Danielle is French-Canadian with Haudenosaunee ancestry from Iroquois Falls in Northern Ontario. She moved to Ottawa for her post-secondary education in 2014 and has since been on a continuous journey working alongside the Indigenous community of Ottawa to reclaim knowledge of her roots and make a difference within the community.
Elected vice president of the Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne (FESFO) at 16 years old, Danielle’s passion for community work continues. In her FEFSO position she was able to organize gatherings for hundreds of youth where they could get involved, consult, engage, make a difference and become the strong leaders they are meant to be. She then went on to graduate with honours from Collège La Cité from the Recreation and Leisure services program where she specialized in event and project management.
Danielle started her journey with the Indigenous community of Ottawa through her former position as the Cultural Event and External Event Lead at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health. In these positions she organized cultural programs and events such as special award ceremonies for Indigenous JUNO Award nominees, Indigenous youth mental health symposiums, Indigenous women’s leadership conferences, awareness events for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and much more. She was also a teacher for the Indigenous cook pre-apprenticeship program at Algonquin College, where she taught Indigenous students how to bring their culture into the contemporary workforce as well as a personal development and leadership class for the Indigenous students of the program.
Danielle thrives on building healthy relationships between individuals, organizations, businesses and communities using her knowledge and experience that she has accumulated through various community development work in both the Indigenous and French-Canadian community. Her experiences have made her a highly skilled facilitator and project manager. Danielle is passionate about breaking down barriers, triggering personal and organizational awakenings, being the bridge between Indigenous people and all Canadians and creating strong community allies.
She continues her work for the Indigenous community through her involvement with First Peoples Group and is currently the president of the Indigenous education committee at collège La Cité.