Staff
Jarvis Googoo
Director of the Atlantic Indigenous Economic Development Integrated Research Program (AIEDIRP)
Jarvis was raised in We’koqma’q, Unama’kik, attended an Indian Day School from 1985 to 1993, and graduated from a Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey school. He holds degrees from Saint Mary’s University (cum laude), Dalhousie Law School, and is a non-practicing member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. He has worked as a human rights legal advisor for the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq and as a senior policy analyst with the Nova Scotia Office of Aboriginal (now L’nu) Affairs. He joined APC in July 2013 and went on to hold several positions in Health. After nine years of working in Health, he accepted the role as the Director of AIEDIRP.
He has spoken and presented on numerous Indigenous topics, such as health, law, colonialism, assimilation, Indian Residential and Day Schools, Truth and Reconciliation, Peace and Friendship, and Mi’kmaw history, culture, and language. Some of the venues/audiences include Dalhousie Law School and Medical School, University of King’s College, the Nova Scotia Physiotherapy Association, Girl Guides of Canada and Scouts Canada, churches, schools, and running groups, as well as to many media outlets. In 2009-2010, he led the development of the Donald Marshall Junior Memorial Award. In 2022, he was awarded the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Jarvis also sits on numerous boards/advisory committees, such as the Saint Mary’s University Advisory Council on Indigenous Affairs, the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaw Initiative Advisory Committee, Global News Advisory Committee, and the North American Indigenous Games Cultural Advisory Committee.
He is an avid runner and completed several marathons to date (including the Boston Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon in 2022). He also volunteers as a board director for the Blue Nose Marathon. He lives in Kjipuktuk/Dartmouth with his wife Kerrianne and their Sheltie Looloo.
Julia Purcell
Julia has been working for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat since June of 2021. Her role as the Cumulative Effects Project Coordinator is to lead a project that aims to help build and enhance the technical and scientific capacity of Indigenous communities in the Atlantic region to address cumulative effects issues. To better understand these issues and work towards solutions, the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing is heavily integrated into all stages of the project.
Julia has an extensive background in environmental science and physical geography with a strong focus on climate change science and adaptation. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science (Honours) and Geography, as well as a Master of Science Degree in Applied Science, both of which were obtained at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Although her background is technical and academic in nature, Julia has come to love working with Indigenous communities and having meaningful conversations that make a positive difference in peoples’ lives.
Outside of work, Julia enjoys reading, watching movies, practicing self-care, nature, spending time with friends and family, and being in the company of her cat, Ellie.
Lois Daye
Lois Daye joined the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat (APC) in November 2022 and is now the new Administrative Assistant for the Atlantic Indigenous Economic Development Integrated Research Program (AIEDIRP). She brings over eight years’ experience with human resources and office administration duties. She currently holds an Accounting Level 1 certificate from Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) and a Travel and Tourism Certificate from Eastern College.
In her role, Lois works with the Director of AIEDIRP (Jarvis Googoo) by providing administrative and logistical support. She also assists with the coordination of various activities, meetings, and conferences in the AIEDIRP department. She also assists other APC departments with their larger events as needed.