Indigenous Graduate Students' Association
Meet the 2024-25 Executive Team
Dedicated to supporting the academic and non-academic needs of Indigenous graduate students at the U of A.
VICE-PRESIDENT, INTERNAL/EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
Alexis Blanchette-Arnold (she/they)
Master’s Student, Agriculture, Food, and Nutritional Science
Alexis is Haida, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta on Treaty 6 territory. Her familial connection is Haida from Skidegate on paternal side and French Canadian and British settler on maternal side. She is in the first year of their master’s program looking at pesticide resistance in a couple beetle pest species in Canola and Peas accross the Canadian Prairies. Their aim in joining IGSA is supporting their peers especially providing perspective as an Indigenous student in STEM as she feels they need more representation
VICE-PRESIDENT, FINANCE
Alexis Blanchette-Arnold (she/they)
Master’s Student, Agriculture, Food, and Nutritional Science
Alexis is Haida, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta on Treaty 6 territory. Her familial connection is Haida from Skidegate on paternal side and French Canadian and British settler on maternal side. She is in the first year of their master’s program looking at pesticide resistance in a couple beetle pest species in Canola and Peas accross the Canadian Prairies. Their aim in joining IGSA is supporting their peers especially providing perspective as an Indigenous student in STEM as she feels they need more representation
VICE-PRESIDENT, ADMINISTRATION
Open position
Could this be you?
DIRECTORS AT LARGE
Dawn Wambold (she/her)
PhD Student, Anthropology
Born and raised between the Bow and Clearwater Rivers, and within sight of the Rocky Mountains, Dawn continues to live in the same lands that her Métis and Cree family were connected to. As a scholar at the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, she aims to tell the stories of her ancestors’ connections to Southern Alberta using archaeology. She is married to Robert and together they have a daughter named Cassidy who is an undergraduate student in the anthropology department.
David Richards
Bio coming soon
CO-PRESIDENTS
This could be you!
The IGSA does not currently have a president, but we really need one! Nominate yourself in the upcoming Fall 2025 elections!
VICE-PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS
Meredith Leary (she/her)
Master’s Student, Media and Technology Studies
Meredith is of settler-Metis descent and was raised in the area around Calahoo, AB. She is a second year student in the Master of Arts in Communications and Technology (MACT) program. Meredith is interested in AI ethics, Intellectual Property, and the impacts of misinformation on social media, particularly in how this shapes public perception on history. She is a mother to two children and places great value on finding balance between professional, academic, and personal lives.