Meet the Staff

Shasta is a communications leader with over 20 years of experience in the public sector. Shasta’s work has varied greatly, and she has significant experience in leading and managing the development, coordination, and implementation of both external and internal communication activities. Her career opportunities have had her support a variety of announcements and events across the country, and she has been fortunate enough to have visited almost all provinces and territories. Shasta is a graduate of the Creative Communications Program at Red River College, with a major in Journalism.

Shasta is honoured to join our team and is excited to contribute to the ongoing and historic work that is led at the NCTR as it is essential to bridge the knowledge gap that non-Indigenous people have in their understanding of colonialism and the residential school system.

On a personal note, Shasta is a proud Métis woman – born in Thompson, and raised in Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory. She is quite passionate about traveling, concerts, and the Winnipeg Jets.

Jennifer is Ojibway from Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation, Ontario. She was the Coordinator of the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement for nearly a decade for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs She has organized some of the largest and most important Indigenous conferences in Canada.

Jennifer has worked on multiple projects and develop positive working relationships with diverse organizations throughout her career. In 2007 she planned and organized the First Residential School Survivors National Gathering for Survivors. In 2011, she coordinated the Hidden Legacy for Residential School Survivors Gathering and managed the National Protocol Signing Agreement whereby American tribes and First Nations in Canada signed a historical protocols agreement to work together and partner for business and other enterprises development.

Drawn into politics her whole adult life, Jennifer was the senior political staff adviser for then Grand Chief Sheila North of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), a governance organization representing 31 First Nations in northern Manitoba. Prior to that, she had worked for ten years as the political assistant to Elijah Harper, one of the first Indigenous Members of Parliament.

As the Supervisor of Education, Outreach, and Public Programming, Kaila oversees matters related to the support of educators, development of resources, establishment of outreach initiatives, as well as public engagement on residential schools and their legacy. Prior to joining the NCTR, Kaila worked with the TRC as a statement gatherer and coordinator to support statement gathering activities. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg and a MSc in International Crimes and Criminology from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Student of Sociology and Migration, Amber has studied the residential patterns of Indigenous rural to urban circle migration in cities with high Indigenous and migrant populations. Always eager to take on a project, Amber coordinates education requests and office activities in the Education unit.

Sandra Bender (she/her) is a lifelong human rights advocate and brings her passion for public education to her work. As a second generation Canadian of grandparents who came to this land as adult immigrants and refugees, she is a staunch Indigenous ally and strives to use her position of privilege to further understanding and reconciliation through outreach and education. Sandra is a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, feminist, and neurodivergent, and believes in bringing an intersectional lens to every aspect of her life. Past work has included Indigenous land claims advocacy, work with the unhoused communities in Winnipeg and Atlanta, work with newly-arrived refugees, and advocacy with the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Sandra holds several undergrad degrees and a masters, is an ex-opera singer, fitness & hiking enthusiast, and runs the music program at a church in downtown Winnipeg.

Raymond Frogner is the Head of Archives. Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia Raymond received his Master of Arts degree in Labour History form the University of Victoria and a Master of Archival Studies degree from University of British Columbia. His graduate work focused on archives and Indigenous identity. He continues to research and publish on archival issues with a focus on Indigenous societies, identity and memory. Raymond joined NCTR in 2016 as the Head of Archives. Raymond is responsible to respectfully honour, safeguard and when appropriate, make available the records acquired by the TRC and additional records of enduring value for Indigenous peoples.

Jesse Boiteau is the Senior Archivist and member of the Métis Nation. He completed his Masters in Archival Studies at UM, focusing on the intersections between Western archival theory and practice, and Indigenous notions of archives and memory to shed light on how the NCTR can accommodate and blend multiple viewpoints in its processes. Jesse works within a close archives team to process the records collected by the TRC, make new collections available online and respond to access requests from residential school Survivors. He is also continually researching ways to leverage new technologies to honour the experiences and truths of Survivors through innovative and participatory archival practices.

Daniel Lovegrove is an IT Assistant to the digital archivists at the NCTR and a member of Long Plain First Nation. Daniel’s main focus at the NCTR is on writing code to automate repetitive tasks for the Archives team. The software he develops is targeted at reducing the amount of tedious work for the Archives staff and at reducing human errors while working on very large collections of records. Daniel also works on writing code for the NCTR’s various websites. He joined the NCTR Archives team in August 2019. Daniel graduated with a BSc in Computer Engineering from UM in 2019, with a focus on software engineering.

Preeti Kaur is responsible for acquiring records and artefacts for the NCTR Archives. Additionally, she assists Survivors and their families with records access requests through research.

Preeti earned her Master’s in Archival Studies from the University of Manitoba in 2019. Her thesis focused on the use of microfilm in archives, mainly that of the Department of the Interior. This led her to explore how Interior’s microfilm records communicate the history of the dispossession of Indigenous communities and the lack of Indigenous perspectives in the management of such records.

Preeti continues to learn about Indigenous experiences and memory through her position at the NCTR.

