(I-ACE) program director and co-designer believes that entrepreneurship drives economic prosperity and is committed to forging a path to accessible education for Indigenous communities. Brent’s work with the I-ACE program began when he was invited to co-design the I-ACE program by TRICORP’s CEO Frank Parnell. The program has received regional, national and international level awards because of the impact the graduates are having as indigenous entrepreneurs.

For over two decades, Brent has been immersed in Indigenous Community development in British Columbia and has focused on entrepreneurial development and training, contributing to an increase in opportunities for sustainable self-employment and employment.

In addition to his role as director of the I-ACE program, Brent is also an award-winning professor at the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of business, where he teaches entrepreneurship, strategy, and Indigenous entrepreneurship classes with value-based leadership, ethics, and a natural-born passion. Brent has received many awards for his excellence in teaching and innovation, including a national award in 2014 as the Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year. He has been recognized as a “top 40 under 40” visionary for his work in education in 2007. Most recently, in 2020, he was honoured to receive the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellows.