September 2026

ABM Member Update

Upcoming opportunities, new Members and ways to strengthen your engagement across the ABM Community.

Hello ABMers,

September brought new energy to the ABM Community! We welcomed nine new Members and established our Sphere calendar, creating more opportunities to share expertise and collaborate. You should have received an email from Katrin with your Sphere meeting dates. If you haven’t, please let her know.

Thank you to Raygan Solotki with Sustainable Food Security, Tony Jumeau with Fireforce, Michelle Canaday with CFBC, Sean O’Sullivan with Seko, Desiree Baker with REV Consulting, and Brad Racette with Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations for making introductions through the Strengthen the ABM Community feature in the Hubs. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Preparations for the Annual Community Gathering are also moving ahead. Maynard is working on protocol with Tla’amin Nation, and we are delighted to confirm that the matriarch of the Harry family, Doreen Point, will welcome ABMers to the territory.

Our priorities for October are to:

  • Expand opportunities by welcoming new ABMers. Make those warm introductions to decision-makers who can contribute to and benefit from ABM. Each new Member brings fresh possibilities!
  • Finalize attendance and the agenda for the Annual Community Gathering. Confirm your plans if you are going to attend and tell us what conversations you want to be part of when we meet in November.

We need your help with both!

Help Us Grow for Everyone’s Benefit

Make Trusted Introductions

The Strengthen the ABM Community link in the left-hand navigation of an ABM Event Hub.

We welcomed many guests in September; you supported four for membership. That selectivity protects our shared purpose and commitment to honest relationships.

ABM can grow only through Members’ trusted introductions. The right people bring knowledge, relationships and opportunities while strengthening a community that treats truth and reconciliation as an ongoing commitment, not an annual performance.

Introducing someone is easy: Click Strengthen the ABM Community at the top of your Hub’s left-hand navigation. Personalize and send the pre-written invitation. Katrin receives a copy and takes it from there.

If you have not already done so, please make at least two trusted introductions.

If you would like to brainstorm who in your network may be a good fit, call Katrin at 604-483-6421.

Read who we are looking for.

October at ABM

October offers many ways to strengthen relationships, exchange knowledge and participate more deeply in the ABM Community. All times are Pacific Time.

Online Connectors Sphere Meetings
October 1
Renewables & Cleantech9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 6
Finance9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 8
Community Wellbeing9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 9
Education & Training Sphere1:00–2:30 p.m.
October 13
Conversations Across All Topics9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 14
Cleantech & Renewables Sphere10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
October 15
Focus on Manitoba and Saskatchewan9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 19
Land Development, Infrastructure and Housing Sphere9:00–10:30 a.m.
October 20
Land Development9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 21
Community Wellbeing Sphere10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
October 22
Partnership Accelerator9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 27
Environmental Stewardship, Emergency Management, and Resilience9:00–11:00 a.m.
October 28
Creative Industries Sphere10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
October 29
Food Security9:00–11:00 a.m.
Register

Annual Community Gathering

ABM 2026Annual Community Gathering
November 24–26, 2026qathet / Powell River, BC

The Annual Community Gathering is one of the most valuable ways to participate in ABM. Shared meals, meaningful dialogue and informal time deepen relationships beyond what is possible on screen.

Every full registration includes one youth registration. Indigenous governments, tribal councils and development corporations can bring up to four people at no cost.

Your experience, questions and perspective make the Gathering valuable for everyone. Please connect with Katrin to register or let her know if you will not attend.

Learn more about the Gathering.

ACG Input SessionHelp shape the Gathering
Wednesday, October 72026
10:00–11:00 a.m.Pacific Time

Join the input session to help shape this year’s Gathering. Katrin will email you an agenda draft based on the September input session before the meeting.

Join via Zoom

Software Tip of the Month

Use the ABMers List to Find and Reconnect with People

ABMers list and the pop-up showing the Connectors for which an ABM Member is registered.

Use the ABMers list in the top navigation bar to find people you have met and want to follow up with, or to discover ABM Members you do not know yet.

You can search by a person’s name or company name. The system will open a window showing the Connectors for which they are registered. You can then register for one of those Connectors and request a meeting with them.

This is another good reason to register for at least one Connector each month. Being registered makes it easier for other ABM Members to find and connect with you too.

Welcome Our New ABM Members

Lindsey Turner | Bold Ink

Lindsey Turner is the founder of Bold Ink and a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer. She founded the company in 2014 after 15 years in sales and marketing across several sectors, including senior leadership roles in hospitality.

A committed brand builder, connector and collaborator, Lindsey combines business and brand strategy with a strong focus on customer experience, process improvement and community. Her work helps organizations clarify their direction, communicate with purpose and translate strategy into measurable action.

Bold Ink is a collective of senior marketing and communications professionals providing strategic marketing leadership, branding, campaigns and culturally grounded communications.

Ojinya Ali Ikese | Snuneymuxw Marine Division

With more than 14 years of experience in environmental management and marine response, Ojinya brings expertise that aligns closely with the objectives of the Marine Division.

As a Senior Environmental Scientist at the National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency, Ojinya conducted comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments, managed oil-spill responses, completed effluent analysis and water-quality monitoring, and led remediation and restoration activities.

Focused on Aboriginal Rights and Title at Seabird Island, BC, Ojinya managed projects related to fish and wildlife, flood mitigation, habitat restoration and salmon-spawning surveys.

