Dawn Madahbee Leach

DAWN MADAHBEE LEACH BIOGRAPHY Dawn Madahbee Leach is a proud member of the Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation in Ontario where she served as a member of her community’s elected Council. Through her leadership, the Waubetek Business Development Corporation, an Indigenous Financial Institution, has proudly invested more than $150 million in nearly 4,000 Indigenous businesses. Ms. Madahbee Leach also studied at York University and Laurentian University where she earned a degree in Political Science with a minor in Law. Dawn serves as Chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board. She also serves on the Boards of the Peace Hills Trust Company, NioBay Metals Inc., TC Energy, the Des Nedhe Group and the Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Mineral Development. She participates on the Indigenous Working Groups on Indigenous Procurement, the Indigenous Innovative Housing Initiative, and with Global Affairs, providing input into Canada’s free trade agreements. She championed an initiative on Indigenous economic inclusion led by the OECD. She worked alongside National Indigenous Organizations on the 2022 National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada, the first strategy of its kind penned exclusively by Indigenous People. Dawn’s work has been acknowledged by the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business who honoured her with the 2023 Business Business Lifetime Achievement Award. She also received the 2020 INDSPIRE Award in the Business and Commerce Category and was celebrated as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network in 2018. She received the Meritorious Medal from the Governor General in 2018. She has been a speaker at international forums in Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Sweden, Taiwan, Paris, Germany, the US and the UN.