Jessica Thiessen
Jessica Thiessen lives in Whitehorse, Yukon and works as the Coordinator of the Arctic Youth Network. She also acts as the Youth Representative on the Yukon Environmental Network's Board of Governors and as the ex officio for the Yukon College Student Union. Jessica has an extensive history of student representation, student governance and community involvement. She has diverse work experience in education, mentorship, recreational leadership and logistical support positions with less-abled, at-risk, terminally ill, rural, and professional youth.
Jessica is devoted to lifelong learning and after finishing an honors diploma in Northern Environmental Studies was heard to exclaim "what's next?" Following a four month student exchange in Akureyri, Iceland with the University of the Arctic's north2north program, Jessica pledged to combine Environmental Innovation and Sustainability in her further studies. An enthusiastic optimist, Jessica is committed to engaging young people in their communities and pushing them to see their potential. She feels that the Arctic Youth Network is a necessary and timely avenue to engage a new generation of conscious citizens. Jessica's great passions are linking environmental and social studies, connecting science and poetry, and climbing the beautiful expanses of rock that hide themselves in the corners of the Yukon.
Amber Church
Amber Church is a resident of Whitehorse, Yukon. She did her undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria in a double honours program in Earth and Ocean Science and Environmental Science. This has lead her to have strong interests in climate change on which she will focus her masters research which will be based jointly at Simon Fraser University and the Yukon Geological Survey. She has strong interests in polar research and strives to encourage other northern youth to get involved in this area. Through her work in this area she has been named co-chair of the International Polar Year (IPY), 2007-2009, Youth Steering Committee whose main goals are to ensure the participation of the next generation of polar researchers in IPY. She is currently employed as a field assistant in Quaternary geology at the Yukon Geological Survey. She is an avid rock climber, mountain biker and backpacker and loves photography, art and dance. Her other passion is travel and she has recently returned from a trip in Iceland and is next planning to visit South America.
Ekaterina Evseyeva
Born January 31, 1981 in Yakutsk, Ekaterina Evseyeva graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree (Hons.) in English Philology and Literature and now works as a teaching assistant at Sakha State University.
In May 2004 Katya was elected as a student representative to the UArctic's Board of Governors. Having taken a few online UArctic courses and been on an exchange program, Katya felt strongly about the idea of the university and decided that her future would have something to do with Circumpolar issues. "That's why I felt drawn to the idea of the AYN, and decided to jump on the team when I was kindly asked to. Future is youth, let it be sustainable..."
Katya also works as a consultant for NGOs at "Eyge" Environmental Education Center. There she works with many kinds of NGOs, including youth initiatives. Katya feels that her work in this capacity gives her excellent access to address youth organizations in Eastern Russia and let them know about the AYN. "Plus it's Russian Federation's term in the Arctic Council now and active participation from the Russian youth is a needed resource."
Vita Hoyles
Vita Hoyles was born and raised in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental and Conservation Sciences from the University of Alberta. She will soon be starting a Masters Degree program in Geographic Information Science at the University of Calgary.
Vita has previously worked for the Aurora Research Institute in Fort Smith and has recently returned from Alta, Norway where she worked as an intern, for six months, through the Circumpolar Young Leaders Program (CYLP). During her internship in Norway, she worked for the University of the Arctic and the north2north Student Mobility Exchange Program.
Since returning to Canada, Vita feels she has gained tremendous experience that has significantly amplified her interest in northern issues at the international level. Vita is involved in various community projects, one being the Fort Smith Recycling and Waste Management Educational Program that she recently initiated and has just been approved funding to start.
Vita has a passion for the outdoors and the environment and plans to continue to build awareness about issues that affect future generations in the north. "I am excited by this chance to work with the Arctic Youth Network and I am looking forward to making a difference and promoting the participation of youth in the Arctic Council."
Katy Dillon
Katy Dillon is from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She has a Bachelor of Science from UBC focusing on animal physiology and entomology and is taking part-time courses towards a Masters in Northern Studies from University of Alaska Fairbanks. Katy just returned from Rovaniemi, Finland, where she was interning with the University of the Arctic's International Secretariat. In the past she has worked for the Government of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife as a policy researcher and a communications officer. Katy is happiest when singing, makes a mean coconut curry, and is throughoughly obsessed with taking photographs.
Matt Fredlund
"I am from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Growing up in the arctic I have been able to first had witness the changes that have occurred within and around my home community. Some of these impacts can be seen as positive impacts on the way of life in the north. Such positives are introduction to technology and a potential for great advances in the education system. On the other hand though there have also been negative impacts. Impacts on the environment and cultural stability. I know that to get the good things there are risks that have to be taken, my goal is to do what i can to limit the negative impacts while embracing the positive. I believe that through education (of myself and others) there will be ways to cooperatively find solutions to the present and future issues."
Damien Lee
Damien Lee lives in Jokkmokk, in Arctic Sweden, but is originally from the Fort William First Nation community adjacent to Thunder Bay, Ontario. He now works for the Taiga Rescue Network (TRN), an international network promoting sustainable use of the world's boreal forests and indigenous peoples' rights. Damien graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2001 with an Ecosystem Management Technician diploma. Since then, he has been travelling and working on issues related to ecosystem protection and indigenous peoples community involvement.
Damien has worked with people and organizations around the world on environmental issues. Recent endeavours include participating in an ethno-ecological traditional knowledge exchange camp in Kamchatka, Russian Far East; disseminating information about boreal forest issues through TRN; and becoming officially involved in the ACYN as a Steering Committee member. His main goal on the Steering Committee is to raise the Network's profile within northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia, thus promoting wider geographical and cultural representation within ACYN and its future initiatives.