About

Jeska Slater (she/her) is a Nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) whose Mother is from Fisher River Cree Nation (Treaty 5, Manitoba). Jeska's Father is a first-generation English and Scottish settler. She lives on unceded Kwantlen and Katzie territory.

With over 12 years of experience serving urban and land-based Indigenous communities, Jeska previously co-led Skookum Lab, one of Turtle Island’s first Indigenous-led social innovation labs. Skookum Lab applied systems thinking to address Indigenous child and youth poverty in Surrey.

Now, as Director of Culture and Community at Vancouver Foundation, she is helping to develop the Indigenous Priorities strategy and the Thriving Indigenous Systems Fund (TISF), which has granted over $16 million to First Nations, including Hereditary groups in BC, focusing on land, healing, rights, culture, and governance revitalization.

Jeska integrates arts-based engagement, reciprocity, and Indigenous leadership into her work, fostering healthy organizational cultures. She is pursuing an MBA in Indigenous Business Leadership at SFU’s Beedie School of Business and has a background in leadership and project management. A beadwork and portrait artist, she is also a mother to Johann Waseskwan, a Cree & Syilx creative spirit. Her work uplifts Indigenous ways of knowing for future generations.