About: Mary Czernick, BHJ, MA

Mary Czernick is the founder of Wawatay Consulting. Mary is a Métis woman who comes from Treaty 4 Territory and the Homeland of the Metis on her father’s side and Austrian and Scottish on her mother’s side. She approaches her work with decades of professional experience focused on enhancing and improving outcomes for Indigenous families, communities and organizations.

Mary is a lifelong learner and acknowledges both her lived experience and formal education. With her Masters in Community Development, Mary approaches her work recognizing that communities have the expertise and knowledge to heal and develop themselves. This approach is reflected in Mary’s master’s research project “Community Led Change in a Delegated Aboriginal Agency: Utilizing Strengths and Inherent Knowledge to Decolonize Workplace Investigations” where she supported Surrounded by Cedar to develop a workplace investigation process that reflected what was needed and what was necessary.

Mary has worked in both the BC and SK Provincial Governments. She was the first Director, C-92 for the Ministry of Social Services in Saskatchewan. She also held the role of Director of Operations for the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre with the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Mary has experience working on reserve with her role with Lil’wat First Nation as their General Manager, Community Services. Mary spent almost a decade working in Indigenous Child and Family Agencies, Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services and Surrounded by Cedar.

Mary’s work has been acknowledged and recognized in various ways. She has presented at the 2019 National Indian Child Welfare Association Conference and has been a Keynote Speaker at Indigenous based employee conference. Mary’s work has also been recognized in the 2021 Representative of Children and Youth Detained as one of the top three Indigenous youth cultural programming in a mental health facility in Canada.

Most recently, she has supported the work of Nations to establish their Indigenous Governing Body in the assertion of their child welfare jurisdiction. Mary is passionate about thriving Indigenous communities and culturally connected children, youth and families.