About the Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership (NWGP)

Meet the members of our Core Council and Forum

that govern the NWGP:

Former kʷúkʷpiʔ (Chief) Stuart Jackson

Former kʷúkʷpiʔ Stuart has lived most of his life in Shulus and went to school in Merritt, BC. The Nicola is his home. He is a member of Lower Nicola Indian Band of the Nłeʔkepmx Nation, the Naik Stuwix Peoples, on his paternal grandfather’s side and is connected to the Neskonlith Secwepemc community on his paternal grandmother’s side. He also traces his ancestry to Kwakiutl First Nation and the Wuikinuxv community through his maternal grandfather and Coast Salish Peoples on Cortes Island, Klahoose First Nation, through his maternal grandmother. Stuart was elected kʷúkʷpiʔ of the Lower Nicola Indian Band first in 2019 and again in 2023, after several years serving as Councilor. Alongside political representation, Stuart has worked in the mining industry and in education. His passion for education is evident in his water stewardship work where he emphasizes the importance of broad education about local water systems to the communities of the Nicola Watershed. In the face of drought in the Nicola, Stuart finds traction in collaboration, knowing that our water concerns need to be addressed jointly and with the space for Elder and youth voices to be recognized. Stuart is the co-chair of the Forum, representing the Nicola 5 First Nations.

Eric Valdal

Member of the Forum. Bio coming soon.

Amy Tipler

Amy is a first-generation settler with parents who emigrated from the UK, grateful to be able to settle in such a beautiful region. Growing up in Chase and living in Kamloops with her husband, Pete, and two sons has made Amy acutely aware of the drought issues that many Southern Interior communities are facing. She brings this insight to her work for the Government of BC on land use policy, resource stewardship, and project management. Additionally, relationship building is a central piece to how she leads successful resolutions of complex land and resource issues in her role as the Director of Strategic Initiatives. In a similar way at the NWGP, she believes that the effort placed into the relationship-building component has been integral to the success of the NWGP’s co-governance process. Previously the BC Coordinator at the NWGP, she is currently the co-chair of the Core Council. Amy’s highlights at the NWGP are about the people: building relationships and trust to move things forward in a good way while having moments for humor and levity. She practices seasonally-regulated hobbies like gardening and mountain biking in the summer, and skiing and making bread in the winter.

Savannah Joe

Savannah is a member of the Shackan Indian Band. Her grandparents are Charlotte and Maynard Joe, and her parents are Sheila Joe and Ted Sterling. Savannah grew up with her brother Brodie understanding the importance of family because “where would you be without them?” Before being elected on council for the first time in March of 2023, she gained valuable knowledge and friendships within the Nlaka’pamux Nation while she worked as an Office Assistant with Nlaka’pamux Health Services for 2 years. From 2014 to 2021, she pursued further education while residing in Kamloops, BC. Savannah is the co-chair of the Core Council and represents Shackan Indian Band on the Salmon and Ecosystems Table, Nicola Watershed Planning Initiative Table, and the Nk’eʔxép (Drought) Management Committee. The driver behind her work ethic is a dedication to creating lasting impact and improving water management for the next seven generations.

Brian Holmes

Brian Holmes is a member of the syilx nation living in spaxmn (Douglas Lake) with his family. Brian attended school on the reserve he grew up on and nearby schools in the city of Merritt, BC. He worked for Douglas Lake Cattle Company for 20 years, from farm hand to farm foreman. Since 2011 he has dedicated 15 years serving five consecutive terms as a member for the Upper Nicola Band Chief and Council. He has received a certificate for Restorative Justice Facilitator Training, a diploma in Police Sciences (Law End. & Prot.), Land Guardian Certificate. Brian volunteers his time as president of the board for the Okanagan Indian Education Society and the Nicola Valley Community Justice Services society. He is actively leading various projects in his community like the invasives species eradication, water quality monitoring, streamflow monitoring and many other freshwater initiatives. For Brian, everything comes back to his connection with the land, his roots, and traditional knowledge. He brings this to his home community, government groups, non-profits, and the corporate world. Brian is a member of the Core Council.

