Sharleen Gale has been an elected Councillor of the Fort Nelson First Nation since 2009. She is an active member of the Fort Nelson First Nation and envisions a future where all members are working together to become a strong, proud, healthy, and self-reliant Nation. She is the granddaughter of Fred Burke and Madeline Needlay. Her roots run deep in the lives of her people and she enjoys being on the land with her family exploring the territory and teaching her son the traditional ways on the lands and how to hunt, fish, and gather medicines and berries. As a leader and Chief of the Nation, she understands the importance of upholding the spirit and intent of the treaty by asserting her people’s rights to their land and taking responsibility for ensuring that our future generations are able to live their lives in their territory in a way that honours our ancestors. Sharleen started her career at Westcoast Energy Inc. in 2000. Her various roles working in Administration, Finance, Maintenance, Planning and in Leadership have given her extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, the corporate world and the vision to ensure our people are managing our lands and our resources in our territory to the benefit of our members. Sharleen is the chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) and believes that First Nations need to have the opportunity to have equity in major project infrastructure and access to meaningful financing for these projects happening in their territories, one that focuses on a balanced approach of economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. Several First Nations have formed the First Nations Major Projects Coalition for the purposes of examining how ownership of major resource projects on their lands could be facilitated and how environmental practices can be improved to meet their needs.