July 27, 2023
Genome British Columbia is excited to announce the hiring of Candice Loring K’wiloo’km N’kwala as Director, Indigenous Relations and Initiatives.
Candice is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Management at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan and is a proud member of the Gitwangak band from the Gitxsan Nation in Northern British Columbia. Prior to joining Genome BC, Candice was the Senior Advisor, Indigenous Relations and Initiatives with Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering innovation in Canada, where she provided guidance and support to hundreds of collaborations.
At Genome BC, Candice will be a strategic advisor for how Genome BC engages with Indigenous communities, working across the organization to ensure Indigenous communities are involved in the process of research and innovation under Genome BC programs, building relationships and partnerships, and ensuring that Indigenous peoples are being seen, heard and treated as rightsholders.
“I see myself working on behalf of Genome BC and on behalf of Indigenous communities,” said Loring. “This is a tremendous opportunity to elevate Indigenous voices within research and to facilitate the fusion of Indigenous ways of knowing and being with Western knowledge systems to bring greater benefits for all Canadians and Indigenous people.”
A commitment to building strong partnerships to embrace the ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples while raising awareness of genomics as a tool to address disparity and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is one of the Overall Deliverables in Genome BC’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan (page 45).
“Genome BC believes that we must weave together Western scientific approaches with traditional Indigenous knowledge and worldviews to realize the full potential of genomics and accelerate the social and economic benefits of our work,” said Suzanne Gill, Genome BC’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Candice will help our organization understand the needs of Indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities and increase access to, and reduce barriers for, Indigenous-led innovators, researchers, businesses and entrepreneurs to work with Genome BC. We’re extremely excited to welcome her to our team.”
Through her commitment to advancing the national Indigenous innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, Candice serves on numerous councils and committees including the Indigenous Advisory Council for the Oceans Supercluster, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council Advisory Committee, and Minerva BC.
In 2021, Candice was recognized as one of Canada’s most inspirational women entrepreneurs and business leaders by the Canadian SME Small Business Magazine for her economic development work in Indigenous communities. She is a Ch’nook scholar scholarship and a UBC Okanagan Alumni Builders Award recipient and was named to Kelowna’s 2022 BDO Top 40 Under 40.
