M’Chigeeng’s Melanie Debassige first Anishinaabekwe appointed to OCWA board – Manitoulin Expositor

February 5, 2014

TORONTO—Melanie Debassige, general manager of the Serpent River First Nation Economic Development Corporation, was appointed to the board of the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), making her the first aboriginal woman to sit on the board of the Ontario crown agency.

“I guess I never really thought about it in those terms,” said Ms. Debassige, who credits her MBA from Cape Breton University and her Institute of Corporate Directors certification. She said that her identity as an Anishinaabekwe is important to her, but that she was never singled out as such in her academic or business career. “I was just in there with everybody else,” she laughed.

Ms. Debassige is no stranger to the spotlight, however. She was featured in Canadian Business Magazine in 2010 and has over 15 years of experience in aboriginal economic development under her belt.

Read more: http://www.manitoulin.ca/m%E2%80%99chigeeng%E2%80%99s-melanie-debassige-first-anishinaabekwe-appointed-ocwa-board/