07 Sep Carey Calder – Nakanagis Consulting

Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Carey is a proud member of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (Sand Point First Nation) and has called Ottawa home since 2003. Carey holds her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Athabasca University and is an experienced administrator with corporate financial expertise and solid governance understanding.

Carey proudly launched Nakanagis Inc., an Indigenous owned Canadian consulting that weaves her unique first-hand knowledge and perspective into tailored approaches and solutions to Indigenous businesses, corporate executives and not-for-profit service delivery organizations. She also joined Shopify as the lead of Indigenous Entrepreneurship programming where she supported a wide range of priorities, including research, vetting, and activation of opportunities for Indigenous business development in Canada, US and New Zealand.

Carey holds a passion for team building and sees a direct connection between progressive Human Resource (HR) management strategies and successful organizational and businesses growth. She is a strong Indigenous advocate and supports innovative work environments that seek to include approaches to reconciliation demonstrated in policies, vision, planning and strategies.

Carey Calder has over 15 years of senior management experience within Indigenous organizations and specializes in not-for-profit (NFP) organizational development and strategic direction. Her experience includes serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, focusing on the rich history of Indigenous sport in Canada. She managed social impact funding within urban Indigenous planning by leading Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement with the National Association of Friendship Centres and she was instrumental in the creation of the Labour Market Development department with the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

One of Carey’s proudest accomplishments was her role as Executive Director with the Makonsag Aboriginal Head Start in Ottawa. There, she led negotiations with multiple levels of government to secure capital funds to purchase and fully renovate a building to operate core programming, providing stability to services for Indigenous families in Ottawa. During her tenure she advocated and negotiated new revenue sources, including additional capital of 1M+ funding to lease and completely overhaul new space as expansion of services for Indigenous child care.

Carey thrives on innovation and is driven to invest in meaningful projects that spark change initiatives, create social impact opportunities and result in positive successes that support community needs.