Melanie Bennett
Executive Director
Born in Dawson City into the Wolf Clan of the Tr’ondёk Hwёch’in First Nation, Melanie is the great-granddaughter of Mary McLeod, granddaughter of Alice Titus, and daughter of former Chief Hilda Titus.
Melanie has dedicated her life to working with youth to succeed in education. She takes pride in our Yukon First Nations ways of knowing and traditional knowledge — and strongly advocates that First Nations culture-based learning should happen for our students every day in every school.
In her spare time, Melanie enjoys beading, being out on the land, picking berries, gathering medicines and enjoying the Yukon wilderness.
Meg Potter
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Born and raised in Ontario, Meg has lived in the Yukon for over 25 years. Her passions are art history and accountancy – along with a good dose of physics and chemistry. Her love of learning diverse subject matter comes from parents schooled in anthropology, art history, advanced sciences and mathematics.
Her interest in learning financial accounting began as a teenager working after-school jobs in various trades-related finance departments. In her spare time, Meg enjoys instructing at the Yukon University, hiking, fishing and travelling.
In her role as Director of Finance, she feels honored to be a part of the legacy work being accomplished at YFNED.
Tracy Bruce
FINANCE CLERK
Tracy Bruce is a member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation from Old Crow, Yukon. She moved to Whitehorse in 2009 where she completed her upgrading and graduated with her certificate in Office Administration in 2011 from Yukon College. She is a keen learner and is looking at going back to school to further her education in the administrative field. Tracy is excited to be a part of the YFNED journey.
Alisha Hardisty
FINANCE OFFICER
Alisha Hardisty is a member of the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation from Wrigley, NWT. Born in Ontario, she moved to Whitehorse when she was six. Alisha’s first career interest was in the beauty industry as an esthetician. After being encouraged by friends and colleagues that saw she had strong skills in finance, she started her training in the art of bookkeeping. She has never looked back!
On her time off she enjoys reading, travelling and video games. Her dream is to one day visit Italy and other European countries. Alisha is very motived by YFNED’s vision and is pleased to offer her expertise in the finance office.
Olivia Smith
FINANCE CLERK
Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon; Olivia has many passions and interests. Working in Finance was one of her first jobs, enjoying the mentorship from all the entrepreneurs in her family. Olivia was ecstatic to be able to join the YFNED family.
Olivia attended Whitehorse schools from K-12 where she felt there was only one-way to learn and she didn’t fit in. Olivia had her struggles of maintaining motivation and keeping her eye on getting good grades to be able to attend post-secondary education. Olivia is so proud to be supporting YFNED and their mission to implement different ways of teaching our youth.
“It’s an amazing feeling to show up to work and see everyone with smiles on their face and being excited about the work being done. Knowing that our youth today are able to learn in a way that fits best for them is admiring.”
Outside of work Olivia loves to enjoy the outdoors and spend time with her family.
Marsha Flood
Finance Clerk
Marsha is of Scottish, Irish and Newfie heritage and arrived in the Yukon in 1970 for a vacation. She met so many beautiful friends who brought her into their homes and families — Marsha decided to make the Yukon her home.
Marsha is also adopted into the Fox/Bosely Family in Teslin (Teslin Tlingit Council).
In 1987, Marsha started working in the Finance Department of the Council of Yukon Indians (now Council of Yukon First Nations). She had the total honor of working with Elijah Smith and Harry Allen.
Marsha says: “I retired in April 2023 but realized retirement is not for me, so I am back at it in the Finance Department for YFNED. This is a great team to work with. I love it here.”
Caroline Boleen
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Caroline has over 20 years of progressive experience as a Human Resources professional. She grew up in Whitehorse and then completed her Degree in Physical Education from the University of Alberta, majoring in sport studies for children before returning to Yukon. After a few short years working for non-profit sport organizations and in travel and tourism in Whitehorse, Caroline fell into the field of human resources and has continued in this as a career.
She is passionate about individual and organizational wellness. Caroline sees the good of each employee and believes in highlighting individuals’ contributions in an organization.
Caley Boulter
recruitment specialist 0.5 / JEAP IMPLEMENTATION ADVISOR 0.5
Caley is a member of the Sto:lo Nation of the Coast Salish people of British Columbia. She was raised in Smithers, BC on the unceded territory of the Witsuwit’en people and has lived in the Yukon for the last 18 years.
Caley has 8 years of experience in progressive Human Resources and prior to her current role, she spent 5 years working in leadership roles in both Human Resources and Education for a Self-Governing Yukon First Nation. This combination of experience has given her a unique look into territorial governance in both corporate services and education and has highlighted the need for true reconciliation in the Yukon and a broadened education system that emphasizes Indigenous world views, land-based learning and Indigenous pedagogy. YFNED is at the forefront of this work and Caley is excited to be here recruiting and supporting staff to meet their goals and to further her experience in decolonizing practices alongside the HR team.
In her spare time, Caley likes to be out on the water, adventuring with friends and her dogs, and traveling as much as she can.
