TORONTO
Gakino'amaage: Teach For Canada Appoints Deanna Matthews as New President

Gakino'amaage: Teach For Canada is proud to announce the appointment of Deanna Matthews as President, marking a significant moment in the organization's growth and leadership.

An Anishininewak mixed-settler leader and member of Sachigo Lake First Nation, Deanna brings over a decade of experience in education, federal Indigenous policy, and non-profit leadership. Since joining Gakino'amaage in 2017 as a Student Ambassador, she has held key roles across the organization from Manager to Senior Director within the Impact and Learning team before becoming Vice President of Policy and Research, and now President.

Her appointment marks a powerful milestone as Gakino'amaage celebrates its 10th year of advancing education equity in partnership with northern and remote First Nations. Deanna's leadership is rooted in community, shaped by lived experience, and guided by a vision for Indigenous control of Indigenous education.

"The late Honourable Murray Sinclair said, Education got us into this mess, and it is education that will get us out.' I hold that truth close," reflects Deanna. "It is a profound responsibility and honour to help lead this work. I commit to fiercely centring First Nations voices in all that we do to push for better education so that First Nations students may one day become anything they hope to be."

With Deanna's appointment, Gakino'amaage enters a new chapter of leadership, reaffirming its commitment to working in respectful partnership with First Nations to recruit, prepare, and support certified teachers who champion student success in the North.