Lewis Barnaby’s Resume

Master of Arts – Canadian Studies

Carleton University

Bachelor of Arts Honours – Sociology

2006 – 2011

Algonquin College

General Arts and Sciences – Media and Communications

2005 – 2006

Apoqon Consulting

Ottawa, ON

Apoqon Consulting is an Indigenous consulting firm that specializes in research and writing, strategic planning, policy development and Indigenous governance. As President & Co-founder, Lewis is responsible for driving business development activities and overseeing client interactions and deliverables. Apoqon is derived from the Mi’gmaq word “Apoqonmuati” which means to “Provide assistance” and our team is focused on doing just that. We thrive on helping drive success to other Indigenous businesses and organizations by bringing forth a set of interdisciplinary and decolonized skills that help clients achieve their visions.

Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS)

Listuguj, Qc – Ottawa, ON

The Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS) expressed the need for innovative approaches for addressing and responding to conflict between Mi’kmaw leadership groups in the traditional territory of Gespe’gewa’gi. In a previous report, Apoqon outlined a conflict transformation framework that would serve this need. The aforementioned report set the foundation and further highlighted the need to develop an Indigenized teaching tool for both leadership groups and community members. The resulting workshop, originally developed for in-person delivery was converted to a more condensed and virtual workshop to accommodate the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Apoqon’s workshop consisted of introductory training on the conflict transformation framework, an opportunity to practice essential organization and conflict transformation skills and provided foundational and organizational competencies in a conflict transformation process that can evolve as the needs of the community and leadership groups change.

Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS)

Listuguj, Qc – Ottawa, ON

The Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS), under the direction of tri-partite leadership (Listuguj, Gesgepegiag and Gespeg) were given the priority to begin developing a Mi’gmaq Constitution for Gespe’gewa’gi. Apoqon was engaged to conduct research and deliver a report on the number of Indigenous constitution-related topics that have helped inform the development of a draft constitution that was to be presented to leadership groups and citizens of the three communities. Constitutional research involved the gathering and use of traditional knowledge and citizen engagement to develop an understanding of the modern needs of our communities in a constitutional context that functions to assert the rights of the Mi’gmaq Nation and ownership and title over our traditional territory.

FoxWise Technologies Inc.

Ottawa, ON

FoxWise Technologies, an Indigenous owned and operated IT firms. As part of FoxWise’s change management and business modernization, a new business plan was required to facilitate a partnership between FoxWise and another prominent Canadian IT organization.

In 2019, FoxWise engaged Apoqon to facilitate business and strategic planning exercises with the company president. The purpose of these exercises helped FoxWise and its employees prepare for the modernization of their business practices, to ensure they maximized synergies and focused on building new business opportunities in the federal Indigenous procurement environment.

Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG)

Listuguj, Qc – Ottawa, ON

The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG) performed a review of existing internal policies and protocols for employees and noted that an established communications protocol was non-existent. LMG sought input from staff communications advisors and included Apoqon in those discussions. The result was Apoqon being hired to develop a communications protocol and strategy that outlined the roles and responsibilities of internal communications staff members and non-communications staff members. The protocol establishes a chain of command on communications-related matters, determining levels of severity and assigning tasks appropriately.

Helping with Furniture Ottawa

Ottawa, ON

Helping with Furniture Ottawa (HWF) is a non-profit organization that provides gently used furniture and household goods to families and individuals in distress to help them start new lives in the Ottawa area. HWF sought Apoqon’s assistant to migrate their email system and manage multiple domain assets, both of which were migrated to G Suite and Google Domains. The Apoqon team handled domain transfers, DNS configurations, G Suite account setup and administration and data migration of all users.

Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS)

Ottawa, ON

The province of Quebec holds a lottery on a yearly basis for what they term, “vacation lots”. The lots are scattered throughout the province, and therefore, throughout the traditional territories of Indigenous Nations; what is problematic about this lottery is the lack of consultation and accommodation paid to the true owners of the lands in which these lots are distributed to non-Indigenous citizens. The Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat (MMS) has, for years, argued for the right to be consulted and accommodated and asked Apoqon to help develop both a response and a strategy for protecting Mi’gmaq territory from encroachment. A decolonization strategy was developed on the premise that the Mi’gmaq Nation would reclaim the spaces through land use and occupation as well as reverting to or ascribing a traditional Mi’gmaq name to the lands.

Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG)

Ottawa, ON

The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG) sought to examine and redevelop outdated bylaws surrounding the community’s drinking water source, distribution and protection. Using analytical data and a research report developed by a group of environmental engineers, Apoqon was engaged to draft a modernized bylaw that is both practical and enforceable and incorporated local and traditional knowledge while keeping in mind the safety and the need to protect of the community’s drinking water source from potential contaminants and scenarios that could cause contamination. The bylaw was ratified by Chief and Council in November 2019.

First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC)

Ottawa, ON

The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) acquired a high volume of Samsung tablets that required setup, configuration and the installation of data collection and security applications. Apoqon was engaged to develop and manage the tablet configuration workflow and supplied detailed user documentation and conducted all testing activities to ensure functionality and data security.

Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF)

Ottawa, ON

The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is a national, Indigenous-lead organization whose goal is to educate Canadians on the histories and ongoing impacts of the Indian Residential School System. Since 2017, Apoqon has been working with the Legacy of Hope Foundation(LHF) on a number of research and exhibition projects that pertain mostly to the Indian Residential School System, Sixties Scoop, MMIWG and Reconciliation projects. Working with LHF, Apoqon has helped develop educational materials and content for both curriculums and exhibition projects. Throughout 2020, Apoqon has helped create and implement internal and external communications policies, reports, data management and access policies for the organization’s troves of data and historical information. Apoqon continues to manage communications and IT operations for the organization alongside executive management.

