Derek Thompson | Senior Advisor, Indigenous Engagement
Noteworthy
Elected as councillor of the Ditidaht First Nation Chief and Council, holding the governance portfolios for health, treaty negotiations, and education (2023 to 2027)
Appointed as a director of the BC Association of Community Response Networks (2017 to 2023)
Appointed a member of the BC Cultural Safety and Humility Technical Committee (February 2019 to June 2022)
Appointed as co-chair of VIHA’s Aboriginal Health Council (2017 to 2021)
Appointed to the Vancouver Island Health Authority CEO Indigenous Executive Lead Working Group (2019) and the VIHA CEO Engagement Advisory Panel (2018)
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Derek - Čaabať Bookwilla is from the diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ (Ditidaht First Nation) and he is a seated and recognized Čaabať (Hereditary Chief) within his extended family and community, and he has lineage in Cowichan Tribes (Coast Salish), Kitimaat (Haisla), and Bella Bella (Heiltsuk). He was elected as a councillor for the Ditidaht First Nation in 2023 and holds the governance portfolios for health, treaty negotiations, strategic planning, and education. Throughout his career, Derek has advised on reconciliation, Indigenous engagement, and strengthening relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities, and has worked with senior leaders in healthcare and other sectors to improve services and programs and advise on strategic and operational plans.
Derek’s lived Indigenous experience, his deep cultural knowledge, and his decades of policy, research and governance work, together form and inform his approach to conflict resolution. We look forward to learning from Derek and sharing his knowledge with our clients.
Derek Thompson Čakup - he/him
Southern Law LLP
301 - 1835 Lonsdale Avenue
North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J8
613-330-9363
