​​wáy x̌ast sx̌əlx̌ʕált My name is telxnitkw, it translates into “Standing by Water” and was given to me on the day I was born. I am Syilx and Secwepemc although I also have roots with the Colville and Nez Perce nations.

Elaine Alec (she/her) is an author, political advisor, women’s advocate and spiritual thought leader and teacher and is a direct descendant of hereditary chiefs, Pelkamulaxw and Soorimpt.
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For over two decades, Elaine has been leading expert in Indigenous community planning, health advocacy and creating safe spaces utilizing Indigenous approaches and ceremony. She is the author of “Calling My Spirit Back” a book which links an extremely personal examination of lived experience to a much broader overview of serious national sociological concerns, accompanied by tangible steps to approach them.

Alec was a founding member of the Comprehensive Community Planning Mentorship Initiative in British Columbia. She is a founding partner at Alderhill Planning Inc. and is a regular speaker at conferences and workshops on the topic of Indigenous planning, governance, healing and trauma informed approaches in planning.

She is involved in the Sexual Harassment, Advice, Response and Prevention for Work Places Advisory Committee, a board member with the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA-BC) and recently completed a 3-year term as the Union of BC Indian Chiefs Women’s Representative where she advocated for Indigenous women and girls safety through facilitating safe spaces to plan and drive policy change at various levels of government.
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Elaine resides in Kamloops, British Columbia with her husband Ryan Day and is the proud mom of Kyle Maxakn Alec, Phoenix Maxaknitkw Alec and Teslin Pelkamulaxw Alec.

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