Lynn Jones is an Inininiw (Cree) woman whose family comes from the First Nation of Manto Sakahikan (God’s Lake Narrows).  She was born in Arborg, MB. and is the youngest sibling from a family of eight.  Lynn has been married for 24 years and has one adult son and a Great Pyrenees called Neeko.  She has worked in Manitoba Justice for the past 17 years in both the capacity of an Aboriginal Court Worker and most recently with Victim Services.  Lynn will be graduating with her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba.

Lynn is a believer in lifelong learning and trying new things that enable her to meet people and learn life experiences.  She is active in learning about her Cree language and culture and has volunteered with Indigenous Languages of Manitoba.  Lynn makes a point in educating herself in understanding the Manitoba Indigenous communities, languages and has extensive knowledge of justice and trauma, two large issues facing Indigenous people today.

She values spending time with family and enjoys travelling, camping and drawing.

Kimberley Hayden supports Survivors, their families, communities and others affected by the residential school system with access to NCTR Archives through research. Kimberley earned a Master of Education (uOttawa), Graduate Diploma in Art Education (Concordia U, Montréal), and Bachelor of Fine Arts, Specialization in Art Education (Concordia U, Montréal). She has worked with the collections and holdings of various organizations in roles that honour and support Indigenous perspectives. As a reflective practice, she puts needle and brush to canvas creating beaded artworks, several of which rest in public and private collections. Kimberley is a Métis Nation citizen.

Karen Ashbury is a Reference and Access Archivist at the NCTR. She manages and coordinates reference requests made to NCTR Archives, including requests made by residential school Survivors and their families. Originally from Fort Frances, Ontario, Karen completed her Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology at Queen’s University. Her prior experience includes working as a collections manager for a small community museum and archives and with the National Museum of Bermuda. Prior to joining the NCTR, Karen worked as an archivist at the NWT Archives in Yellowknife, where she conducted research and was responsible for the coordination of reference requests made by residential school Survivors that attended residential schools in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Dennis Anderson is a Research Assistant at the NCTR. He is from Makeso Sákahikan Nehiyaw (Fox Lake Cree). Dennis has five adult children, 13 grandchildren and four beautiful cápans (great-granddaughters). Dennis’ parents attended residential school and he is also a residential school Survivor and he grew up in a hydro-impacted community in Gillam. He graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree and is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Native Studies at UM – due to graduate in 2022. Since joining the NCTR in June 2018, he is working on or has worked on several projects, such as missing children and unmarked graves of residential school students, reviewing and captioning residential school photos, reviewing day schools as per the draft settlement, and reviewing residential school histories providing summary narratives.

Madelaine is the Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator for the Reconciliation Network Coordination Hub at the NCTR. In this position she is responsible for Coordinating the Reconciliation Network, and for facilitating accessible and community engaged knowledge sharing of the Reconciliation Research of this joint initiative with SSHRC. After growing up in rural Manitoba, Madelaine moved to Winnipeg to pursue her education and career opportunities. She holds a BA– Hons. in Anthropology with a minor in English Literature at the University of Manitoba and intends to pursue a Masters and PhD in Anthropology in the future. Madelaine is passionate about accessibility, community engagement, and social advocacy. As a non-Indigenous woman, she is committed to doing her part to increase knowledge and understanding of advancing reconciliation. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering and advocating with poverty reduction groups, reading, and spending time with her cat. Madelaine is honoured to be a part of the NCTR team and is excited to contribute to the ongoing and historic work that is led at the NCTR, as it is essential to bridge the knowledge gap that non-Indigenous people have in their understanding of colonialism and the residential school system. Madelaine continues to learn about Indigenous experiences and be guided by Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Jay Nadeau the IT Project Manager, is motivated personally and professionally to use his skills as a Project Manager to make a difference and contribute to the truth and reconciliation in Canada. He manages projects to meet NCTR strategic planning goals. Before joining NCTR in 2017, Jay managed IT and communication technology projects for Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Engineering at UM in 2005.

I am currently the with MCP3 project as the Community Engagement Liaison since April for one year. I have a very diverse background within the Customer Service industry in all federal, provincial, municipal and First Nation government levels. My passion is teaching the Anishinaabe traditional language (very important for ceremonies), cultural workshops and importantly powwowing. A proud mother, grandmother, auntie and sister. I am an IRS,  intergenerational and day school survivor.

Hunter Clemons is the NCTR’s Access and Privacy Coordinator, assisting Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors in their journey to find residential school records. Hunter is responsible for compiling, reviewing and providing residential school records to Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors. Hunter is proud Métis woman with maternal ties to St. Peters Reserve and Netley Creek, and paternal ties to Grand Marais and Manigotagan. Hunter acquired her Legal Assistant Diploma and Administrative Assistant Diploma from Robertson College in 2020. Currently Hunter is pursuing a degree in Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, with a minor in Leadership for Business and Organizations. Hunter is committed to integrating holistic Indigenous values into her work, both academically and professionally to reflect an Indigenous worldview. Hunter cherishes being in the presence of her loved ones, as well as any opportunity to be out on the land.