Meet the Current Indigenous Youth Cohort
Introducing the teams of Indigenous youth leaders who are advancing clean energy projects grounded in kinship, mentorship, and a shared energy future.
Tianna Philippot | Accessible Solar Greenhouse
About Tianna
Tianna grew up in rural Manitoba (Treaty 1, homeland of the Red River Métis Nation) which provided her with an appreciation for nature at a young age. She is a proud Red River Métis woman with European ancestry and largely credits her connection with the environment to her Indigenous Identity. She received a Bachelor's degree in Biosystems Engineering with an Environmental Specialization and a minor in Agribusiness at the University of Manitoba in 2021. Motivated to work with Indigenous communities and environmental systems, she joined Urban Systems as an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) in 2021 after completing a Clean Energy Co-op in 2020. She believes we can build a more climate resilient world by “seeing through both eyes”: using the combination of Western science and Indigenous knowledge.
When she is not working, Tianna enjoys being outdoors, exploring new places, gardening and spending time with her family and friends.
Accessible Solar Greenhouse | ImaGENation Project
Tianna is passionate about connecting community to accessible and sustainable agriculture. This led her to her ImaGENation project idea to pursue a wheelchair accessible greenhouse that operates on clean energy. The greenhouse involves a smart vertical farming system in a repurposed SECAN container that utilizes clean energy. The self-contained vertical farm will be transportable to different communities and will be designed with wheelchair users in mind.
The project will analyze and compare the efficiency of various types of clean energy to effectively operate a hydroponic system year-round for the Manitoba climate. The indoor vertical farm aims to demonstrate the interconnected relationship of food and energy sovereignty and the positive impact of localizing our food source. The accessible greenhouse will be a healing space to reconnect people with plants and medicines, and encourage excitement about growing food year round and off-grid.
Supports Required
The Accessible Solar Greenhouse requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Community Engagement, Networking, Technical Specifics, Fundraising, Research & Development.
If you are interested in supporting this projectn, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
EV Shuttle Feasibility Study
ImaGENation Team Project
This First Nations team hopes to develop an electric vehicle shuttle to help break the transportation barrier when gathering in ceremony with kin. The EV Shuttle Feasibility Study will target the Urban Indigenous population in the Tri-Cities area of Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge, Ontario.
Madison Green | Biography
Madison is Mohawk with matrilineal connections rooted in the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve. She is a recent graduate from Conestoga College and is working to bring Indigenous voices to the forefront of conversations that often lack Indigenous perspectives. In 2022, Madison started education in engineering where she first garnered an interest in sustainable building, with a focus on utilizing traditional knowledge. Madison ultimately stepped away from school and joined the Generation Power program which led her to her current role as a Project and Research Assistant at RFS Energy where she continues to expand her knowledge in the clean energy sector.
Through her life experiences, Madison has come to know that Indigenous youth carry a unique and important life-perspective. And when given the opportunity, they have the power to change the world. In everything Madison does, she does her best to uplift their voices and hopes to continue doing so.
Jessica Hunt | Biography
Jessica is 18 years old and is a member of Munsee-Delaware Nation. She is going to the University of Guelph for a Bachelor of Indigenous Environmental Science and Practice. During the summer she is working on the Wiijindamaan project for Conestoga College. She is also working as a field biologist for Natural Resources Solutions Inc. doing a turtle study. In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym and playing softball.
Supports Required
The EV Shuttle Feasibility Study requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Research & Development, Project Management, Budgeting, Leadership, Indigenous Governance, and Fundraising,
If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Frog Lake Emergency Power
ImaGENation Team Project
This youth team aims to bring an off-grid emergency shelter to Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta. They aim to design a space to shelter community members during extreme cold/heat, fire, drought, or other climate events. The space will be designed using clean energy systems and will help the nation with its emergency management plan and goals for self-sustainability.
