Two Cree women serving on the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority (KTCEA) board are bringing community leadership, education experience and a focus on accountability to their governance roles.
Corrine Alook, a councillor from Peerless Trout First Nation, will serve as chairperson of the KTCEA Board , while Melva White, a councillor from Loon River First Nation, serves as vice-chairperson, according to KTCEA’s recent news release.
KTCEA says it administers kindergarten-to-Grade 12 education for schools in north-central Alberta Cree First Nations, with a mandate centred on Indigenous-led education, Cree language and land-based learning. It’s governance page says the board is made up of representative members from Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council First Nations communities and is guided by policies that provide direction to the board, superintendent and staff.
Alook was elected to Peerless Trout First Nation council in 2018. She has lived in the community her entire life, says the news release. A graduate of the class of 1996, she has worked at Peerless Lake School for 22 years. She is a mother of six children, including three of her own and three she raised as her own. It says family and community guide her work, and that she also serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Peerless Trout First Nation Volunteer Fire Department.n Alook ran for council to give back and support community members, according to the biography. She values governance, accountability and transparency, and wants to see her First Nation continue to develop, prosper and grow for future generations.
White is a Cree-speaking councillor from Loon River First Nation and is serving her first term on council. KTCEA says White brings more than a decade of leadership experience in education to her new role.
She has a background in human resources includes talent development, organizational strategy and consensus-building.
White believes education is fundamental to empowerment and self-sustainability for communities, the biography says. It says she advocates for student-centred policies, sustainable workforce readiness programs and equitable access to high-quality learning.
White holds a bachelor of business administration degree and is currently working toward an MBA.
As vice-chairperson, White will work collaboratively on strategic initiatives that support educators, engage families and help ensure students are equipped to thrive in a changing world, according to the biography.
Sara Driedger
Lakeside Leader