Cheryl Whiskeyjack

Cheryl Whiskeyjack is the Executive Director of the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society. She has been with Bent Arrow for over 25 years. She now oversees 28 programs and services that connect Indigenous clients to the city around them, helping them build skills and resilience they can use in other parts of their lives.

Cheryl serves on the boards of the Canadian Accreditation Council of Human Services, the ALIGN Association of Community Services, and PolicyWise for Children & Families. She helped shape the work of EndPovertyEdmonton, first as a member of its Stewardship Round Table and then on their Board. She also sits at the table for the National Advisory Council on Poverty.

Cheryl mentors leaders for the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations’ Executive Director Mentorship program. She also represents Bent Arrow at C5, a partnership of five non-profits using innovative engagement in vulnerable neighbourhoods. Cheryl is proud of the strong partnerships she has maintained across sectors.

A graduate of Grant MacEwan University’s Child and Youth Care Program in 1995, Cheryl received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018. Also, in 2021, the University of Alberta presented her with an Honourary Doctor of Laws, and the Rotary Foundation named her a Paul Harris Fellow.

In 2022, Cheryl joined PolicyWise’s Board of Directors, and has been the Governance Committee Chair since 2024.