Michael Marty | Biography
Michael Marty (age 22) Is a young ambitious Father working for his nation as a Community Energy Coordinator and Clean Energy Champion. He is driven to help make his nation become a better place for the next seven generations. The way he is doing that is with the implementation of clean energy, food sovereignty, energy efficient homes, Clean building materials, environmental monitoring, and by protecting our land.
Michael has been working on clean energy projects/ Land based projects for almost two years under his nation and is also a 20/20 Catalyst in 2023, and a Generation Power participant. With the implementation and help of all these projects, programs, and capacity building, he hopes to mitigate the use of fossil fuels in his community and begin the transition to clean energy use in all of Alberta to help protect and preserve our land for the next seven generations. Protecting the land is most important to him because if we have no more trees, plants, bugs, water, Et cetera we won't be able to continue practicing and maintaining our culture and the identity of our people.
“I am not an activist, I am a Land protector and projects like this will help protect our sacred mother earth for generations to come.”
Ay’Den Abraham | Biography
Ay’Den Abraham (age 24) is an active member of his home community of Ayîk Sâkâhikan (FrogLake). With a background in carpentry being a family generational trade, he and his family have helped build the community. Working as a summer student through to supervisor is where he became more passionate about sustainability for the environment for the future population. He took training to become a Volunteer with his Fire Department in the Summer of 2023.
During this time in August of 2023 upon request, he co-coordinated a Plains Cree cultural camp with the scope of environmental monitoring. The camp was very successful and with encouragement from his colleagues he began to build relationships and his skills with Indigenous Clean Energy and Legacy Energy and Alternative Power (LEAP) projects. He applied through the programming through ICE and was accepted into Generation Power 2023/24, and again for 2024/25, he still volunteers as a firefighter.
Ay’Den believes in leaving a great world behind for his son and his future generations, friends and family and everyone to live as one with the environment.
Samuel Marty | Biography
Samuel Marty, (age 21) is a Frog Lake First Nations member. He works in his community as a Clean Energy Coordinator and team member of L.E.A.P ( Legacy, Energy and Alternative Power), while simultaneously keeping up his role as an Oskapous (ceremonial helper).
He believes through the collective efforts of his community, his team, and the experience gained that it is possible to create a green sovereignt nation that is not reliant on fossil fuels. He hopes to inspire the neighboring nations to join the transition to a clean, greener future.
Through the program, Samuel intends to refine his knowledge, capacity build, network, make lifelong connections, and also have fun with the process. He believes that Imagination will help him achieve and accelerate his plan for an Indigenous Clean Energy future, for the next seven generations to come.
'“We only get one shot at this life, so take care of yourself and the world we walk on. Aho!”
Supports Required
The Frog Lake team requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Project Management, Technical Specifics, Budgeting, and Research & Development.
If you are interested in supporting the Frog lake Emergency Power project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Serena Mendizabal | Longhouse Energy Audit
About Serena
Serena Mendizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan-Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is a community-based researcher, grassroots organizer, and environmental advocate. Serena began her journey in climate justice and clean energy when she was 18. After noticing gaps in consent for community energy plans, she wanted to explore what Climate Justice and a Just-Transition could look like for her community of over 28,000 members.
From then on, Serena has dedicated her life to Indigenous self-determination, climate justice, environmental health impacts, and clean energy transitions through studies, work and extracurriculars. Serena is passionate about self-determined community development, action and futures led by sovereign, healthy nations. Serena is the Just Transition Manager at Sacred Earth Solar, Co-Chair at SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, Climate Action Strategy Co-Lead at Protect the Tract, and Course Collaborator for Connecting for Climate Change Action.
Longhouse Energy Audit | ImaGENation Project
This project will identify a sustainable restoration plan for the Cayuga Nation Sour Springs Longhouse. Serena hopes to achieve sustainability by a Haudenosaunee standard through an energy efficiency audit, the implementation of a Solar PV system, and the creation of a seed storage facility for food security. Serena hopes that this project will include education and training for Sour Springs Longhouse community members.
