About FOXY

Who We Are

FOXY (Fostering Open eXpression among Youth) is a totally new way of talking with young women about sexual health, sexuality, and relationships. By putting the decision making back in their hands, no one is being told what to do, or what is right or wrong – everyone is being given the tools they need to make the best decisions for themselves.

FOXY uses traditional beading, theatre, digital storytelling, photography, and music to help teenage girls express their knowledge, opinions, and questions about health and love (and everything in between). With a strong focus on sexual health and empowered decision-making, girls across the North get to know themselves a little bit better and learn through the arts.

Since January 2012, FOXY has reached over 4500 youth in more than 35 NWT, Nunavut, and Yukon communities through over 400 workshops and 11 Peer Leader Retreats that have brought together over 275 Northern and Indigenous young FOXY Peer Leaders.

FOXY’s mission is to use the arts to enhance the education, health, and well-being of Northern and Indigenous youth. FOXY’s vision for the coming five years is to be the ‘go to’ organization for sexual health education for all youth of all genders, sexualities, and cultures in northern rural and remote communities, and for all northern education and health agencies, and highly respected for its wholistic approaches, evidence-based practices, and reciprocal and experiential ways of learning across the generations. FOXY intends to accomplish its’ vision through four goals:
1. Integrated, wholistic sexual and mental health programming.
2. Expanded and accessible programming inclusive of gender, sexuality, culture, and rural/remote location.
3. High quality, comprehensive research plan as evidence for programming, long-term/core funding, and organizational sustainability.
4. Rooted and functional organizational systems.

For more information, check out our Community Reach and the Frequently Asked Questions.

How is FOXY Research?

 FOXY is a participatory action research project, which means youth are involved with all aspects of the project, from its development to its implementation and the evaluation. The research component of FOXY involves looking at the effectiveness of FOXY for empowering NWT youth and facilitating dialogue about sexual health issues in the North. Please contact the Executive Director, Candice Lys, for more information about the research component of FOXY, and check out our published research!

Our Team

Candice Lys, Executive Director

Candice Lys grew up in Fort Smith in a very large Métis family, and has lived all over the world, including a brief stint on a ship in the Pacific Ocean. Candice has a Masters degree in Health Promotion and holds a PhD in Public Health. She is an Ashoka Canada Fellow, a mom to Luca and dog mom to Maple, and an avid almost-gardener.

Amanda Kanbari, Education & Special Projects Coordinator

Amanda was born in British Columbia and moved to Yellowknife after completing a B.A. with Distinction in Criminal Justice. She is an advocate for self-propelled travel and prefers to get around by canoe or bicycle. Amanda once cycled the Pacific Coast from Vancouver, B.C. to Tijuana, Mexico! She has created several youth-focused programs that encourage young people to address inequality and to pursue healthy relationships with the land, with others, and with themselves.

Lindsay Debassige, Program Coordinator

Lindsay is Ojibway descent and was born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT. She has a love for all things art and dabbles in multiple mediums. She enjoys giving back to her community, whether that’s volunteering or working with the NWT Creative Collective to provide arts opportunities for youth. Lindsay is a fur mom to two silly cats; Saruman and Mew. She is currently working towards her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in pursuit of becoming a Registered Psychologist. She has a passion and strong beliefs in providing support for progressive policies that bring equality for all peoples. In her spare time, Lindsay enjoys being out on the land, spending time with her family and creating art.

Athena Sharp, Program Facilitator

Athena Sharp was raised in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut but has also lived in Ontario and currently lives in Fort Smith, NWT. Soon after Athena attended the FOXY Peer Leader Retreat she was snatched up to be a part of the wonderful FOXY team. She has been to most of the workshops in Nunavut and is excited to be teaching old pals everything you need to know about sexual health. In her spare time Athena likes to watch Netflix, play sports, and try to figure out which selfie to post on Instagram.

Pyper Rehm, Peer Facilitator

Pyper Rehm was born in Saskatchewan but was raised and lives in Fort Smith, NWT. She joined the FOXY team after successfully completing the first FOXY Peer Leader Retreat and then another Retreat a couple years later. She now travels around the North helping with FOXY workshops while being super-duper fabulous. In her spare time, she loves eating cookies, fangirling and reading.