Jodi Gustafson

Jodi’s Yukon upbringing and later life experiences instilled a profound respect for and curiosity about the natural world, and the familial relationship of many Indigenous peoples with ancestral lands and waters. Jodi is of Swedish and Scottish descent on her Father's side and of mixed Irish, Scottish, English and Inuit ancestry from the Upper Lake Melville region of Labrador on her Mother’s side (her grandma Monnie Broomfield became a beneficiary of Nunatsiavut late in life and was raised disconnected). She is grateful that her work provides the opportunity to work towards her reconciliation responsibilities as a settler, and to honour her Indigenous ancestors too. Aotearoa/ New Zealand has been Jodi's second home since 2007. She has worked on projects with intergovernmental organisations such as the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs and the International Whaling Commission, as well as public advisory bodies like the Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee. She gratefully lives between Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, and Whakatōhea lands in Aotearoa, and Southern Tutchone lands in the Yukon where she was born and raised. Jodi continues her work with Indigenous and Crown governments to evolve governance and economic models. As a settler, her role in her work revolves around supporting community-led efforts to fulfil ancestral stewardship responsibilities. Jodi has a Masters in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge where she studied as a Gates Cambridge scholar.