Mercedes Jacko, kwe/she/they

Boonse Kwe nindizhinikaaz, Mooze Dodem, Whitefish River First Nation nindonjibaa. Anishinaabe kwe endow. Mercedes Jacko (kwe/she/they) belongs to the Moose Clan and is First Nation Ojibwe. Her family is from Whitefish River First Nation and she has an urban-Indigenous experience from growing up in Toronto, Ontario.

Mercedes Jacko (kwe/she/they) has been in the role Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator at Lakehead University in Orillia since 2021 and has worked in post-secondary education for ten years. Previous to Lakehead University, she supported Indigenous learners at Georgian College as the Indigenous Student Advisor in Indigenous Services, Indigenous Advisor in the Youth Employment Pathways program, as an Instructor for Indigenous Peoples of Canada, and supported students with diverse learning challenges as a Learning Facilitator in the Community Integration through Co-operative Education program. In addition, she has worked as a Transition Outreach Worker at Biminaawzogin Regional Aboriginal Women’s Circle and was on the Board of Directors for Orillia Native Women’s Group. Mercedes has a Bachelor of Arts Psychology Degree and a Certificate in Women Studies at Laurentian University. Always learning, she is now spending her time strengthening her connection to community and Indigenous ways of knowing while she plans her next steps in post-secondary.