Staff Profiles
Michele Guerin
Director of Research
Michele is a dynamic professional with over 20 years experience working with BC First Nation leaders and communities. She has an in-depth understanding of Aboriginal culture including grassroots and traditional governance issues and is a proud member of the Musqueam First Nation.
In the late 90s, Michele committed 2.5 years to the Tripartite Public Education Committee (the First Nations Summit, Federal Treaty Negotiation Office and BC Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs). Her role was to educate municipal governments, regional districts, service clubs, union groups and other audiences throughout BC on aboriginal title/ rights issues and the modern treaty process.
Michele subsequently returned to school at UBC and completed 3 years of a BA program with a political science Major before gaining early acceptance to law school. While earning her LLB degree she participated (full-time for one term) in the First Nations Legal Clinic located in the downtown east-side, which serves all Lower Mainland jurisdictions and she represented aboriginal clients charged with summary offences and small claims matters.
Michele was called to the Bar in June 2007 and accepted an Associate position with Ratcliff and Co. where she had interned and articled since 2003. She practiced in the area of aboriginal law and worked as a part of a Litigation Team on various title cases and with the legal team for Maa-nulth First Nations during the final stage of their treaty negotiations.
Michele joined the National Centre for First Nations Governance in 2008. The Governance Centre advises and supports First Nations across Canada in their efforts to implement self government. She holds the position of Director of Research where she is responsible to commission legal, academic and community based research on key topics related to Nation re-building to assist First Nations to realize self-government.
Michele’s career also included owning and skippering a gillnet fishing boat on the Fraser River. She is profiled in a book “Saltwater Women at Work and in a permanent exhibit at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Michele currently holds volunteer positions on the Board of Ecojustice Legal Defence Fund, and the Tsawwassen First Nation Standing Committee on Culture and Language.
