Our Team

Learn more about who helps to build and operate SWB below

Staff

Rachel Cluderay

| Project Director

Sǫ̀mba K’è, NWT

Rachel was born and raised in Sǫ̀mba K’è (Yellowknife), Denendeh where she still lives today. She is a nêhiyaw-English paddler and land-based learning advocate. In 2019, she completed a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria. Rachel is a Dechinta alumni where she received a certificate in Community Land-Based Research. Currently, Rachel is working on a Masters of Indigenous Land-Based Education at the University of Saskatchewan where her work focuses on the resurgence of Indigenous canoe practices. Rachel has been delivering land-based programs across the North since 2013. She is passionate about supporting Indigenous peoples to strengthen their connection to the land as she believes it is foundational for the resurgence of Indigenous cultures, languages, and ways of being. However, Rachel has also experienced program participants being in distress, and feeling unprepared to support them. These experiences inspired Rachel to found Supporting Wellbeing.

Maxine Lacorne

| Project Coordinator

Sǫ̀mba K’è, NWT

Maxine Lacorne born and raised in Zhatíe Kúe/Fort Providence. She moved to Sòmbe K’è/Yellowknife after completing her Secondary High School Diploma in 2005 and continues to live there with her three children and common-law. Maxine’s learning and career path brought her to a variety of organizations where she gained knowledgeable skills working for/with people of the North in supporting/helping and advocating role. She worked with all aged groups for ten years. During her learning path, Maxine also starting her healing journey and continues to walk the path of recovery and does her best to be a voice for those unable to speak their own truth and advocates/support for Healing, Mental Health Awareness, Intergenerational Healing & Reclaiming and Revitalization of Traditions/Culture and Language. Maxine returned back to school and was in the Social Work Program with Aurora College and in the Addictions and Community Service Worker Diploma with CDI College and comes with certifications in Trauma Recovery, Grief & Loss Support, Trauma Informed Strategies & Approaches, counselling skills in variety of methods and other certifications in mental health first aid and working with/for Residential School Survivors and their families. Through her own healing journey and path of recovery, Maxine gained awareness of Westernized & Indigenous and Holistic Healing Approaches and understands the importance of land-based healing is crucial to Indigenous Healing.

Katharine Thomas

| Communications Coordinator

Sǫ̀mba K’è, NWT

Kat was born and raised in Sǫ̀mba K’è, Denendeh / Yellowknife, NT, she is a settler-Canadian with roots in New Brunswick and Ontario. She went to school in Halifax at the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, where she studied psychology and biology. After returning to the north, Kat dedicated her time to working and volunteering for nonprofits with a focus on social-justice and environmental sustainability. In addition to working part-time as the Communications Coordinator for Supporting Wellbeing, she works as a consultant for other northern nonprofits and research projects, focusing on projects related to mine remediation, youth leadership, and climate change adaptation. Kat is passionate about using graphic design and plain-language principles to make information more accessible for northerners.

Our work is guided by the experience, knowledge and expertise of a Steering Committee and Advisory Council.

Supporting Wellbeing (a project of MakeWay Charitable Society) is guided by a volunteer steering committee, which includes land-based leaders from across the NWT. The steering committee is responsible for the overall leadership of the project and provides advice on the development and delivery of curriculum and programming.

Kristen Tanche

| Co-Chair

Łı́ıd́lı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ , NWT

Kristen is a co-chair of the Supporting Wellbeing steering committee. She reviews the finances of the project and helps guide the curriculum development and program delivery by sharing her expertise in land-based programming with a Dehcho Dene perspective. Kristen lended her expertise to co-organize Supporting Wellbeing’s Pilot Facilitator Training, near Łı́ıd́lı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́, in 2022. Kristen is Łı́ıd́lı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation, Dehcho Dene. She is also of Icelandic and settler Canadian ancestry. Through Dechinta, Kristen attended numerous semesters of post-secondary Land-based education. She then attended Aurora College and graduated with a Social Work Diploma in Yellowknife and is currently working towards her Social Work Degree. Kristen was previously the Regional On The Land Program Coordinator for Dehcho First Nations and is now the Regional Health & Wellness Director.

Jimmy Ruttan

| Co-Chair

Inuuvik, NWT

Jimmy is a co-founder and steering committee member for Supporting Wellbeing who helps guide the curriculum development and delivery of the project by sharing his expertise in delivering on the land wellness programs through Project Jewel. Jimmy has supported this project by helping organize and deliver the pilot training of Supporting Wellbeing. Jimmy is a settler Canadian who has been living in Inuuvik/Inuvik for over 13 years. He is the Manager of On-the-Land-Wellness Programs at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, where for 7 years, he has been developing the trauma-informed, land-based health & wellness program, Project Jewel. He has worked as a Youth Outreach & Land Program Coordinator with the Inuvik Justice Committee’s Youth and Family Support program. Jimmy has also worked for the GNWT Department of Justice and the Inuvik Youth Centre Society. Jimmy has a diploma in Community Social Work and is a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Anneka Westergreen

