Meet Our Board
If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far Go Together!
African Proverb
Nova
Founder - Nova was born in Kenya to parents of South Sudanese descent. At the age of 6, her parents sent her to Canada with her older cousin. During that time, Nova lost contact with her immediate family. It wasn’t until 10 years later that she and her family would reconnect, thanks to relatives informing her parents of her whereabouts. After 21 years of being apart, Nova finally reunited with her Family on April 17, 2021. While in Canada, she didn’t have much support or a place to live for that matter. At 13, Nova found herself bouncing from house to house between friends and relatives. At 15, she decided to reach out to the government of Alberta for assistance. It was then, she was accepted into a program run by ‘Aspen Family Services’ (now ‘Trellis Society’) called “transitioned into adulthood”. The program provided Nova with a home, life skills, and resources to help her prosper. She stayed with the program from 15-18 where she went to play basketball on a scholarship. A year later, she returned back to the program, but this time as the building manager. She was responsible for maintaining the building as well as making sure the youth there were safe, not breaking any rules, and had someone they could talk to at any given moment. It was at that moment Nova decided she would give back to the community by one day running a similar program to help youth have the support they need and their basic necessities met. This is the reason behind ‘Go SuperNova’. This is why we are here. “I know first hand what it’s like to have no family; because of programs like this, I also know what it’s like to have a family” - Nova
Kenan Williams
Director –
Kenan Williams is an analytical, results-oriented professional with a passion for streamlining procedures, communications, and problem solving through effective business strategy. He has 10+ years of experience in accounting and customer relations, working freelance and full-time for top national clients like Peter A. Allard School of Law and ENG2 Marketing. When not working, Kenan spends time in fulfilling and relaxing pursuits such as cooking, reading and playing basketball. He has gained ample life experience whilst traveling the world playing soccer for British Columbia and Canadian National camps. Having achieved his CSA National B Coaching License, he uses his knowledge on and off the field to assist with kids soccer programs.
Director -
Nikki Sanchez (she/her) is a Pipil and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker, and environmental educator. Nikki holds a master’s degree in Indigenous Governance and is presently completing a Ph.D. with a research focus on emerging visual media technology as it relates to Indigenous ontology. Nikki is a board member of the Sierra Club BC, BC Women’s Hospital, Photographers Without Borders, and a doctoral fellow at the Center for Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. She helped to design and direct the first-ever Indigenous Storyteller edition with Telus STORYHIVE; a project to provide funding and mentorship for 30 emerging Indigenous filmmakers in BC and Alberta. Nikki is the managing editor of Spirits of the Coast, the bestselling anthology of the Salish Sea Resident Orca published by Royal BC Museum publisher. Nikki had the honor of working for the David Suzuki Foundation as their, “Queen of Green (queenofgreen.ca) where her work centered on environmental journalism, social media, and digital media creation to provide sustainable solutions for a healthy planet, as well as content creation to bring more racial and gender inclusivity into the environmental movement.
As an Indigenous media maker, Nikki’s most recent project is the 8-part documentary VICELAND series “RISE” which focused on global Indigenous resurgence. RISE was debuted at Sundance in February 2017 and has received global critical acclaim, recently winning “best documentary” at the Canadian Screen Guild Awards. Nikki is a TEDx speaker, her presentation is entitled “Decolonization is for Everyone”. She has been a wilderness guide and environmental educator in the Nuu-chah-nulth territory of Clayoquot Sound for over 10 years, where she was mentored by Nuu-chah-nulth elders Tsahsiits and Qaamina Sam. She is the creator and director of “Decolonize Together” a collective of Indigenous women who offer decolonial and anti-racism workshops and curriculum creation.
Decolonize Together has been teaching and facilitating decolonization and anti-oppression training for universities, school boards, corporations, and NGOs for the past five years. Nikki also writes about Indigenous, environmental, and social justice issues, her writing has been published in Last Real Indians, Loose Lips Magazine, Intercontinental Cry, and The Hundreds.
Nikki Sanchez
