A network tailored for Arctic youth

Learn about how our network is growing in the Arctic and around the world.

View our overview report

OUR VISION

The vision of the Arctic Youth Network is an inclusive world where aspiring leaders have equitable access to resources to advance change in their own way on Arctic issues.

OUR MISSION

The Arctic Youth Network provides a platform that connects young change-makers from different backgrounds and enables them to build their leadership capacity. The AYN amplifies youth voices to address Arctic issues through learning, collaboration, and action.

YOUTH HAVE ONE SHOT and we are taking action

Video courtesy of the Arctic Youth Summit

WHO’S STEERING THE SHIP?

Learn about our Board of Directors​

Brayden Sonny White
Brayden Sonny WhiteCo-Chair
Read about Brayden
She:kon. Brayden is of the Bear Clan of the Kaniehkeha:ka/Mohawk Nation and lives on the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. He has had the honor of serving several organizations. In the University field, he served as a Student Government President as well as Budget Director. In other fields, he has been a White House Tribal Nations Conference Presidential Panelist, where he sat on a panel with President of the United States, Barack Obama, and had a discussion on bridging the gap for Indigenous youth pursuing higher education as well as having a discussion around destigmatizing the talk around mental health. He has has sat on numerous boards and executive committees geared towards serving Indigenous youth and connecting them with opportunities.
Zoe Okleasik
Zoe Okleasik
Read about Zoe
Zoe Okleasik is Inupiaq from Nome, Alaska. She started her advocacy work in 2019 through Nome Native Youth Leadership Organization and has continued her advocacy work through various organizations in the Norton Sound Region. She won a Spirit of Youth Discovery Award. She now works at Kawerak Inc as a Community Wellness coordinator to help prevent and create awareness on suicide and substance abuse. She is also a student through University of Alaska Fairbanks, hoping to get her Associates in General Science.
Pavel Tkach
Pavel Tkach
Read about Pavel
Pavel Tkach is an experienced lawyer working in the Arctic Governance research group of the Arctic Centre University of Lapland. With a background in Arctic Law and Policy, as well as Russian law and EU law, his research interests cover various fields of law. His research mainly focuses on Climate law and governance, Commercial law, Intellectual Property law, Russian Arctic affairs, and how the features of the Arctic regions affect the development of mentioned fields of law. Russian Arctic affairs. Except for academic work, Pavel Tkach is coordinating the University of Lapland’s participation in the EU Horizon 2020 project – Arctic PASSION, in which he is personally responsible for communication with local and regional policymakers in the Arctic states as potential end-users of developing scientific services. Pavel studied Russian and Belarusian law at the Law College Belarusian State University (Minsk, Belarus), EU law at Comenius University in Bratislava (Bratislava, Slovakia) and Polar law at the University of Akureyri (Akureyri, Iceland).
Danielle Wendehorst
Danielle WendehorstSecretary
Read about Danielle
Danielle is a 24 year-old who grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. She is a
registered nurse and is passionate about northern healthcare. Danielle is involved in various community organizations with a major focus on empowering youth. She is passionate about supporting youth so they can pursue their passions and dreams and is excited to learn and work with other members.
Anna-Katri Kulmala
Anna-Katri Kulmala
Read about Anna-Katri
Anna-Katri a social entrepreneur and communications professional from Helsinki, Finland. She is the founder of Arctic Utopias, a non-profit filmmaking collective combining art, journalism, and science. Anna-Katri has studied the fields of political science/peace and conflict studies, journalism and business, and is passionate about consciousness, the Arctic region, and finding sustainable ways to coexist with the the natural world.
Nivi Rosing
Nivi Rosing
Read about Nivi
Nivi Rosing is a 20 year old Inuk from Nuuk, Greenland. She is currently studying Inuit Studies in Ottawa Canada which she will finish in May of 2023. She is passionate about cross-border knowledge sharing in the Pan-Arctic and she has now spent 3 years in Canada exploring the similarities between colonialism in Canada and Greenland. Nivi advocates for implementing Indigenous knowledge within climate action and wildlife management. Alongside these roles, Nivi is a fellow of the Arctic Resilient Communities Fellowship.
Harmony Wayner
Harmony Wayner
Read about Harmony
Harmony is a tribal member of Naknek Native Village, a commercial fisher in the Bristol Baysalmon fleet, and a marine scientist focused on sustainable rural food systems to promote indigenous values and well-being in Alaskan villages. She worked at sea with NOAA on their Arctic Integrated Ecosystem Survey in 2017 and was an indigenous co-author to the AMAP report under publication on societal implications of climate change. Harmony currently lives in Ísafjörður, Iceland, and is a graduate student in the Coastal and Marine Management program at the University Centre of the Westfjords. Upon graduation in Spring 2022, she plans to move back to Alaska and serve her home region at he intersection of Indigenous and western fisheries sciences. In her free time, she enjoys preparing traditional foods like smoked fish with her family and finds bliss in the berry-covered mountainsides of Iceland or Alaska.
Nolan Qamanirq
Nolan Qamanirq
Read about Nolan
Nolan Qamanirq is a dynamic and ambitious recent graduate from Nunavut Sivuniksavut, with a certificate in Inuit Studies. With skills gained from past work experiences as a consultant, Nolan is poised to take on new challenges and make an impact in their new role. Recently, Nolan accepted a position at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC), Nunavut’s first 100% Inuit-owned renewable energy developer. With a professional passion for sustainability and community development, Nolan is also a member of the Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat Youth Advisory Council. Nolan’s expertise in risk assessment, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement are skills that will undoubtedly benefit their work across the Arctic. Some hobbies include yoga, beading, learning Inuktut, and playing the didgeridoo.
Pernille Fischer Boulter
Pernille Fischer Boulter
Read about Pernille
Pernille is the founder of Kisserup International Trade Roots Canada Inc., Kisserup Europe and Kisserup Arctic. She provides advisory services, project management, trade training and consulting services to International Financial Institutions, public and private sector organizations worldwide. She has worked on projects in over 90 countries, on 6 continents and in 25 sectors. She is frequently retained as a keynote speaker on international trade, investment and entrepreneurship by both private and public sector and she is an internationally recognised Subject Matter Expert on SME development and UN SDGs. Pernille is a Certified International Trade Professional, by the Forum for International Trade Training in Ottawa, Canada, holds a Certificate in Leadership and Innovation from INSEAD, France, she is a Certified facilitator in the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method, holds a Certificate in Project Management from Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada and Master of Business from the Copenhagen School of Business.