Northern Policy Institute board of directors adds some new faces

NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN POLICE INSTITUTE
*************************
Northern Policy Institute (NPI) is pleased to welcome several new directors to our Board. Pierre Riopel, Ralph Falcioni, Mariette Sutherland, Kim Jo Bliss and Harley d’Entremont will be joining the Northern Policy family.

Harley d’Entremont is no stranger to being a NPI director, returning for his second stint on the Board. Most recently, Dr. d’Entremont served as Vice-President, Academic and Research at Nipissing University, after having served as Academic Vice-President (Francophone Affairs) at Laurentian University from 2003 to 2008. He had previously served as President of the Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia for 13 years.

Kim Jo Bliss has been involved with NPI for several years as she held a position on our Advisory Council. She began working at the Emo Agricultural Research Station in 1988 as a summer student.  Currently she is employed by the University of Guelph doing applied crop research at the Emo Station. She volunteers on various Agriculture Committees both locally and provincially.

Some new faces for NPI:

Mariette Sutherland, MPH, is an Anishnaabe-kwe from Whitefish River First Nation in northern Ontario. Mariette has completed over 125 projects in the past 16 years. Her focus is on respectful community-based research and engagement in First Nations and Indigenous health issues.

Ralph Falcioni has over 30 years of experience in the electricity industry. Working with electrical utilities in both large and small sized corporations. He has expertise in areas that include business development and planning, environmental, government relations, legal and financial affairs. He has served on the Thunder Bay Hydro board for several years.

Pierre Riopel, currently a member of the University of Sudbury Board of Regents, has worked over 25 years in the field of education where he has had a significant impact with his innovative spirit, leadership and expertise. He has worked at all levels of the education system (elementary/secondary, college and university), and during his career, has especially served the needs of Franco-Ontarian students.

NPI hosted their Annual General Meeting today to appoint the 2021-2022 Board of Directors and to talk about what NPI has accomplished in the past year. 

In addition to the creation and continuation of partnerships across Northern Ontario, NPI dove into key policy issues for Northern Ontario. Reconciliation, retention, immigration, governance, economic development, living costs, COVID-19 impacts, and labour market demand. Just to name a few. To check out these items and more, be sure to read our 2019-2020 annual report here.

*************************