How Vancouver Community College’s Jessie Williams is advancing Indigenous inclusion in higher education – bcbusiness

June 26, 2026

This Diversity and Inclusion Champion at the 2026 Women of the Year Awards is moving Vancouver Community College away from extractive engagement and toward meaningful, reciprocal relationships.

At just six years old, Jessie Williams was given a simple but weighty instruction from her grandfather. “You’re going to get the white man’s education and you’re going to use it to help our people,” he told a young Williams—words she still carries with her.

Today, as dean of Indigenous initiatives at Vancouver Community College, Williams works at the intersection of systems that haven’t historically worked for Indigenous learners and communities. A member of the Squamish Nation and the first in her immediate family to pursue post-secondary education, she has built a career focused on turning Indigenous inclusion from an add-on into built-in policy.

Read More: https://bcbusiness.ca/business/indigenous/jessie-williams-women-of-the-year-2026/