Keynote Speaker

Cloy-e-iis, Dr. Judith Sayers

President, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
and Chancellor of Vancouver Island University

Cloy-e-iis, Dr. Judith Sayers, is President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Chancellor of Vancouver Island University. She is also an adjunct professor with the Gustavson School of Business and the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria.

Judith has been the Visiting National Aboriginal Economic Development Chair and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Victoria, and in that role facilitated sustainable economic development with indigenous peoples. Judith practiced law for 18 years in both BC and Alberta.

Judith served fourteen years as elected Chief of the Hupacasath First Nation, located in Port Alberni, BC. As Chief of her First Nation, she focused on capacity building, sustainable development and restoring and rehabilitating the land. She also put in place land use plans and standards, an Old Growth Strategy, and consultation and accommodation policies which set high environmental standards for fisheries and forestry work in the territory.

She is on the board of the BC Achievement Foundation and the BC First Nations Justice Council. Judith has been inducted into Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame, has been the recipient of the Bora Laskin Fellowship on Human Rights, a finalist for the Buffet award for indigenous leadership and twice awarded the Woman of Distinction from the Alberni Chamber of Commerce. She has received the Silver Award from the Canadian Environmental Association for Climate Change and is also a member of the Order of Canada.

Throughout her career Judith has fought for rights of First Nations and the habitats and ecosystems which sustains those rights, be it hunting or fishing or gathering. Judith has advocated for higher environmental standards in laws, regulations and policies. Judith has been involved in the clean energy industry for 22 years and has helped build a run of the river project, advocated for First Nations opportunities.

Visit Agenda page for session descriptions.