Sǫ̀mba K’è, NWT

Anneka is a Supporting Wellbeing steering committee member who has been with the project since the beginning, with curriculum/training development. Anneka is a settler who was born in Inuvik and grew up in Yellowknife where she is currently based. She has worked as a Social Worker with families, communities and the GNWT HSS system for 20 years. In addition to western education, Anneka has been privileged to learn from Elders and Indigenous knowledge holders about the inter-connections of wellness, land, sovereignty, and decolonization. Anneka is committed to centering the wisdom and wellbeing of the Indigenous peoples of the NWT, and to working with other settlers to build capacity for anti-racism and cultural safety. Anneka enjoys spending time being on the land with her partner and daughter and growing food.

Brenda Ferdinand-Baton

Tthebacha, NWT

Brenda was born and raised in Délı̨nę all her life. She loves the outdoors, especially the annual fish camp at Ohka Bay and Deer Pass Bay. Brenda has a diploma in Management Studies. After she graduated from the program, the program was changed to Business Studies. Brenda has gained employment at the Sahtú Dene Council as Manager of Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ISETS) and as the Executive Director. She still plays both roles in the organization. Brenda wants to be on the steering committee because she wants to learn more and share her experiences in land-based programming and mental health work. Being out on the Land in camps or at her cabin, gives her energy, and reliving her culture gives her peace. There is just something about being out there…

Supporting Wellbeing has an Advisory Council composed of on the land leaders from various regions of the NWT who guide the development and delivery of Supporting Wellbeing curriculum and programming for on the land leaders in the North.

Mandee McDonald

Sǫ̀mba K’è, NWT

Mandee McDonald is a hide tanner, workshop facilitator, and a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta where her work focuses on Indigenous governance and land-based learning. She is a co-founder and the Hide Camp Director for Dene Nahjo, a Dene-led innovation and arts collective that fosters Indigenous leadership skills and values through community-based programming. Mandee is Ininéw from Churchill, Manitoba, a member of York Factory First Nation, and has lived in Sombak’e most of her life.

Tammy Steinwand

Behchokǫ̀, NWT

Tammy Steinwand-Deschambeault is a Tłı̨chǫ Citizen from Behchokǫ̀, NT. Tammy graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Education. Tammy taught in Behchokǫ̀ for years before moving to the Culture and Language Coordinator position at Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency. Tammy helped create an immersion program in Behchokǫ̀ that is still running today. Tammy assisted the GNWT with curriculum development of Northern Studies and the Our Languages Curriculum. Tammy is the chair for the NWT Official Languages Board. Presently Tammy is the Department of Culture and Lands Protection Director for the Tłı̨chǫ Government. She holds a master’s degree through the University of Victoria on Indigenous Language Revitalization. As a SWB Advisory Council member, Tammy guides the curriculum development by sharing her expertise and insights on land-based programs, curriculum development, and Tłı̨chǫ way of life.

Tanya Snowshoe

Inuuvik, NWT

Tanya is a young Dene woman who was born and raised in Inuvik. She comes from a huge family that both reside in Fort McPherson and Fort Good Hope. She is an intergenerational survivor with both parents and one grandparent that have attended Residential School. Tanya is currently in her final year with the Northern Indigenous Counselling Program with Rhodes Wellness College. She is Team Lead for the Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Advisory Board as well as a regular member with the Mental Health Act Review board. Both boards are with the GNWT. One day she hopes to be a strong Mental Health and addiction advocate ensuring everyone's mental wellbeing is well taken care of. She prides herself on recovery with just short of seven years of sobriety from alcohol. Tanya recently had a son, Wilson, in April 2024 and strives to provide the best life for her son. A life where he does not need to heal from generational trauma.

Brenda Dragon

Tthebacha, NWT

Brenda is of Dënësųłinë́ and French ancestry. She grew up in a hunting and trapping family in Fort Smith, where she currently resides with her husband. Her background with land-based programming goes back to the 90's, when she helped to develop the first curricula for Indigenous education with Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (YK1). She went on to deliver on the land programs for YK1 for several years. Brenda went to university for Tourism Management, and worked in the field of Indigenous tourism for the GNWT. She was instrumental in their strategic planning, with the supporting belief that Indigenous tourism offers the opportunity for both economic benefit and the preservation of cultural skills. Brenda is the President and Founder of Aurora Heat, Inc. based in Fort Smith, NT. Her company was awarded an Arctic Inspiration Prize in 2024 for their project Indigenizing Work with Traditional Knowledge & Support, which seeks to address the multifaceted challenges faced by Indigenous employees at Aurora Heat, a social enterprise producing wild fur products since 2016.

Our approach blends clinically researched practices in mental health group work with Indigenous practices and expertise.

How We Work