As we know, Manitoba has so many great women leaders. Our initial post – Made in Manitoba: Resources of our People was very popular, but we couldn’t list all the hard working women in our area! We asked for help identifying additional luminaries that deserve to be recognized and celebrated. You did not disappoint!

If you missed part 1 of Made In Manitoba, read it here.

Here is our next list, in no particular order.  We hope you enjoy meeting them.

Deborah Bowers

Marketing & Communications Leader – City of Winnipeg

Deborah is a marketing and communications leader for the Planning, Property and Development Department for the City of Winnipeg. Deborah works with colleagues in several areas: building permits, cemeteries, economic development, land development, real estate, and urban planning. She is also a member of Indigenous Relations Leadership Team.

Continue Reading About Deborah

Tracy Hucul

Executive Director – Green Action Centre

Tracy’s deep interest in sustainable development grew from a 6-month volunteer experience in a small village in Ghana, Africa, where she learned how living with less could give us more. Tracy has worked with many rural and northern Manitoban communities and wants to expand Green Action Centre’s reach to as many Manitobans as possible.

Continue Reading about Tracy Hucul

Linda Debassige

Chief –  M’Chigeeng First Nation

Debassige was born and raised in M’Chigeeng First Nation, where she grew up on the land and is active in the sustainability of Mother Earth. First elected to M’Chigeeng First Nation Chief and Council in 2013, Debassigebecame the second female chief to lead M’Chigeeng First Nation in 2015. She is currently serving her second term.  

Continue Reading about Chief Linda Debassige

Susan Lindsey

Manager – Climate Change Connection

Susan is responsible for coordinating CCC’s events and presentations, generating information and outreach materials, and bringing the issue of climate change to youth and municipalities.

Continue Reading about Susan Lindsey

Deborah Curran

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

Deborah’s research and practice engages in the subjects of water and regional or watershed sustainability. Flowing through her research is an interest in how legal and policy structures (1) facilitate or impede us from adapting to changing ecological conditions, and (2) shape decision-making through governance processes.

Continue Reading about Deborah Curran

Jackie Avent

Director of Grants and Sustainability – Fort Whyte Alive

FortWhyte Alive believes that sustainable communities are built on three essential and interdependent cornerstones: a healthy natural environment; a healthy, vibrant economic environment; and a healthy and equitable social environment. As a place that celebrates interconnectedness of society, economy and environment, FortWhyte is rooted in sustainability.

Read the Fort Whyte Story – The Fort That Never Was

Elizabeth Hendriks

VP of Freshwater – WWF-Canada

Elizabeth Hendriks is Vice-President of the National Freshwater Program at WWF-Canada, one of Canada’s oldest conservation organizations. She has fifteen years’ experience working internationally and nationally on water policy and in 2017, she led the release of the first national assessment of the health and stressors to Canada’s freshwater. With her team she is now working to reverse the decline of freshwater ecosystems across the country in the intersection of policy, technology, and community building. She received her BA in International Development from Dalhousie University and her Masters from the University of Waterloo.

Bernadette Conant

CEO – Canadian Water Network

Bernadette is the Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Water Network and is a trusted broker of water knowledge. Together with her team, she works to improve the application of water research to decisions for water management. 

Continue Reading about Bernadette Conant

Beth McKechnie

Sustainable Transportation Specialist – Green Action Center

Beth has been with the Workplace Commuter Options program since 2006. She moderates the Active Transportation listserv in Manitoba, sits on the City of Winnipeg’s Active Transportation Advisory Committee as well as the OurWinnipeg Review Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Advisory Committee for Winnipeg’s first Transportation Master Plan. Beth is also a co-founder and past board member of Peg City Car Co-op, which introduced carsharing in Winnipeg. Since 2016, she has been part of the First Nations Waste Minimization project at Green Action Centre. This project supports First Nations communities through resources such as the Recycling Toolkit, school presentations, community events, and the Pathfinders project that works closely with specific communities to reduce and divert waste.

Dr. Sheri Longboat

Assistant Professor – School of Environment Design and Rural Development

Sheri Longboat is a Haudenosaunee Mohawk and band member of the Six Nations of the Grand River with twenty years of experience working with Indigenous communities in Canada. She grew up with a love of water and water-related activities, which eventually led to an interest in water security and governance. Her research is also inspired by the many Indigenous people she has worked with who have persevered and continue to maintain the customs, traditions, languages and practices of their heritage. Sheri’s research looks to address issues of water insecurity, the relationship with natural resources, as well as other environmental challenges through the development of solutions that integrate science, policy and the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous peoples.

Continue Reading about Sheri Longboat

Anna Weier

UMCycle Manager at University of Manitoba Students’ Union

UMCycle’s main mission [is] to get more people riding bikes to, from, and around the University of Manitoba campuses. There are a lot of women who have been taught by our society and culture that they don’t have a mechanical aptitude,” said Weier.

“Having these specific spaces for women, transgender, non-binary, two spirit people is a way to break that myth for people in a very personal way.”

Read More about Anna’s work: UMCycle offers safe space for bike maintenance