Josh is the Entrepreneur in Residence for Fireweed 2026 Venture Accelerator. Josh is Métis from Willow River, BC, and a founder who has walked the full path from early-stage startup to scale and exit.
He co-founded East Side Games, helping build one of Canada’s leading mobile game studios behind titles like Trailer Park Boys, The Office, and RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstar.
Recognized as one of BC’s most influential business leaders (BC500, 2021–2023, 2025) and named Person of the Year (2022) at the BC Tech Technology Impact Awards, Josh brings more than two decades of experience building, scaling, and navigating capital in the tech sector.
Today, through Maskwa Investments Inc and Maskwa Games, he focuses on early-stage seed funding, Indigenous tech ventures, and empowering the next generation of Indigenous creators in interactive digital media.
As the Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Josh will walk alongside our 2026 Venture Accelerator cohort, supporting founders and co-founders with investor readiness, pitch refinement, export strategy, capital planning, tech diligence, ecosystem access, and more.
Lucia Eyzaguirre
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT AND PROJECT MANAGER, PERUVIAN
Lucia (she/her) is Peruvian and a guest in unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in Religious Studies, focusing on the lasting and tangible impact of stories. Lucia wears many hats, all related to collective liberation, well-being, and co-creating systems that allow humans to be human. She is proud to join the Fireweed Institute and to continue this work.
Sam Badiei
Director of Finance
Sam Badiei is proud to have stepped into the role of Director of Finance at The Fireweed Institute — a new chapter that carries deep personal and professional meaning.
Sam graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in business administration and later earned her Chartered Accountant (CA) designation through one of Canada’s largest accounting and advisory firms. Over the years, she’s built a diverse career spanning both the corporate and non-profit sectors, holding leadership roles such as Controller and Director of Finance at such places as the HR. MacMillan Space Centre, the Chinese Canadian Museum and Caloah Private Equity.
But this role is more than just a career milestone — it’s a personal mission. As an Afghan refugee and woman of colour who has experienced the disconnection from her cultural roots, Sam feels deeply honored to contribute to an organization grounded in Indigenous values and vision. She’s inspired by the opportunity to support tradition, champion innovation, and help strengthen Indigenous leadership in today’s economy.
Dakota Fayant-McLeod
Administrator, Peepeekisis Cree Nation
Born and raised in Saskatchewan on Treaty 4 Territory, Dakota’s home communities are Peepeekisis First Nation and the Qu’Appelle Valley Métis community. She has over fifteen years of experience working and volunteering in community-based non-profits across Canada. Her varied experiences, ranging from two-spirit advocacy, working with immigrant and refugee youth, to front-line harm reduction service delivery, gives her a diverse, and truthfully, random set of skills that sets her up to be adaptive and varied in her professional life. She has a professional background in administration and communications and a bachelor’s degree in Women and Gender Studies from First Nations University of Canada.
Natalie Dusek
communications and creative storytelling manager
Natalie Dusek joins the Fireweed Institute with experience in podcast production, editorial development, and creative media. Natalie is an uninvited guest on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓wətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories (Vancouver, BC), and grew up on Dakhóta (Dakota) and Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) lands (Minneapolis, Minnesota).
Natalie holds an M.A. in Communications from Simon Fraser University, where their work explored how storytelling and artistic practice can nurture connection and care amid the climate crisis, with a grounding in climate justice. Natalie’s practice is rooted in community-centered media-making that nurtures trust, uplifts voices, and supports meaningful, relationship-based communication.
Jacqueline Jennings
Our Board
Candice Day
