Jess Úst̓i

Jess Úst̓i is a citizen of the Heiltsuk Nation residing in Bella Bella, BC. She leads communications and fundraising for Qqs Projects Society, a community-driven charitable non-profit focused on the Great Bear Rainforest. Ms. Úst̓i is in her second term as an elected member of Heiltsuk Tribal Council and has served as the chairwoman of the Lands Portfolio and a member of the Culture and Heritage Portfolio. Her work with the Council included a board appointment to Coastal First Nations and several terms as President of the Great Bear Carbon Credits Corporation. She is an advisor to Small Change Fund and co-instructor of a university field course focused on the intersections of Western science and Indigenous Knowledge. Ms. Úst̓i is also a poet, writer, social and environmental justice organizer, and founding director of the Thistalalh Memorial Library. She was a 2010 finalist for the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award and the inaugural recipient of the 2013 UVic Provost’s Advocacy and Activism Award.