Supports Required
The Longhouse Energy Audit requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Technical Specifics.
If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Damon Williams | Sun of Labrador: Remote Community Energy Plan
About Damon
Coming soon!
Sun of Labrador | ImaGENation Project
Coming soon!
Supports Required
Sun of Labrador requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Budgeting, Networking, Research & Development
If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Mi’kmaq Food Sovereignty Project
ImaGENation Team Project
The Mi’kmaq Food Sovereignty Project aims to enhance the Lennox Island community greenhouse to support year round local produce production. Drew & Dylan will focus on adaptation skills, economic improvements, addressing agricultural sustainability issues, and better utilization of natural resources.
Drew Bernard | Biography
Drew Bernard is the Energy Lead and proud member of Lennox Island First Nation in Prince Edward Island. A graduate of Energy Systems Engineering Technology at Holland College, Drew realized a need for the transition to renewables in his community and began a sprawling energy initiative to address this issue. To date, the initiative was able to complete energy evaluations on all community homes and buildings, an extensive energy opportunities assessment, and the installation 65 heat pumps to begin the electrification of on-reserve heating systems along with two EV charging stations.
Today he is working to complete significant wind and solar projects across Prince Edward Island before reinvesting to create a net-positive microgrid owned and operated by a band-owned non-profit utility for Lennox Island First Nation in the future. Drew is also a member of the Prince Edward Island Net-Zero Advisory Committee.
Dylan MacLennan | Biography
A Mi’kmaq youth deeply dedicated to the preservation of land and resources, Dylan has channeled his passion into a meaningful career at the intersection of energy efficiency, renewable generation, and sustainable energy sovereignty. He is currently embarking on a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the School of Climate Change and Adaptation at the University of Prince Edward Island. His proposed thesis focuses on a critical question “How can First Nations in Canada effectively develop pathways to net-zero emissions while preserving sovereignty over land and resources?” Dylan’s thesis will highlight successful clean energy projects implemented by other First Nations and will craft a framework and strategy that not only benefits Lennox Island First Nation but can also serve as a blueprint for other First Nations across Canada.
Dylan founded L’nu Energy in April of 2022, and sits on the CCAB Board of Directors, where he brings a unique perspective on sustainability and Indigenous sovereignty as a First Nations entrepreneur from Atlantic Canada. His dual roles ensure his work is both grounded in practicality and reflective of broader community aspirations, underscoring the vital link between local actions and national strategies for sustainable development.
Supports Required
The Mi’kmaq Food Sovereignty Project requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Project Management, Indigenous Governance, Leadership, Community Engagement, and Fundraising
If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
The Portable Sauna
ImaGENation Team Project
This Metis team from 'Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan is hoping to provide solar retrofits to an existing cultural center in their community. Their goal is to showcase the accessibility and viability of solar projects, as well as provide a health service in the north through the installation of a solar-powered sauna. This will allow community members to access a healing space year-round powered by clean energy. This will also be an educational opportunity for those interested to learn more about solar installation and maintenance and increase the community’s energy sovereignty.
Emile Burnouf | Biography
Emile Burnouf is a French-Cree descendant of the Metis Nation. His roots stem from Northern Saskatchewan near the Athabasca Basin. For most of his life, he has had a proclivity towards the idea of conception and construction, to think something into existence. This core value has led Emile to carpentry, construction, and mechanics, working on various projects throughout western Canada.
His time in the Alberta Oilsands allowed him to see the destruction and devasting effects on the local ecosystems. These first-hand experiences led him to find alternative employment in a more renewable sector. He currently works as a carpenter converting refurbished sea-cans into utility buildings and homes.
William Desjarlais | Biography
William Desjarlais is Metis from Ile-a-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan. He is 26 years old and currently works as a Power Engineer at Key Lake mine site. He is very active through sports and fitness. He loves the outdoors and spending time with family.
