Meet Our Team

Lorraine Rekmans
Serpent River First Nation

Lorraine Rekmans is a dedicated and experienced individual who has worked on Indigenous policy issues for more than 30 years. She has a proven background in various leadership roles and has worked in governance in several capacities, including as an Executive Director and recently as President of the Green Party of Canada (GPC).  Lorraine has strong organizational skills and understands grassroots participation in local governance. She is a small business owner with her husband Gerry, in Kemptville.  As vice-president her role is to manage the finances. She has proven her ability to bring about positive change and encourage collaboration.  Throughout her career, in her work as a journalist, in her work in the non-profit sector and in her volunteer roles she has consistently advocated for Indigenous rights and environmental sustainability. Recognizing the impact of colonization, she fearlessly calls it out and works tirelessly towards the indigenization of Canadian ways. As a board member of the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, Lorraine is committed to responsible resource management. Above all, Lorraine cherishes her roles as a mother and grandmother, as they further inspire her to fight for the rights and sovereignty of First Nation peoples. She firmly believes that a petition to King Charles III, calling for a new Royal Proclamation, will be the impetus to rewrite Canada’s Constitution and reaffirm Canada’s commitment to acknowledging and respecting the sovereign status of Indigenous peoples

Troy Woodhouse
Flying Post 73

 Aanii, my name is Troy Woodhouse and I’m a descendant of the Kuckatoosh Indian Band known as Flying Post 73 in Treaty 9, with reservation lands along the Groundhog River. I have a responsibility to the creator, my family, band members, and future generations to protect and watch over the lands and water our ancestors traveled since time immemorial. My path is to help revitalize our culture and spirituality for myself and my people while working to decolonize my mind and reconnect with our homelands. Having a background as a forestry technician and working in the field, I have seen firsthand the harm this industry does to the land while ignoring the concerns of indigenous communities. My goal is to have non-essential herbicides and insecticides banned for forestry use as these chemicals poison our ecosystems and waterways that every life form depends on. Through grassroots movements like “Stop the Spray,” we bring public awareness about the negative effects herbicides and insecticides have on our lands and its inhabitants. I am a devoted husband and father of three beautiful girls, I’m passionate about empowering our women and making sure they have equal opportunities and safe environments to reach their goals and dreams. My role as an Impact Assessment Coordinator for a First Nation Council allows me to work directly with communities and leaders on projects such as Regional Assessments, Conservation initiatives, and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, on proposed projects in the territory. I am grateful to be a part of this group to help solve problems and provide solutions facing our indigenous brothers and sisters. Miigwetch.

Jenn Hayward
Metis Duck Lake Settlement

An accomplished comedian and speaker, Jenn is a Metis mother of three adoptive kids, married to some Scottish dude, and her comedy ranges from seriously funny to seriously absurd! She has performed across Canada at clubs, corporate events, and charities and was recently selected to compete in the Sirius Top Comic Competition. She regularly writes for CBC radio and, for fun, has created a space for online streaming to connect local people, places, and things.

Rachel Everett-Fry
Ally

Rachel Everett-Fry is a writer, researcher, and activist from Kemptville Ontario. Her passion for social justice and environmental action is coupled with her work as a social scientist. Currently a PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, Rachel has also worked in journalism, agriculture, and natural history.

Michele Braniff
Ally

Michele Braniff is a settler person in Cambridge, Ontario, on traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples, under the Haldimand Tract treaty.

Michele Braniff has had a varied career: lawyer, mediator, non-profit mental health service provider, entrepreneur, and adjunct professor at both university and community college levels. She has been active in politics at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, running for office on a People & Planet First platform. Michele has been a sole proprietor of her own businesses in law, mediation, team building, art and graphic recording. She has facilitated group discussions about mental health, wellness, poverty symposiums and Indigenous visioning for urban health care.

Ralph Martin
Ally

Ralph Martin grew up on his family farm in a Mennonite community in Wallenstein, ON. His formal education includes a Ph.D. in Plant Science and he started at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, in 1990. n 2001, Ralph founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada to coordinate university research and education pertaining to organic systems, across Canada. In 2011, he was appointed as Professor, at University of Guelph. In 2019, he published the book Food Security: From Excess to Enough. More info at www.ralphmartin.ca ​His commitment to supporting Mother Earth has been nurtured by good friends in numerous organizations

Jamie Ker
Ally

I’m a retired process analyst living in Tkaronto.

My interest in First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples began in 1973, when my
elder sister asked me to join her and some friends who had made a deal with
the Anglican church to rent the former residential school down the road from Carcross, Yukon,
and turn it into a school for local, pan-Canadian and international students.

In the late nineties, The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples taught me a framework for
moving forward:
giving land, money, time and freedom to Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Action Canada meetings are now my school and inspiration. I’ve learned
for instance, how the tentacles of The Indian Act ensnare all of us, and how hard
it is to turn wishes into unified action. To my great benefit, I’m re-learning
how to get along with others, thanks to IAC.

Marie-Therese Voutsino
Ally

Marie-Therese Voutsinos is an ecologist and agrologist. She has worked in sustainable agriculture and soil conservation for various non-profit organizations. She volunteered with Development and Peace and is passionate about social justice, especially starting here at home. Some of her free time is spent playing celtic and traditional music at community events with bands from Brockville and North Grenville. The rest is spent growing organic vegetables at home. She has, with training, and over the years, gathered information and experience with planning healthy diets on a low budget, and is very interested in food security for all. She is also interested in all the ways of treading lightly on this beautiful planet, and will make many things rather than buy them, wall paint for example!