Our team was stunned to learn of the long term “inter-generational” effects continuing to harm Indigenous communities today.

Les is a member of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation located on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Leslie’s father, along with other members of her family, were boarding school survivors. She joined our team to help bring reconciliation and healing to Native communities.  

Kimberley is a passionate and respected journalist, reporter, editor and back-up producer. She has worked extensively in television and radio news with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  Kimberley also produced many individual videos for patients at end of life through her company Lifesong Stories for The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County. Kimberley became connected to Hildebrand Productions and Intelligent Heart Collective and helped produce and manage an live online event that helped raise money for the Italian Red Cross. 

Amanda  serves as the President of the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media & the Creative Arts and the Media Arts Community Centre, and founded Film Camp for Kids & Youth in 2012. Amanda has been the writer, producer and director of many shorts, as well as the feature documentary, Aging & HIV: A Story of Resiliency, launched World AIDS Day 2020 by her company MANAN Media Productions. The film was supported and promoted by Pozitive Pathways, the United Way Chatham-Kent, the Canadian Research Council on HIV, the Ontario AIDS Network on HIV, among others.  

Toby's background and education has taken him through many years in the fields of mental health, drug and alcohol counseling, and education/ministerial initiatives. Toby’s connections within the Indigenous communities have opened many doors. His father-in-law was in charge of the dental clinic on the Navajo Rez in Chinle, Arizona and Toby's time spent there was a hallmark in his life, a connection to a beautiful people. Toby's focus in initiating this project was from the heart in knowing how God’s Grace can work. So from a ministry perspective it was a great challenge.  From a human perspective, reflecting back on his counseling and therapy skills learned in graduate school and practiced over the last 50 years of life, it presented an even greater challenge. But knowing that with God all things are possible, he reached out to Paul. 

Jim DiSpirito studied jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, classical percussion at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and North Indian Classical drumming (tabla) in India. He received his MA in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is also a multi-platinum and gold selling recording artist with Rusted Root. The band’s music has been used in several major motion picture films, television series, web series, and national advertising campaigns. Jim has been a series-composer for Discovery, the History Channel, and a several National Parks films.

Anthony is a passionate filmmaker who has a varied experience in the film industry including: working on the CBC documentary “Road to Mercy”, his films have been screened at film festivals, and he has worked as a background extra in the Apple TV+ series “See”. He currently works with Fanshawe College’s Institute of Indigenous Learning to produce Indigenous content on their YouTube channel including: web series, promotional material, and inspirational content to support and represent Indigenous culture in a positive light. His experience from pre-production to post-production has given him an extensive knowledge in film.  

Sophia is a founding Board Member of the Ska:na family Learning Centre and the Women's Equity Business. She is responsible for the accounting, bookkeeping and auditing requirements of all funding, as well as the budgeting, reporting, HR and the governance and legal necessities of operating a non-profit charity. Space facility management, training and consulting, community development, marketing and advertising. Sophia has a Diploma in Marketing and Advertising from St. Clair College and a Bachelor of Commerce, Honours Business Administration form the University of Windsor.  The Peltier family own and operate Native Wonders Gifts & Gallery and Native Wonders Gourmet Grub under the NWGG umbrella.