Leah Walker is of Danish, English, Nlaka’pamux ancestry and has strong kinship ties at Seabird Island. She is a mom of a beautiful 17-year old, wife, gardener, sailor, educator, and Expressive Art Therapist, living on the Coast Salish Territory of Nex̱wlélex̱m (Bowen Island). Leah grew up the small resource community of Burns Lake (Wet’suwet’en) and her experiences there heavily influenced her interest in education, social awareness, conflict resolution, equity and art making.
She has over 20 years of Indigenous health leadership, including her current role as the Executive Director at Kilala Lelum. Previous to this role she was the Associate Director, Education at UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health, where she led programs generating Indigenous knowledges such as the UBC Learning Circle, supported Indigenous programming such as UBC Summer Science, Health Administration and participated in cultural safety research, developed curriculum and taught in the Faculty of Medicine. Her current interests include deepening her relationship with Indigenous medicines and knowledges and supporting that growth at the medicine house.