Jackie Aljam

Jackie was born in Nlaka’pamux territory to the Coldwater Indian Band and lives in what is also known as Merritt, BC. Jackie is led by the knowledge that her ancestors before her started the hard work she and others continue today. Grounded by a lineage of Matriarchs, she knows her seven generation ancestors are seeing their next seven generations work for the land and water to be seen, and that her next seven generations are watching and learning as she did. Jackie is a Core Council member of the NWGP and sits on the Nk’eʔxép (Drought) Management Committee. 38 years of living and breathing Nlaka’pamux territory has given Jackie the opportunity to ensure her peoples’ territory is being heard by voicing concerns and sharing her understanding of where more Nlaka’pamux-informed learning is needed. A highlight of Jackie’s work has been having her ancestors’ strong voices heard and their concerns about Nlaka’pamux territory worked through together, side by side within the Nlaka’pamux territory and Okanagan (syilx) territory. Outside of this advocacy, Jackie is often out on the land, teaching her knowledge to the any of the next seven generations however she can. As part of a Nlaka’pamux women’s group, she learns beading the way Erin Aleck does, and learns language from her uncle Jerry Voght by blending tradition and technology, sending voice notes with explanations and pronunciations back and forth.

“The voices of our elders are still echoing in those mountains. They are still telling us of their actions. These echoes come to us as they pass from mountain top to mountain top. With these echoes are the winds of the spring and the autumn whispering their messages and the rustle of the leaves in the trees and the shrubs and with the first melt of the winter ice, the tumbling of the fresh water of winter brings life for the lifegivers of the land. The things that grow on the land, walk on the land and fly over the land and swim in the waters of the land.” — Grand Chief Gordon Antoine, Coldwater Indian Band, in a presentation to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, November 1992

Jennifer Reid

Jennifer was born in Prince George but was raised in the Nicola Valley and currently lives in Merritt with her husband, Ryan, and two daughters, Frances and Naomi. Her connection and commitment to the Nicola Valley stem from this upbringing as well as her 20 years working in the region as a Registered Professional Forester for the Government of BC. Jennifer brings this commitment to the Nicola Valley, both its people and its environment, as she learns about its history and stories through the Indigenous Laws initiative, and as she works as neighbours and partners on the complexities of water and drought management. Jennifer is currently a member of the NWGP Forum but has previously sat on the Core Council and Secretariat, starting in 2019 with the creation of the NWGP. Jennifer is energized by working as part of a dedicated team and building a shared future for the Nicola Valley together. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, skiing in the winter, and playing golf in the summer.

Mike Toews

Mike Toews grew up in the nearby City of Kamloops, moving there from Burnaby, BC, when he and his sister were just starting school. As a second generation Canadian, Mike’s paternal grandparents met in Saskatchewan after being forced from the Ukraine as teenagers when Stalin came into power. On his mother’s side, Mike’s grandparents moved to Canada from the UK. Mike has worked with the Government of BC since 1998, first as a Forest Technician in Port McNeill. In 2005, he started working with the BC Ministry of Environment as a Conservation Officer in Merritt where he got to truly see and experience the Nicola Watershed. Since 2017, Mike has been working more closely on flood and drought, including recovery efforts following events such as the atmospheric river of November 2021 that damaged many homes and infrastructure throughout the Nicola Valley. He was also involved in the Province’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic, working across ministry lines to ensure public safety in an extremely trying time in our history. Mike values cross-sectoral and cross-cultural collaboration, working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to develop a shared understanding about how to manage drought together. Mike has been a Core Council member of the NWGP since August 2024, representing the Ministry of Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship as the Director, Authorizations (Land and Water). Outside of work, Mike absolutely enjoys covering outdoor terrain on cross-country or downhill skis as well as mountain, road, or gravel cycling.

Robin Humphrey

Robin, Xéysmkn Humphrey is born and raised in Shulus and is a member of Lower Nicola Indian Band and the Naik Stuwix Peoples. Robin is grounded in culture and community connection: his upbringing instilled in him oral histories and traditions, and his frontline work in community and social services deepened his ties to those around him. Robin is a member of the Core Council, representing Lower Nicola Indian Band and bringing a youth perspective to the shared decision-making table. He understands that connecting with Elders and youth is vital to understand where we have been and where we’re going as the actions we’re taking now are those our youth will carry in the future. Robin brings to his work insights into the idea that reconciliation needs reconciliaction not only at the government-to-government level, but also within communities: we need to reconcile within ourselves and our communities so that we can make good decisions together. Robin is also an Indigenous markings practitioner and gives traditional tattoos or markings to Indigenous Peoples in the Nicola Watershed, revitalizing the traditional practice of face markings. Robin was recognized as the Best Local Artist of the Year by the Merritt Herald Peoples Choice Award in 2025.

Past Contributors of the NWGP

The Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership has been shaped by the dedication and efforts of individuals committed to the health of the Nicola Watershed. We recognize the role of these past contributors in laying the foundation of our ongoing partnerships.

Past contributors’ bios coming soon.