Safe Water Needs Skilled People
The full recording of Water First’s 2023 Safe Water Needs Skilled People event.
00:00 – Welcome
1:49 – Introduction
8:31 – About Water First
9:30 – Dillon Koopmans, Host
18:53 – Dr. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, C.M., IAC Member
37:46 – Spencer Welling, Water First Graduate
46:33 – Melodie Squires, Water First Graduate
54:34 – Live Q+A
1:18:30 – Thank You
Speakers
Dr. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, CM
Dr. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, an Anishinaabe community worker, has dedicated decades to empowering Indigenous women in Canada through her leadership in organizations like the Ontario Native Women’s Association and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, earning her the Order of Canada in 2018.
Spencer Welling
Spencer's commitment to the Internship Program is driven by a belief in Water First's mission and a passion to address water challenges in their community. He is currently the Operator in Training in Magnetewan First Nation and aspires to provide long-term support to their family and community.
Melodie Squires
Melodie is a mother, a daughter, an auntie and a friend from Serpent River First Nation. She graduated from Water First's drinking water internship this September and has successfully achieved her Class 1 Water Operator license. She excelled at passing the rigorous Water Quality Analyst Exam and has participated over 200 hours of water operator training outside of the internship.
Dillon Koopmans
Dillon, an Ontario Certified Teacher of Potawatomi descent with dual Bachelor's degrees in geography and education, has extensive experience delivering STEM workshops, watershed projects, and land-based education in FNMI communities across Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, and 85 Indigenous communities.
