Cindy Dickson is of Gwitchin and Tlingit descent and is a member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.  She was raised by her grandfather and grew up in Old Crow, Yukon, Canada.   Cindy has worked for the Council of Yukon First Nations for the past twelve years and is the director of Circumpolar Relations and the founding director of the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC).   The Council of Yukon First Nations is the central political organization for First Nation peoples of the Yukon. It has been in existence since 1973 and continues to serve the needs of First Nations within the Yukon and most recently the Mackenzie delta.

AAC is an international Indigenous organization that focuses on environmental issues that may affect the health and well being of Athabaskan peoples in the arctic and sub-arctic regions of North America

Cindy was instrumental in assisting Yukon First Nations communities develop a Traditional Knowledge Guideline for the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP).  This guideline was prepared for scientists working in the Canadian North and can be viewed on-line at www.contaminants.ca. Cindy was also a member of a coalition of northern Indigenous peoples that persuaded countries to conclude a global agreement to ban persistent organic pollutants (POPS) such as DDT and PCBs that contaminate traditionally harvested foods.

Currently Ms. Dickson’s work centers on climate change vulnerabilities, adaptation, traditional knowledge and food security issues in the north. Cindy participated in the development of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), a four -year comprehensive analysis of the impacts and consequences of climate variability and changes across the Arctic region. During the assessment period, Cindy established the Elder Panel on Climate Change. The Elders Panel was tasked to contribute their knowledge of climate change observations. Cindy also established the Indigenous Issues Committee (IIC) for the University of the Arctic. The IIC provides a mechanism for northern Indigenous peoples and organizations to participate at UArctic council meetings. Cindy participated as part of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) Advisory Committee on Climate Change Adaptation Policy; Cindy has been involved with the International Polar Year (IPY), as part of the Canadian Committee on IPY; Currently Ms. Dickson is the lead for the Canadian pan-northern IPY research on Arctic Peoples, Culture, Resilience and Caribou. This project will investigate the processes that shape the resilience and adaptive capacity of three northern communities. As well, Cindy also participates as part of the High Arctic Research Station Experts and Users Group.

Based in Ottawa, Dr. Terry Fenge is the Principal of Terry Fenge Consulting Incorporated specializing in aboriginal rights and interests, environmental affairs, and national international public policy in the circumpolar Arctic and beyond.

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Dr. Fenge earned a Bachelor’s degree in physical geography at the University of Wales, a Master’s degree in applied geography at the University of Victoria and a doctorate in regional planning and resource development at the University of Waterloo.

Following two years teaching at Brock University, Dr Fenge took the position of Director of Research and later Executive Director at the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC). From 1985 to 1993 he was Director of Research and Senior Negotiator for the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN), the Inuit organization that negotiated the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

From 1996 to date he has worked on contaminants, climate change, biodiversity conservation and intergovernmental issues. He was Strategic Counsel to the Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) from 1996 to 2006 and is currently the Senior Policy Advisor to the Arctic Athabaskan Council. Since 2000 he has also worked with the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) to implement the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. In addition he has worked with the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) the Inuit Heritage Trust (IHT), and the Circumpolar Conservation Union (CCU).

Dr Fenge is the author, co-author or editor of six books and monographs, and more than sixty published papers. His most recent book: Northern Lights Against POPs: Combatting Toxic Threats in the Arctic, co-edited with David Downie of Columbia University, was published in 2003 by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Colleen Henry is a policy advisor for the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC). She began working as a technical advisor on an Arctic Portal project in 2005. Since then the AAC has mentored Colleen in international relations, outside of her usual technical capacity, to diversify her skill set. Colleen also had the privilege of working as an intern at the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark. During her internship she became closely acquainted with Arctic Indigenous Peoples and gained knowledge on Arctic and international issues. She will be working on the 2010 Arctic Biodiversity Assessment alongside fellow Policy Advisor Terry Fenge.

Colleen Henry was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon. She attended university on Vancouver Island and she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science in 2000 from the University of Victoria. She is a Teslin Tlingit and spends much of her time at Johnson’s Crossing with her family.