Supports Required
The Portable Solar Sauna requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Project Management, Indigenous Governance, Community Engagement, and Research & Development.
If you are interested in supporting this project, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Kal Ledoux | The Solar Sea Can Project
About Kal
Kal Ledoux is a lifelong learner, pursuing fluency in his native tongue, nêhiyawêwin. Kal is a proud Muskeg Lake Cree Nation member and believes in community building through youth-led initiatives. Kal is pursuing an education degree at the University of Saskatchewan, focusing on Indigenous Studies and developing a pedagogy that braids together a contemporary and ancestral way of sharing knowledge with the next generation. His passion for clean energy comes from his commitment as a steward of the land. When he is not sharpening his reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, he’s hunting, fishing, or kayaking.
Kal believes education is the new bison and wants to raise youth, elders, and community members’ awareness of the positive impacts of utilizing clean energy and understanding the effects of non-renewable resources on land, water, sky, and our four-legged relatives.
The Solar Sea Can Project | ImaGENation Project
The Solar Sea Can Project will be a mobile education station that provides information about solar power to people of all ages. The project aims to bring awareness about the importance of clean energy. Solar panels will be welded to the roof, and the can will contain a solar system inverter for energy storage. The power stored in the mobile sea can will be used in a multi-purpose capacity to support varying events and departments of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation community.
Supports Required
The Solar Sea Can Project requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas of clean energy: Project Management, Energy 101, Budgeting, Indigenous Governance, Community Engagement, Fundraising.
If you are interested in supporting this team, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Oriana Bee-Johnson | Off-Grid Greenhouse
About Oriana
Oriana Bee-Johnson hails from the Kwikwasutinuxw Hawamis First Nation (KHFN) on Gilford Island and the Musgamaugw Dzawad’enuxw (Kingcome Inlet). She entered this field of work by taking on some local jobs for the KHFN. Jamie Pond, a former 20/20 Catalyst at ICE, brought Oriana into the equation where she began working for Jamie as an intern, initially unsure of what to expect. However, the more she worked, the more invested she became. After a trial period of three months, Oriana transitioned to full-time work as a Climate Action Coordinator for KHFN.
Off-Grid Greenhouse | ImaGENation Project
This project involves creating an off-grid, solar-powered greenhouse for the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwamis Nation village. The greenhouse will be situated on a plot of land next to Elder Chahalus's home. The site will be assessed to determine the area that receives the most sunlight. The plot, too small for a home, is ideal for a community greenhouse.
The greenhouse structure will utilize materials like glass or polycarbonate for optimal light absorption. Insulation will be installed in the North wall and other non-transparent parts to prevent heat loss. Solar panels will be mounted on the roof or nearby to capture sunlight and convert it to electricity. Drawing on experience from a previous solar project in the village, professionals and community members will collaborate to ensure the project's success.
Oriana's personal goals for this project are to gain more experience in her field and to build connections with others involved. The project aims to reduce the environmental footprint by minimizing energy use and enhancing the community's food sovereignty. By growing fresh, pesticide-free produce locally, the project will also address the issue of fruits spoiling during transportation from distant shops. Ultimately, the greenhouse will protect traditional foods and contribute to the community's well-being wish fresh, pesticide-free produce.
Support Oriana
Oriana requires mentorship expertise & services in the following areas: Fundraising, technical specifics, networking, community engagement, Indigenous governance and leadership, and budgeting.
If you are interested in supporting Oriana, please submit an Expression of Interest form here.
Interested in supporting ImaGENation Teams through collaboration or partnerships?
We are always open to exploring various ways to support the Indigenous youth teams on their project journeys. This includes collaboration with, and not limited to, project advisors, technical consultants, webinar speakers, student teams / capstone projects, trades programs, and more.
Please contact Program Manager, Aubrey at ALPewapisconias@indigenouscleanenergy.com for further discussion.