Announcement: Mason Ducharme as the New National Community Research Director
On behalf of the Project M
anagement team, I’m delighted to announce that Mason Ducharme was recently promoted to the position of National Community Research Director for RFNG, from his role as an Inherent Rights Fellow. In this leadership position, Mason ensures that partner community research requirements are met with the necessary expertise and resources. He also assists Inherent Rights Fellows, Research Assistants, and First Nation community members in documenting and sharing their stories, learnings, and teachings to support other First Nations in their transition to self-government. In addition to this part-time role with RFNG, Mason also currently serves as Co-Executive Director of the Centre for First Nations Governance. His appointment to both roles reflects RFNG’s deep commitment to the development and promotion of young scholars and leaders in self-government.
Mason replaces Darcy Gray who recently took on new challenges. We are very grateful for the contributions that Darcy has made, and will continue to make to RFNG.
Mason’s heritage is deeply rooted in his family. His father, Cedric Jones, is from the Lil’wat Nation, and his mother, Allison Ducharme, is from the Samahquam Nation. Proud of his lineage from both Nations, Mason always acknowledges his citizenship to each.
Mason holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Capilano University, a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Victoria, and is nearing the completion of his PhD in Public Administration at the same institution. His PhD dissertation focuses on the retention of Indigenous executives in Indigenous organizations, a topic inspired by his professional experience. Mason is a recipient of the prestigious Joseph-Armand Bombardier Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral for his dissertation work. Additionally, he is a proud alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities certificate program.
With over five years of experience as an Indigenous executive in Indigenous organizations, Mason has held multiple research roles. From March 2021 to September 2023, he served as a research assistant, followed by his tenure as an Inherent Rights Fellow from October 2023 to July 2024 with the RFNG project. Beyond RFNG, he was the Research Advisor at the First Nations Public Service Secretariat (FNPSS) from November 2022 to July 2023, where he led a significant research project on the underfunding of First Nations governance. Mason also has experience as a sessional instructor, teaching Indigenous Values in Business and Human Resources Management at Vancouver Island University, and Indigenous Governance in Canada at the University of Victoria.
Mason’s scholarly contributions include the following publications:
– Ducharme, M., Thiessen, S., Lindquist, E. (Forthcoming). “Making Indigenous Self-Government Happen in Canada” in Positive Public Administration: New Directions for Theory and Practice.
– Ducharme, M. (Forthcoming). “The Retention of Indigenous Executives in Indigenous Organizations” in Research in HRM On Native American Persons’ Work Issues.
– Ducharme, M., Nye, L., Yakura, P., Corrie, S., Macdonald, C., Ford, J. (2023). “How to Support Core Governance Needs of British Columbia First Nations: Analysis and Recommendations” for First Nations Public Service Secretariat.
His panel presentations include:
– “Language and Lawmaking” at the Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium Conference, 2024.
– “What do First Nations Government leaders and administrators need from public administrators to support positive interactions with their Nations and organizations?” at the CAPPA/ACPAP Conference, 2022.
Mason’s conference presentations include:
– “The Retention of Indigenous Executives in Indigenous Organizations” at the BC AFOA’s Indigenous Governance & HR Conference, 2023.