Nanwakolas Council has selected Wally Eamer as its nominee on Coast Funds’ board of  directors.

Eamer has served as a Coast Funds director since 2013 and will continue his current term, shifting into the role of Na̲nwak̲olas nominee effective December 5, 2018.

“Wally contributes a wealth of wisdom and experience to the board and we are delighted for the opportunity to continue working alongside him in his new role,” says Huux̱ (Percy Crosby), former chair of the board of directors. “The board would like to thank Na̲nwak̲olas Council for its nomination, and Wally for his many contributions to Coast Funds and the stewardship and economic development efforts of First Nations.”

Dallas Smith, President of Na̲nwak̲olas Council says Eamer is the ideal candidate to represent the council. “Wally understands all the complications that come into a regional group like Na̲nwak̲olas,” Smith says. “He understands the autonomy of each of our Nations, he understands the governance system we’re trying to build, he understands the economic opportunities available. He probably knows more about our protected areas than probably most of our own people.”

Wally contributes a wealth of wisdom and experience to the board and we are delighted for the opportunity to continue working alongside him in his new role.

Smith first met Eamer at the negotiation table for the Great Bear Rainforest land use agreements. After 15 years working for the provincial government, including in the Ministry of Environment and BC Parks, Eamer had been appointed as the provincial negotiator. The agreements he helped to negotiate allowed First Nations to have greater control over management of their territories and resources and set aside 85 per cent of the region as off-limits to industrial-scale logging.

In a Harvard Business School Magazine article, Smith says he had “never met a government person as genuine as [Eamer] was…Not to pump his tires, but he was the turning point in the process. He made it make sense.”

In 2006, after the initial Great Bear Rainforest agreements were signed, Na̲nwak̲olas hired Eamer to help implement ecosystem-based management throughout the territories of its member First Nations.

Smith says Eamer helped Na̲nwak̲olas Council turn opportunity into action. “He helped us develop our conservation co-management plans, he helped us build some of our ground-breaking pilot project stuff around referrals management that we’re doing…he took a couple of our staff and mentored them,” recalls Smith.

Coast Funds board of directors is comprised of nine directors, each appointed by Coast Funds’ members. Per Coast Funds’ founding documents, four directors are nominated by Council of the Haida Nation, Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative Society, Na̲nwak̲olas Council Society, and North Coast Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society. Learn more about Coast Funds’ structure here.

Eamer will replace Merv Child as Na̲nwak̲olas’ appointee. Child, who has served on the board of directors since Coast Funds inception, will be retiring from the board after serving three full terms, the maximum allowed under Coast Funds’ governing documents.

Learn more about Coast Funds’ board of directors, members, and staff here.