Having worked in Indigenous education for two-plus decades, Len Pierre sometimes can’t believe he’s managed to build a consulting firm in the field, and just how busy that company has become.
Reconciliation education work is a growth business for the Pierre, who lives on Barnston Island as a member of Kaztie First Nation. He’s listed as the lone Surrey resident among 2024 winners of the BC Achievement Foundation Community Award, a group of 20 celebrated at a May 8 ceremony in Victoria.
“I have 25 people who work with me in my consulting firm today,” Pierre said, “and we still have a hard time keeping up with demand for our work across Canada and into the States too, and all that within the last three years. So it’s rapidly grown and expanded, and we’re still growing and expanding. It’s such a incredible inspiring time and motivating time, too.”
With workshops and courses, Len Pierre Consulting, or LPC, “stands as a leader in Indigenous cultural consult and education, guiding seminars and workshops province-wide with a diverse team comprising youth, educators and elders,” according to an awards bio on bcachievement.com.
Annually, BC Achievement recognizes “extraordinary British Columbians who build better, stronger and more resilient communities,” including Pierre, who calls the award a “total surprise” that he didn’t see coming. His nominator is a former colleague at Surrey Schools, which employed Pierre long before he launched his own consulting business.
“When I first started in my career, I was 19 years old,” Pierre recalled. “I remember it being so hard to try and be heard, to try and be recognized by other non-Indigenous professionals. We had to fight really hard to get into a space of teaching and learning.
“So you fast-forward to today, it’s very humbling, very exciting,” he added. “It’s such a moment of awe for me, because I’m like, I can’t believe that we’re here in the year 2024 and I built a company out of this, what I’ve been doing for 25 years. Now we engage over 200 clients every single year and we support 25 clients throughout the year on long-term projects. I can’t believe that it’s happened.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Pierre won the BC Achievement Foundation award for being “a role model both in and out of the classroom, leaving an enduring impact on communities,” a bio says. “His efforts inspire individuals and organizations across B.C. and Canada to become genuine allies in the journey of reconciliation.”
On the subject, Pierre describes it as “a tsunami of engagement” in every professional sector, not just education.
“We work with government organizations, we work with ministries, we work with private corporations like A&W, we work with the justice system, we work with the social services system, you know, any system that exists in Canada,” he explained. “We advise them, teach them and consult for them so they can reconcile so they can be more culturally safer when working with Indigenous people.”
The May 8 awards ceremony in Victoria was an incredible experience, Pierre recalled.
“Government House is just such a beautiful place, and all around it are pictures of Royal Family members who have stayed there, including the princess the week before, so it was a very jarring experience, like walking into a movie or something.
“It’s been an incredible honour to stand alongside some incredible humans doing incredible work all across this province. Hearing their stories made me quite emotional, almost like an imposter syndrome, right? Like, ‘Who am I and why am I standing among all these incredible people?’ It was incredibly honouring, incredibly humbling.”
In addition to Pierre, the other 19 BC Achievement Foundation Community Award winners for 2024 are Troy MacBeth Abromaitis (Richmond), Prof. Nemkumar Banthia (Vancouver), Devon Black (Victoria), Earl Blacklock (Parksville), Robin Dawes (Williams Lake), Jane Devji (Delta), Doreen & Wayne Hewitt (Salt Spring Island), Christopher Lee (Vancouver), Siân Lewis (Kamloops), K. Brian McConaghy (Delta), Connally McDougall (Vancouver), Marcus Mosely (North Vancouver), Coralie Nairn (Vernon), Alison O’Toole (Prince Rupert), Jazz Pabla (West Kelowna), Rishika Selvakumar (Richmond), Wendy Toyer (Richmond), Mary Trentadue (New Westminster) and Janna Wale (Gitanmaax/Hazelton).
