K’odi Nelson
Executive Director
Nawalakw Community Foundation
“There’s a stark contrast between Western society’s current framing of mentorship and what I’ve noticed at Nawalakw. The interactions of K’odi, the Mi’maya’a̱nł community of elders and the rest of the Nawalakw team reflect a universal truth in a more powerful way than I’ve seen anywhere else: that when we focus our attention on the experience of others, we bring much more power to unfolding the stories that our communities need. Not only is K’odi an exemplary leader, he’s a strong example of resourcefulness combined with sheer human decency. He serves as a mentor for all those he leads—and all those he continues to learn from.”
Ian Chisholm,
Roy Group Partner & Co-Founder
On the northwestern edge of Vancouver Island, the Nawalakw Community Foundation brings together Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw youth and elders, providing traditional teachings in all aspects of the culture and environmental stewardship as part of a community-led, land-based healing initiative.
As a hereditary Musg̱a̱makw Dzawada̱’enux̱w leader, K’odi Nelson has known for a long time that he would be counted on as a leader. Even as a kid, K’odi understood that team means more than just the role I get to play. As a young athlete, he was always on the lookout for other soccer players who could provide the skills the team needed. When he saw someone with those gifts, he’d call them up. His invitation to serve was always irresistible.
This same commitment to inviting people into leadership was key to getting Nawalakw off the ground. With only a vision of something remarkable and no full understanding of how it could possibly come into being—a dream of reconnecting his people to their land, their language and their cultural heritage—K’odi has assembled a thriving team, and together, they’ve opened a world-class language and cultural centre in the heart of British Columbia’s verdant, fertile coast. A leap of faith like this takes astonishing bravery and conviction, combined with a wide-open resourcefulness and trust that we will find a way.
Prior to founding Nawalakw, K’odi was lead tour guide for Sea Wolf Adventures, an Indigenous-owned adventure tour operator. He also taught culture and language at the Gwa’sala Nakwaxda’xw School, a natural fit for someone with such a passion for educating and empowering the next generation.
K’odi carries the vision born of the way of the people who came before him—an ancient way that is now being reclaimed and stewarded into the future. Ask any number of the Mi’maya’a̱nł (community of elders) that this team looks to for mentorship, and they will tell you how proud they are of what Nawalakw has accomplished to date—and they will tell you how proud and hopeful they are in the team of leaders that Nawalakw is shaping for important times ahead.
As someone who builds teams as naturally as he draws air, K’odi is always open to connect—after meetings, in the parking lot, on his back deck in the evenings. A key part of his leadership practice is just being accessible. Like the Mi’maya’a̱nł who watch over the Nawalakw team and stand ever ready to help, hold and love, K’odi exemplifies the way anyone is to treat anyone else in this community: I have time for you, and I believe in you. His mastery of grace is palpable. Rather than holding expectation, he meets people where they’re at, inviting the strongest, most honourable and most valued contribution from whoever he is with.
With a ready chuckle, K’odi brings levity to moments of joy. We admire his genuine and articulate way of helping others comprehend a different way of seeing the world, while holding space for different understandings. K’odi’s dignified gravitas in the face of hardships, tragedy and resistance embodies the spirit of perseverance, and invites this same spirit from everyone around him.
A loving husband and dad, and uncle and cousin to many, K’odi balances his considerable leadership responsibilities with activities that keep him connected to the land, like hunting moose, canning salmon and gathering oolichan. He describes his focus on the next generations as Hasdaxala’yuis—“my reason for breathing.”
It takes visionary courage to build a dream like Nawalakw. But K’odi’s extraordinary leadership qualities have drawn toward him the exact constellation of leaders and mentors to pull just such a dream across the veil.
K’odi Nelson receives the 2025 MacGregor Cup from Roy Group Co-Founder Anne-Marie Daniel at St. George’s School in Vancouver during a Quiet Champions book launch on November 20, 2025.