Uy' Skweyul!
My name is Charsanaa Johnny. I was born and raised in Seattle, WA with my mother who is from Snuneymuxw First Nation and my father who is Afro-American from Alexandria, Louisiana. I grew up visiting Snuneymuxw every summer and dreamed of moving back some day to be closer to family.
I made that dream a reality when I moved back in 2015 to finish my undergrad in Indigenous Studies at Vancouver Island University. During my time in university I also worked as a Project Coordinator for the Nanaimo Women's Centre and took on various administration contracts with my Nation working with community members are various projects surrounding Self-Determination.
In 2022 I both started and postponed my enrolment in the Masters of Social Work at the University of Toronto with a focus on Indigenous Trauma and Resilience. That will begin in September 2023 and my hope is to continue facilitating educational workshops related to Wellness and Healing within the BIPoC Community.
For now, I serve as the Director of BIPoC Relations with an amazing non-profit organization called Risebridge Project, mandated to uplift social justice movements and advocacy and highlight causes affecting the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Community of Central Vancouver Island.
As an Afro-Indigenous woman who grew up in Southwest Seattle, a community ridden with crime but also one of the most diverse communities in Seattle, I have always felt at home in active communities: Be it community programming or community mischief.
In high school I attended tons of programming for at-risk youth and as a young adult I participated in the coordination of various community programs including camps for youth, seminars, and outreach. My early professional background consisted of working in various areas in the medical field but was still very much connected to providing services for the community I lived in. I now enjoy pulling all of these experiences together to provide inclusive cultural programming in Nanaimo. And it all starts with building relationships!