Dawn Madahbee Leach

Biography

Introducing the magnificent Dawn Madahbee – IWI Council Member!

For nearly four decades, entrepreneur and business leader Dawn Madahbee Leach has been fiercely committed to Indigenous economic development and advocating for Indigenous businesses.  She is the first Indigenous woman in Canada to helm a regional lending institution, serving as the General Manager of the Waubetek Business Development Corporation since 1988.   She has overseen the investment of $140M in Indigenous businesses, helping to build both First Nations and region-wide economies. She has given voice to Indigenous economic needs nationally and internationally through her roles on numerous boards and corporate advisory committees.  She currently chairs the National Indigenous Economic Development board  and serves as a director on the first-ever First Nation-owned bank in Canada – Peace Hills Trust – and with Niobay Metals Inc.

An ardent advocate of reciprocity, Dawn has also been an elected Councillor for her home community of Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018 and received the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, an Indspire Award in 2020, , an Anishinabek Nation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada.  She champions Indigenous economic inclusion globally through forums in Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, France, Australia, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand.