Gillian Corless

Gillian Corless is Senior Advisor, Research and Ethics at the First Nations Health Authority. Since 2017, she has been leading the development of an Indigenous research ethics review process to reflect the needs and priorities of First Nations communities in BC in health and wellness research and knowledge development. In this role she has developed key partnerships with universities and academic service organizations, funding agencies and Indigenous communities. She holds an MA from McGill University in community-based policy and planning, and has held key roles in Indigenous governance and community engagement in decision-making for 20+ years. Gillian was the Director of Policy for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth in the land claim territory of Nunavut. In this role, she travelled across the Arctic extensively, engaging with Inuit families, Elders and youth, with the goal of ensuring community perspective and priorities were reflected in government decision-making tables. In her role with the UBC Human Early Learning Partnership, Gillian led the implementation and ethics for Aboriginal data governance for two large-scale BC child and youth population health research studies. Through executive support and leadership, Gillian played a critical role in the governance by the provincial Aboriginal Steering Committee, a committee comprised of Indigenous experts from the community to oversee significant data sharing agreement development and knowledge exchange. In her role for nine years at UBC, Gillian developed her interest and knowledge of Indigenous governance in data management and knowledge exchange, while deepening her understanding of Indigenous approaches to research ethics, including OCAP®, Indigenous-led research ethics models, and Indigenous community self-determination. Gillian will be applying this knowledge in her upcoming secondment role with Research Ethics BC through the BC Academic Health Science Network in Vancouver, a partnership that she has been instrumental in creating at FNHA. Originally from Ontario, Gillian now lives on Bowen Island, in Squamish Nation territory, BC, and commutes to work by ferry.