“By its very nature, Indigenous land-based education has the capacity to create transformational opportunities for all Canadians…” - Dr. Amy Parent, Noxs Ts'aawit (UBC)
Robyn Brown
HR & FINANCE CLERK
Robyn is born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon and is a member of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. Robyn joined the YFNED team in 2020 while completing justice and criminology courses through Yukon University. She is very proud of the growth that YFNED has shown and the positive impact it has had on education and the communities.
Outside of work, Robyn enjoys reading, painting and hanging out with her dog Lu.
Erin Loxam
Director of communications
Erin joined YFNED after working with the Government of Yukon, the Government of Australia and as an award-winning reporter in Vancouver. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a diploma in Broadcast Journalism.
Through working at YFNED, she honours her late father, a passionate educator whose Metis heritage she’s only now getting to know.
Outside of work she makes jewelry, grows (and cooks) food, and loves her Australian husband and two black mutts.
Katharine Sandiford
Director of Communications and strategic initiatives
Katharine grew up in Ottawa, the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people, but has lived in the Yukon since 2004. For six years, she was a staff writer for Up Here magazine with one year as their Editor. She worked in communications for the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, the Northern Climate ExChange, and the Government of Canada. She has a Bachelor of Journalism from King’s, and a Bachelor in Environmental Studies from York University.
Chantal Cowan
systems and operations coordinator
Chantal was born and raised in the tiny town of Atlin, British Columbia, where she blossomed in the world of technology despite her remote upbringing. In her spare time, she has a passion for video games and crafting digital art pieces. When she’s not delving into the world of technology, you’ll often find her by the water’s edge, casting her line into the depths, or sharing cherished moments with her beloved pair of bunnies.
With a solid tech background under her belt, Chantal aspires to leverage her skills and expertise to help propel YFNED towards its goals.
Jake Carr
IT HELP DESK SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Jake Carr is a passionate Trondek Hwech'in citizen and an avid technophile. Since he was a young kid making video games for his friends on Windows98, Jake has always made a point of keeping up with the world of technology. He loves to work in IT not just because of his fascination with technology, but because of the belief in its potential to solve real-world problems and create actual learning opportunities. To Jake, YFNED represents a step forward in that journey and he couldn’t be more proud to work here.
Adrianna Wondga
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Adrianna Wondga is Metis, born in Alberta but raised in Yukon. Before coming to YFNED, Adrianna worked for many years at the Department of Education, which, in addition to her time as a student in Yukon schools, gave her a wealth of knowledge of the territory’s education system. Adrianna loves her job as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, and is passionate about First Nations education. She is always ready and willing to help at any time. Outside of work, Adrianna’s passions are the outdoors, fitness and her family.
Olivia Dobbs
ADMIN ASSISTANT - MTU, Education ADvocates, EDUCATION Analysts
Olivia was born in Inuvik, and is from Fort McPherson, NWT. She graduated from Porter Creek Secondary in the class of 2020 – in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. It was a challenging time for Olivia and the rest of the grad class—as the whole world struggled with the pandemic. After graduating, she was unclear on her path until she was presented a position at the Directorate and immediately accepted. Olivia says, “I am so grateful and thankful for the amazing, uplifting environment the Directorate has shown me. I have learned a lot from my peers and role models. Working here has really opened up paths for myself I didn’t know I was capable of reaching. I couldn’t be any happier.”
Amilia Avril
Admin Assistant - Nutrition
Amilia is a born and raised Yukoner; her mother is originally from Ontario and father from Quebec. Amilia is a recent graduate of high school and is happy to complete that chapter in her life. She was not a fan of the structure of the current education system, as it often fails to recognize students as human beings first. Amilia started hearing about the amazing projects happening at YFNED and took note on how fast the organization is growing. She didn’t know what to expect with nutrition, but she has a lot of fun. She is happy knowing that YFNED is so invested in implementing different ways of teaching our young people. She admires how much programming happens on the land where we find strong and lasting connections. Outside of work Amilia loves reading, drawing, being in the outdoors, gardening and travelling!
Taylor Legge
reception
Taylor is Inuit and was born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, but moved to Whitehorse at 3 years old where she did all her schooling. In 2023, Taylor graduated from high school, and joins us for a gap year before doing some travelling and heading to post-secondary.
She grew up playing competitive sports, being outside and loved school (especially math and sciences). Previous work experience includes Yukon University as a STEM camp facilitator which taught her that there should be more ways of learning and making learning fun in the Yukon.
Before she joined YFNED, she already knew a lot of the people in the office, so when this opportunity presented itself, “I said yes immediately.” Seeing how many jobs and passions there are in this organization has taught her so much already. She is excited to learn even more about this special place.
Charlie and Buster
Buster and Charlie
support dogs (in-training)
Both Buster and Charlie were born in 2022 outside the territory. They are Miniature Schnauzers with big personalities. Buster is a gentle older brother who likes to play balloon soccer. Watch out for the slightly smaller Charlie who might be in your bag, sniffing out snacks.