FOXY was incorporated as a non-profit organization in October 2014 and is led by a stellar Board of Directors. Prior to this, FOXY was a project of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research since its inception in 2012. In 2014, FOXY were the first laureates to earn the entire $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize, which fueled the development of our parallel program for young men, called SMASH (Strength, Masculinities, and Sexual Health) and the expansion of FOXY to the Yukon and Nunavut.
Our Board Members
Reneltta arluk
Board member
Reneltta is of Inuvialuit, Cree, and Dene descent from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. In 2005, she became the first Indigenous person to graduate from the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program. Reneltta is founder of Akpik Theatre, the only professional Indigenous Theatre company in the NWT, and for over a decade has been a part of or initiated the creation of Indigenous Theatre across Canada and overseas. Reneltta is committed to the development of Northern-based Indigenous inspired stories and supporting the voice of our youth through the Arts. In 2017, Reneltta became the first Indigenous person to direct at The Stratford Festival. She has recently been hired as the Indigenous Arts Director at the BANFF Centre for Arts and Creativity. She is also a mother to son, Carver.
Carmen Logie
She/her
Board member
Dr. Carmen Logie is the Canada Research Chair in Global Health Equity and Social Justice with Marginalized Populations, a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Adjunct Professor at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, & Health, Research Scientist at Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity, and Adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital. Her research program advances understanding of, and develops interventions to address, intersecting stigma associated with HIV and socially marginalized categories, including race, gender and gender identity, sex work, sexual orientation, and resource scarcity (including food, housing, and water insecurity), among others. She is particularly interested in addressing intersectional stigma and its sexual health impacts, with a focus on HIV and STI testing, prevention practices, and care outcomes. She has been honoured to collaborate with Dr. Candice Lys and the FOXY and SMASH team for the past decade. She is excited to be on FOXY’s board because she is committed to promoting young people’s sexual health and arts-based change. She feels FOXY when she is riding her 2014 Motoguzzi V7 special motorcycle.
Candice Lys
She/her
Executive Director
Candice was raised in a large Métis family in Fort Smith, NWT and now resides in Yellowknife. Candice is the co-founder and Executive Director of FOXY. Candice volunteers with numerous organizations, including as a Board Member with Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights, as an Honorary Captain with the Royal Canadian Navy, and as Vice-Chair with the Yellowknife Playschool Association Board of Directors. She is a former member of the now-defunct Advisory Council on the Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (Government of Canada), Working Group Expert Member for the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN), Co-Chair of the now-defunct National Aboriginal Council on HIV/AIDS, and Community Advisory Member for the Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health at the University of Toronto.
Inuksuk Mackay
She/her
Board Chair
Inuksuk Mackay was our fabulous photography facilitator for the first FOXY Peer Leader Retreat. She recalls that during the first few days of that first retreat she found herself saying over and over “where was this when I was a teen?” She walked away from that experience determined to support what FOXY stood for and to help the organization in any way she could. Since that first retreat Inuksuk has lead many workshops and attended many retreats. Now serving as Board Chair, Inuksuk’s support continues with a special focus on emotional literacy through the arts.
Nancy MacNeill
She/her
Board member
Nancy MacNeill was born in Iqaluit, and moved to Yellowknife with her family after a brief stint in Quebec. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, she returned to the Northwest Territories and began working with arts organizations and youth to create a stronger, more vibrant, more resilient community for Northern youth. In addition to her work with FOXY, Nancy has worked with the Northern Mosaic Network, Folk on the Rocks, the Long John Jamboree, and the Yellowknife International Film Festival to create venues of artistic expression and opportunities for youth to become more active in their communities. She currently works for the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer, delivering health and harm reduction education about substance use to Northerners. Nancy co-founded FOXY with Candice Lys, and is at her FOXiest in a fancy dress and sealskin boots.
JASON BOAST
Board member
Jay Boast (better known as Jay Bear) was born and raised in Thunder Bay. Jay graduated with a BA (Communication Studies) from Brock University. During his time at Brock, Jay was a facilitator for a program that went into high schools to encourage conversations between young men and women on the topics of date rape, sexual assault, and respectful interpersonal communication. In 2006, Jay received his diploma in Radio Broadcasting from Loyalist College and it was his broadcasting career that brought him to Yellowknife in 2007. Jay currently works as the Communications Advisor for the GNWT Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. He is passionate about the need and benefits of the FOXY and SMASH programs and is thrilled to be able to support and be a part of this work through his membership on the Board. Fun Fact: it was Jay who first proposed the acronym SMASH that was voted in as the name of the program!