Our Team

Stephanie Paul is the Program Manager with the Thunderbird Collective. Her mother’s family is Secwépemc (Shuswap), and her father’s family is Coast Salish, where she grew up on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

She brings over 15 years of experience in Aboriginal Title and Rights, with extensive work in referrals and consultation. She holds a business degree and is completing a Master of Science in Environmental Economics and Management, bringing together financial, policy, and operational expertise.

Stephanie’s role includes program administration, budget monitoring, and financial reporting, as well as supporting project management, Indigenous-led initiatives, community engagement, and capacity-building.

Savanah is a project coordinator with experience working with and for First Nations, Indigenous organizations, and environmental NGOs. She has led and supported multi-partner, government-funded projects focused on environmental stewardship, conservation, and climate change, bringing together diverse partners to support community-led projects.

As a settler of German and Welsh descent, Savanah approaches her work with a commitment to ethical, community-led processes that supports Indigenous sovereignty and rights. She holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Science and Ecology, and an M.A. in Geography with a specialization in Environmental Sustainability. Savanah currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg territory.

Stewart Burnett is the Communications Coordinator with the Thunderbird Collective. He comes from West Vancouver, B.C., but spent most of his career in Canada’s three northern territories.

In the North, he spent time as a journalist, published Tusaayaksat Magazine, and worked in communications for multiple Indigenous governments. He met his wife in Tuktoyaktuk, and they have a young son.

He currently resides in northern Alberta with his family and is proud to support such an important initiative.

Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson is Métis and grew up in Treaty 8 territory (northern Alberta, Canada). Her family was nîhithawîwin (Woodland Cree/ “N”) speaking. Her Métis relations are the Cardinal (Peeaysis Band) and Laboucane (Laboucane Settlement) families. She currently lives near Rocky Mountain House in Treaty 6 (central Alberta).

Christianson was formerly a Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada), and an Indigenous Fire Specialist in the National Fire Management Division of Parks Canada.

Christianson works with Indigenous Nations across Canada on fire stewardship practices like cultural burning and collaborates with Indigenous peoples from around the world on decolonising land management. She also studies wildfire evacuations, and advocates for Indigenous wildland firefighters.

She is the co-author of the books, First Nations Wildfire Evacuations: A guide for communities and external agencies, Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship, and Creating a Cultural Burn Pathway.

Christianson also co-hosts the Good Fire podcast, which looks at Indigenous fire use around the world.

She helped create the Thunderbird Collective and serves on the boards of the International Association of Wildland Fire and the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council, and the international research advisory panel with Natural Hazards Research Australia.

Linda Dwyer is a member of Algonquin of Kitigàn Zìbì Anishinàbeg, situated in southwestern Quebec. A forester with a bachelors in Natural Resource Management-Forestry and a Masters degree in Forest Conservation, over the past 19 years, Linda has gained experience developing and managing federal/provincial projects and contracts such as species at risk projects, commercial, and non-commercial silviculture activities, harvesting, commercial sugar bush operation, and more recently the establishment of a Guardian Program.

Linda also holds a certificate in Occupational Safety and Health and has experience in managing and ensuring compliance with Health and safety certification for non-commercial silviculture contracts.

Before joining ILI, Linda managed the Natural Resource and Wildlife office in her community of Kitigàn Zìbì Anishinàbeg.