National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA)

Ottawa, ON

The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) underwent an organization-wide IT modernization by deploying new networking appliances that host an array of virtual servers using Windows Server 2012R. Apoqon was responsible for facilitating the migration from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012R and consolidating existing data from two servers to one. In addition, Apoqon was responsible for developing configuration workflows for newly deployed workstations and managing data migrations in Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange.

Child Development Institute (CDI)

Toronto, ON – Ottawa, ON

The Child Development Institute re-developed a flagship youth justice application, Stop Now And Plan (SNAP). The application was a multi-device platform that used Raspberry Pi databases that interact with iPads and iPods. Apoqon was responsible for working with the application dev team to coordinate testing phases, assess functionality against module-specific metadata spreadsheets. Apoqon was solely responsible for developing the project’s functional design documentation, the application testing plan and developing user documentation designed to guide facilitators and participants on hardware setup and app functions.

Tarbell Facilitation

Ottawa, ON

Apoqon was contracted by the Tarbell Network to participate and take notes on a meeting between the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and various Federal government departments. We were then asked to compile and compare meeting notes and draft an outcomes summary that would serve as a roadmap for enhancing mental health services provided to First Nations.

FoxWise Technologies

Ottawa, ON

FoxWise had recently undergone a number of structural and organization changes that required IT assistance to manage and deploy new IT infrastructures and workflow activities. Apoqon was responsible for managing the deployment of cloud based services that included storage and CRM solutions. We were successful in facilitating the transition from Windows workstations to Mac OS workstations by providing executive training on the use of the new platform and business applications and services. Apoqon was also responsible for developing marketing and communications materials on behalf of executive management.

First Nations Child and Family Wellness Council

Ottawa, ON

Apoqon was contracted by the Tarbell Network to develop a strategic plan for the First Nations Child and Family Wellness Council in British Columbia. The project began by analyzing collected information from previous meetings, tables and data produced in previous strategic planning sessions and activities. The goal of the project was to produce a strategic plan aimed at shifting the focus of the council by developing a proactive approach to advancing their strategies for advocacy in the federal and provincial governments. 

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)

Gatineau, Qc

Formerly the Northern Affairs Office, the sector was responsible for managing a number of former military, waste and mine sites located in northern British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories. My role as a Research Analyst consisted of producing research materials as they relate to historical environmental impacts, contemporary settlement of claims, impact benefit agreements, the duty to consult and environmental remediation. The materials I produced were used to draft briefing notes prepared for senior and executive teams.

FoxWise Technologies and CLAW Environmental Services

Gatineau, Qc

My role as Business Coordinator and Executive Assistant required me to work closely with company executives in managing a range of administrative tasks and beyond. I was required to manage multiple email accounts and scheduling for both companies while participating in business development activities and chairing weekly sales meetings and making sure that proper forecasting and reporting were completed in Microsoft Dynamics. In addition to the administrative tasks, I would also be responsible for producing communications materials, research and proposal content in preparation for bid submissions.

Carleton University

Ottawa, ON

As an academic coach in the Aboriginal Enriched Support Program (AESP) I was responsible for helping guide the academic success of six Indigenous students in the program. I was required to regularly attend classes with my students and provide direct assistance to each student in achieving their academic goals by offering advice, study guides, advocacy and ensuring my students were meeting the requirements of the degree programs they intended to enroll in.

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP)

Ottawa, ON

As National Training Coordinator I was responsible for interacting with funded and prospective clients ensuring that all requirements were met per the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) application criteria in order to provide employment-training funds. I was responsible for ongoing business development activities by maintaining efficient relationships with clients and partner organizations.

A Hundred Answers (now MNP)

Ottawa, ON

My role as a Support Analyst gave me hands on training with some of the areas top business consultants that saw me participate in a variety of projects and business activities that ranged from business transformation projects to the implementation of complex corporate IT solutions and preparing content for RFPs both in the public and private sectors.

National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO)

Ottawa, ON

As a Jr. Research Officer in the First Nations Centre I was responsible for conducting research and producing materials on Indigenous language revitalization that was later validated by a senior research officer and elder who specialized in Indigenous philosophy and languages. I researched for and developed publications on the topics of traditional knowledge and suicide prevention; my contributions were later published in NAHO news releases and publications. In addition to my role as a researcher, I worked to develop an organization-wide resource library that was later turned into a searchable resource and literature database.

·      Knowledge and experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods

o   Literature

o   Archival research

o   Primary/secondary research

·      Fields of knowledge:

o   Sociological theory

o   Indigenous issues

o   Decolonization

o   Research methods

o   Indigenous philosophy

o   Cultural policy

o   Conflict transformation

o   Political science

o   Canadian history

·      Platforms

o   Mac OS/iOS

o   Windows

o   Windows server

o   Android

o   Raspbian

o   Linux

·      Devices

o   Networking appliances

o   Storage devices

o   Network printers

o   Wireless and mobile

Training

·      Cloudera Enterprise Big Data

·      IBM WebSphere App Server and Admin Console

·      IBM Cognos

·      HP SAP HANA and Big Data

·      Veritas NetBackup

·      Microsoft Dynamics

·      Microsoft Sharepoint

·      Centrify Technical and Sales Training

Organization and Coordination

·      Exceptional team building skills

·      Tactical and professional communication

·      Executive management skills

·      Group facilitation skills

·      Team management and delegation of duties

·      Clear spoken