Elaine Alec (teɬkənitkʷ) is syilx and secwépemc and a member of the Penticton Indian Band. She is an entrepreneur and systems thinker who has founded and led multiple SME’s (small and medium sized enterprises) over the past 25 years, including organizations with up to 25 employees. She has built teams, curriculum, and operational models that hold under pressure, with direct experience navigating growth, complexity, and capital access.

Elaine works at the intersection of infrastructure, Indigenous governance, and human systems. Her focus is on the human readiness required for structural alignment in high-stakes, multi-party environments particularly where there is pressure, risk, and competing interests. Her work strengthens the conditions required for decisions to hold across jurisdictions, systems, and interests.

Government, Policy & Systems Impact

Elaine co-founded and served as CEO of Alderhill Planning Inc., where she led major provincial and national initiatives at the intersection of Indigenous governance and community planning.

At Alderhill, she led the province-wide engagement processes that informed British Columbia’s A Path Forward strategy on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This work translated lived experience from families, survivors, and leadership into policy direction, funding priorities, and implementation approaches, contributing to the establishment of the Path Forward Community Fund, which has directed over $20 million toward Indigenous-led safety and capacity initiatives.

Elaine led multi-party engagement for the Province’s BC Flood Strategy, supporting alignment across First Nations, local governments, and provincial and federal partners in climate and disaster readiness.

Her work with governments has focused on establishing the conditions required for engagement processes to move beyond consultation into decisions that can proceed and hold.

Indigenous Governance & Community Planning

Elaine contributed to the expansion of Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) across British Columbia and worked with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to support its growth at the national level.

She was a co-founder of the BC CCP Mentorship Initiative, strengthening peer-based capacity across First Nations communities and supporting the development of community-led planning approaches across the province.

She contributed to early-stage design work connected to the National Community Development Initiative, supporting federal efforts to advance community-driven governance and planning models.

Work led through Alderhill and related partnerships has received recognition through federal award processes, including acknowledgement tied to the CCP Mentorship Initiative in British Columbia.

Current Practice: Coeuraj

Elaine currently serves as Practice Partner at Coeuraj, working on governance, infrastructure, and capital alignment initiatives across complex, multi-party environments.

She contributes to the design and delivery of collaborative processes that bring together leadership across Indigenous Nations, government, industry, and finance to navigate complexity, align interests, and move decisions forward. Her work focuses on strengthening relational capacity and building the human readiness required for initiatives to proceed and hold across jurisdictions and systems.

Naqsmist & Cultivating Safe Spaces

Elaine is the founder of Naqsmist Storytellers Inc. and the creator of the Cultivating Safe Spaces (CSS) framework.

CSS is a practical framework used across sectors to build leadership capacity, strengthen governance, and support effective decision-making under pressure. It has been applied across government, health, education, emergency response, finance, and corporate environments to support teams and organizations working in complex and high-stakes conditions.

Through Naqsmist, Elaine has worked with a wide range of institutions, supporting leaders and teams to navigate conflict, hold accountability, and function effectively in multi-party environments.

Work led through Naqsmist Storytellers Inc. and related partnerships has received recognition through provincial award processes, including acknowledgement tied to the Gender Based Violence Strategy in British Columbia.

Entrepreneurship & Capital Experience

In addition to her systems and governance work, Elaine has built and operated multiple small sized enterprises in Canada. She brings direct experience managing teams, developing operations, and navigating the realities of growth and sustainability.

Her experience pursuing capital to scale informs her work at the intersection of governance and investment, bringing a practical understanding of the conditions required for initiatives to move from concept to implementation within real economic constraints.

Publications

Elaine is the author of:

• Calling My Spirit Back

• Coming of Age: Overcoming Trauma to Achieve Self-Determination

Her writing draws from lived experience and her work across systems, contributing to conversations on leadership, trauma, governance, and self-determination.