Meet our Director of Community Services
The road to joining Strategies North as its new Director of Community Services has been a “crazy” journey for Aaron Mannella.
“I’ve got a really unorthodox professional path,” he said. That path has equipped him with unique tools and experiences though leadership roles in the banking sector and as the chief administrative officer at Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN).
As a child, Mannella lived in several small towns in B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta and even spent three years in New York state. In his early teens, he returned to Canada and lived in Edmonton, where he developed a deep affinity for the Oilers.
In high school, Mannella worked full time at a radio station, studying his regular classes through a distance education program.
After graduation, Mannella moved to Prince George, and was offered a scholarship to the University of Northern British Columbia.
“Unfortunately, just due to family circumstances and some personal choices and really where I was as a youth, I did not really pursue that opportunity,” he said. Currently, Mannella is pursuing a diploma in local government management at the University of Victoria.
Inspired by his aunt, who was a major influence in his life, Mannella entered the banking industry. Equipped with a 75 cent Christian Dior tie from Value Village, Mannella applied to every bank in Prince George.
Scotiabank offered him a job, kicking off 12 years in the industry.
“In 2016, I was given my first appointment as a branch manager, it’s sort of a market leader with Scotiabank, and it was in Williams Lake. My daughter was six months old, my wife made a big sacrifice for me and we went on an adventure and went to Williams Lake and it was a really cool experience.”
“There’s a real human element to it,” he said. “Whether you’re meeting somebody at the beginning of their life stage, whether they’re starting a business or getting married or having a child or they’re towards the end of their life in the twilight and [are dealing with] estates, retirement and all of these things, it’s a real glimpse into humanity.”
Mannella would later join RBC in Williams Lake, developing a relationship with WLFN in his role as the community face of the bank.
“I found myself going to lots of community events and I found myself really interested in some of the innovation being displayed by the Nation, and you could just sense that the opportunity for success was near.”
When the Nation was looking for a CAO, Mannella was hired for the role despite feeling underqualified at first. The experience would change his life.
“My perspective on the world, my world view, my identity as a Canadian and understanding the opportunities for Indigenous people really energized me.”
Unlike in the banking industry, Mannella found that he had a greater license to express his views and find solutions to problems.
“[Indigenous communities] need champions, and you need people who are passionate, who can challenge the status quo and bring forward solutions, and demonstrate why they’re important,” he said.
“There’s over 630 unique and distinctly beautiful Indigenous Nations across this country. I’ve often referred to them as sleeping bears. It’s springtime and the bears are waking up and each will pursue its unique path, so I think that’s probably the learning lesson. As much as there’s an opportunity to create capacity, we also need to listen and be pragmatic about the pace of change.”
Now, as the newest member of the SN team, Mannella is looking forward to taking a hands-on approach to projects, building capacity for clients and continuing to find and advocate for solutions. He said the personal values of existing SN team members and professional goals of the company align with his own.
“I’ve always been really inspired by the leadership of Anna Barley, and of Grant,” he said. “A lot of folks asked me as I came to a close with WLFN, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up,’ or ‘what would you like to do for work next?’ My answer was very simple. I simply want to do purposeful work.”
“I think that in 2023, it’s an incredibly exciting time for Canada and for Indigenous governments across the country. In reality, Indigenous governments have barely had 50 years to provide their own administration, in some cases decades less,” he said.
As SN’s new Director of Community Services, Mannella will be leaning on his diverse experiences to support communities in all aspects of meeting their goals and objectives, including interfacing with clients, executing projects and contributing to government-to-government relationships.
“The next 50 years is going to afford outcomes that challenge the status quo and challenge our preconceived ideas in terms of economic reconciliation in terms of the celebration and protection of culture, and also in just upholding the strength of a beautiful collection of people across our country, so I’m excited,” Mannella said.
“I’m reminded by the humanity of people. We’re not perfect, we never will be. But if we get past our individuality, and we focus on what we can achieve together, the future is a little bit brighter.”
-Article by Ben Bogstie, Community Analyst