As Marine Emergency Response Coordinator, Ojinya is committed to supporting collaborative efforts in and around Snuneymuxw waters.

Will Gartrell | Snuneymuxw Marine Division

Will Gartrell is the GIS Data Analyst with the Snuneymuxw Marine Division. His work adds spatial-data and mapping capacity to the Division’s stewardship, monitoring, emergency-response and long-term marine-planning priorities.

As part of a multidisciplinary team, Will helps turn geographic information into practical tools that can support ecosystem protection, resource management and informed decision-making throughout Snuneymuxw’s marine territory.

The Snuneymuxw Marine Division oversees the natural ecosystems in Snuneymuxw territorial waters. Its work supports marine stewardship, ecosystem restoration, emergency response, food security, culturally and sacred-site protection, capacity building and the long-term presence of Snuneymuxw within the marine environment.

Seanna Johnston | Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council

Seanna Johnston is the Director of Land, Water, Food Systems at Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council. She is an innovative, creative and self-driven food-sector professional with 15 years of experience bringing together multiple disciplines to address complex challenges at the intersection of nature, food and society.

Seanna has successfully led projects from concept through completion and is interested in collaborating with people and organizations working toward shared goals in Canada and around the world.

Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council’s Land, Water, Food Systems team works alongside Member Nations to reclaim food sovereignty, restore ecological health and strengthen relationships among people, place and food. Its work includes food security and sovereignty, ecological monitoring, climate assessment, systems planning, adaptation, restoration, mentorship, research and grant-writing support.

Selena Farris | Cumulo Analytics

Selena Farris is the founder and lead consultant of Cumulo Analytics. She brings more than 15 years of specialized experience in wind and solar resource assessment and has advised more than 100 projects across six continents for developers, owners and insurance brokers.

Selena combines renewable-energy leadership, data science and international project experience to help organizations understand resource potential, reduce uncertainty and make better-informed decisions throughout project development and operations.

Cumulo Analytics is an independent wind and solar energy consulting firm based in British Columbia. It provides resource assessment and renewable-energy advisory services from early-stage prospecting and pre-construction analysis through financing and operational performance optimization.

Shane Innes | Innes Energy

Shane Innes is the Founder and President of Innes Energy Inc. and a Red Seal Journeyperson Power Line Technician with more than 14 years of experience delivering utility, infrastructure, energy and major capital construction projects throughout Ontario.

Throughout his career, Shane has worked alongside more than 30 First Nations, supporting electrical infrastructure, utility operations, community engagement, renewable-energy initiatives and essential public infrastructure, including schools, nursing stations and water-treatment facilities.

His experience includes leadership roles with Hydro One Networks and Hydro One Remote Communities, where he supervised transmission and distribution work, apprentice crews, storm restoration, remote-community operations and capital infrastructure projects. He also served as the Face of Aboriginal Employment at Hydro One, supporting Indigenous recruitment, outreach, mentorship and workforce development across Ontario.

Through Innes Energy, Shane helps First Nations move infrastructure and energy initiatives from planning to implementation by combining field experience, utility knowledge, construction leadership and an understanding of working with Indigenous communities.

Innes Energy supports First Nations with infrastructure planning, electrical-load forecasting, renewable-energy initiatives, solar monitoring, utility coordination and implementation-focused technical advisory services.

Tony Jumeau | Fireforce Ltd.

Tony Jumeau brings a practical and relationship-focused approach to emergency preparedness. He works with communities to understand their fire-response needs and identify solutions suited to their capacity, location and operating realities.

Tony is focused on helping communities strengthen local readiness through equipment that is practical, accessible and easier to deploy when every minute matters.

Fireforce Ltd. provides adaptable fire-response equipment, including Fire Truck in a Box, a compact and rapidly deployable system designed to give communities additional firefighting capacity without requiring a conventional fire truck.

Meet New Members of ABM Teams

Existing Member organizations are expanding the teams participating in ABM. Please welcome Conrad Pilon and Darin Zandee from Pinchin.

Conrad Pilon | Pinchin

Conrad is Pinchin’s Senior Regional Mining Services Leader, responsible for advancing the company’s mining growth strategy across British Columbia and Yukon. He builds relationships, identifies regional opportunities and connects mining companies with Pinchin’s environmental, engineering, occupational health and safety, hazardous-materials and project-management expertise.

With approximately 25 years of experience in operations management, business development and team leadership, Conrad works across the full mining lifecycle, from exploration and development through construction, operations, care and maintenance, closure and reclamation.

Conrad is also focused on developing meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities and Indigenous-owned businesses, supporting collaboration and strengthening local capacity to deliver projects.

Darin Zandee | Pinchin

As Director of Mining at Pinchin, Darin leads strategy and oversees a diverse portfolio of mining projects across Western Canada and the Northern Territories, from Northwestern Ontario to British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Darin and Pinchin’s mining team work with mining companies, Indigenous corporations and local communities throughout the full mine lifecycle, including exploration, operations, remediation, reclamation and closure.

Through environmental monitoring, remediation strategies and reclamation practices, Darin helps clients meet regulatory requirements, reduce environmental risk and advance their sustainability and environmental, social and governance objectives. His approach emphasizes collaboration and creating long-term value for clients, Indigenous partners, communities and the environment.

Pinchin provides environmental, engineering, occupational health and safety, hazardous-materials and project-management services that help organizations manage risk, meet regulatory requirements and advance complex projects.