I will carry the experience of the Fellowship with me. I consider it to be one of the most important experiences of my life. It marked a period in my life of fundamental transformation.”
Building a strong North, benefiting all northerners. The Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship is a policy and leadership development program recognizing leadership potential among young northern Canadians eager to address policy challenges facing the North.
The Fellowship is intended for young Northerners 25 to 35 years of age, who want to build a strong North that benefits all northerners. Through the Fellowship, we hope to foster a bond among Fellows that will endure throughout their professional lives, supporting a pan-northern network of leaders.
The two year program is built around four regional gatherings, offering Fellows skills training, mentorship and networking opportunities. Through self-directed learning, group work and the collective sharing of knowledge, Fellows foster a deep understanding of contemporary northern issues, developing the skills and confidence to better articulate and share their ideas and policy research publicly.
Following an evaluation of the program in 2022, it is currently paused while we explore different options. Therefore we currently are not accepting applications.
What Fellowship Means
Jane Glassco Northern Fellows demonstrate strong leadership potential and share an attachment to their home communities in the North. They possess an interest in public policy and activism as an effective means to positive change on issues facing the North, and have a history of community engagement and volunteerism.
Modules led by elders and on-the-land activities.
Access to an extensive network of experts, academics and Fellowship alumni.
Leading-edge content presented by top experts in the field.
Mentor-pairing to ensure Fellows are guided in their projects and provided with unique perspectives on issues
A pan-northern experience through travel to gatherings taking place across the North.
The Fellows
Jane Glassco Northern Fellows are as diverse as the North itself and proudly represent their home communities through their work, their research, and their travel in Canada and beyond.
Meet them allWhy Now?
The North is a critical part of Canada, tied to our identity and sovereignty. The region has a growing population and is home to the youngest demographic in Canada. Northerners are facing new social, economic, and political challenges, different from those faced by their ancestors. With Indigenous governments gaining more autonomy, the federal government moving to settle land claims agreements, and industry moving to the North, it could not be clearer: opportunities for leadership in the North are growing, and young northerners are the natural inheritors of these responsibilities.
The next generation of northern leaders is emerging to tackle these issues, demonstrating extraordinary creativity, critical thinking and a strong desire for change. Northerners are taking on significant responsibilities at a much younger age and they require access to skill- and knowledge-building opportunities related to policy and governance that are not readily available in the North. The Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship aims to fill this gap.
Download the Brochure
“I will carry the experience of the Fellowship with me. I consider it to be one of the most important experiences of my life. It marked a period in my life of fundamental transformation.”
Learn more about the Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship.
FOLLOW THE Jane Glassco Fellows @GlasscoFellowsJane Glassco's Legacy
Jane Glassco
Jane Glassco's Legacy
Jane Glassco
Jane Glassco's Legacy
Everyone who came to know Jane Glassco was touched by her colourful character, compassion, unabashed honesty, and her reverence for art, life and the natural world and the need to protect it. She fell in love with the North immediately upon her first visit there in 1980. Through The Gordon Foundation, Jane worked tirelessly to bring awareness to Indigenous communities, as well as ideas and projects from the North to the attention of the philanthropic community across Canada. Her keen mind and passion gave her voice resonance on issues such as improving education and strengthening sovereignty over Canada’s water and northern borders to better protect both natural resources and Indigenous rights.
Following her passing, The Gordon Foundation honoured Jane by launching the Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship, to help link young northerners with support to build their own futures and amplify their voice on public policy issues.
What our Fellows are Writing
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Accounting for our Plant Citizens: Proposed Collaborative Approaches for Supporting Wild Plant Harvest in Whitehorse, Yukon
Author(s): Kelly Panchynshyn
Publisher(s): The Gordon Foundation
April 7, 2020
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Deregulate and Empower Language Teachers
Author(s): Killulark Arngna’naaq
Publisher(s): The Gordon Foundation
April 8, 2020
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Negotiating the Dehcho: Protecting Dene Ahthít’e Through Modern Treaty-Making
Author(s): Don Couturier
Publisher(s): The Gordon Foundation
April 8, 2020