Board of Directors

	David Williams, President A native British Columbian, David has inherited a profound sense of place from his mixed native and pioneer ancestry. He grew up in small town B.C. and has worked and travelled in many areas of the province in land surveying and as an ardent outdoorsman. He has also homesteaded and raised a family, developing skills as a log house builder and farmer. He has degrees in Anthropology and Library Science and was a library administrator at Simon Fraser University. David's evolution as an environmentalist and aboriginal rights activist has been fostered by his observation that the native experience in Canada has much to teach us about how to live in this land. The understanding thus brought about will enable us to resist and transform those negative economic and social forces that, left unchecked, will turn “the best place on earth” into an industrial slag heap.

	Ronald J. Lameman, Vice-President Ronald J. Lameman of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Treaty No. 6 Territory, Alberta, Canada is the Director of Justice & Legal Affairs of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation located 9 miles southeast of the town of Lac La Biche in east central Alberta, Canada. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation is one of the Treaty No. 6 Nations who entered into Treaty No. 6 in 1876 and Ron Lameman has been a lifetime proponent of the Treaty focusing on upholding and enforcing the Rights of the Indigenous Nations of Treaty No. 6 in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. Ron has been the Executive Director of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations and has spent over 30 years working diligently for Treaty Rights, Land and Natural Resource rights, environmental protection, traditional subsistence rights, cultural rights, children’s rights, health and Self-determination for Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world. He was a delegate to the second UN Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 1981 at UN European Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and attended the founding session of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982, also in Geneva. Ron has actively participated in a wide range of UN fora and international gatherings since that time, including the First Global Consultation on the Right to Food, Food Security and Food Sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples in Solola, Guatemala in 2002. He worked with other Indigenous representatives to bring about the “United Nations Study on Treaties, Agreements and Other Constructive Arrangements between States and Indigenous Peoples” in 1989, and has continued to be active in Canada and internationally to ensure the implementation of its recommendations for international oversight of Treaties between Indigenous Peoples and states as Nation to Nation legally binding agreements. Ron was also active in each phase of the development of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and has also attended a majority of the sessions for the development of the OAS “American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. He is currently a Board member and Board officer of the International Indian Treaty Council since 2000 although his involvement with Treaty Council spans over 3 decades.

	Robert Gill, Treasurer Robert is pleased to join the RAVEN board as its treasurer. Robert has a diploma from Royal Roads University as an Industry Standard Certified Systems Analyst. Well versed in business, he has a diploma from Camosun College in Business Administration, a certificate in Business Management, as well as the Accounting Faculty Award in 2009. In addition to assisting RAVEN, Robert also enjoys serving on the Board of Directors for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, South and Central Vancouver Island chapter, as he believes in working hard to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Robert is a champion of spirit in his own dealings with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

	Lynn Hunter, Secretary/Director Lynn was elected to Victoria City Council in November 2008. She has lived in Greater Victoria for more than thirty years. She graduated from the University of Victoria and raised her family here. She currently lives in Fairfield. Her experience includes: Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands (1988-1993). Deputy Environment Critic Islands Served on the federal Parliament’s Constitution Committee on democratic reform, the External Affairs committee to relieve debt in the developing world and the Environment Committee that made recommendations on climate change and global warming. Environmental and social justice activist. Protecting British Columbia’s wild salmon resource as an Aquaculture Specialist and Spokesperson for the David Suzuki Foundation, the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform and the Pacific Northwest Pure Salmon Campaign. (1995-2006) Working abroad providing training on building democratic institutions in Albania (1997) Vancouver Island Coordinator for Oxfam Canada (1985-88) Participated in a fact-finding tour of conflict zones in the Sudan and Eritrea. Public service: Chair, Board of Directors Multiple Sclerosis Society, BC –Yukon Division, Chair of the South Vancouver Island Chapter of the MS Society and Chair of the National Government Relations Committee. Member, Board of Directors (1997-2001) Fisheries Renewal British Columbia, a Crown corporation created to help revitalize the province’s fishery and fishery-dependent communities. Member, Board of Directors, (1995-2001) Sierra Legal Defence Fund, now called Eco-Justice, Canada’s leading non-profit environmental law firm. Vice-Chair, Board of Directors (1997-2001) OXFAM Canada – an international development organization

	Carla Funk, Director Carla is Project Development Manager with the First Peoples' Cultural Council and a doctoral student at Royal Roads University. With a Masters in Plant Agronomy and Genetics from University of Manitoba she lived and worked abroad for ten years in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Switzerland before settling in Victoria, BC. She has served as a National Director of the Board of World University Service of Canada, and was an advisor to the Board of Directors of Friends of Nemaiah Valley, whose key initiative is supporting the Xeni Gwet'in (Tsilhqot’in) First Nations fight for aboriginal rights and title in the Victoria law courts. She has recently stepped down from 7 years as a Director of the Board of Canadian Association of Gift Planners (VI Roundtable). Carla has a passion for the outdoors, travel, reading, photography and a love of exploring new ideas. Many of her best B.C. summer moments have been in the spectacular Nemaiah Valley, a place so unique and largely unspoiled.

	JP Laplante, Director JP Laplante is the Mining, Oil and Gas Manager for the Tsilhqot'in National Government. His primary duty is to coordinate the Tsilhqot'in's engagement and activities aimed at protecting Teztan Biny and the surrounding region from the proposed Prosperity Mine. He is also responsible for developing improved processes and mechanisms to deal with the unparalleled amount of mineral exploration in the Tsilhqot'in traditional territory. JP brings experience working for First Nations seeking to protect their homelands from unwelcome resource extraction projects - most notably the Takla Lake First Nation and the Tse Keh Nay in their successful fight to save Amazay Lake from the Kemess North mine. When not at work, JP is gratefully exploring the wild places of B.C.on foot, canoe and ski.

	Clayton Thomas-Muller, Director Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation also known as Pukatawagan in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is an activist for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. With his roots in the inner city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Clayton began his work as a community organizer, working with Aboriginal youth. Over the years Clayton work has taken him to five continents across our Mother Earth. Based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Clayton is involved in many initiatives to support the building of an inclusive movement for Energy and Climate Justice. He serves on the board of the Global Justice Ecology Project and Canadian based Raven Trust. Recognized by Utne Magazine as one of the top 30 under 30 activists in the United States and as a Climate Hero 2009 by Yes Magazine, Clayton is the tar sands campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network. He works across Canada, Alaska and the lower 48 states with grassroots indigenous communities to defend against the sprawling infrastructure that includes pipelines, refineries and extraction associated with the tar sands, the largest and most destructive industrial development in the history of mankind.