Latest news with #NNC
National Observer
20-05-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Heather Shilton
About Heather Shilton Heather Shilton lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is director at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC) and a 2024 Clean50 honouree.
National Observer
20-05-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Committed to clean energy in the North
These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity. As director at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC), 32-year-old Heather Shilton is passionately committed to ensuring communities drive the clean-energy transition. Tell us about your work. NNC is Nunavut's first 100-per-cent, Inuit-owned renewable energy developer. We aim to sustainably power the Qikiqtani region by empowering communities to take ownership of renewable energy projects that reflect their values. Our largest project, scheduled to come online in 2033, will replace all of Iqaluit's diesel use with hydroelectricity with potential additional capacity for clean home heating. Twelve other projects under various stages of development, construction and operation range from building-specific, micro-grid solar and battery energy storage to community-scaled wind and solar. Most renewable energy conversations are about technology, but it is the chance to empower communities to make their futures healthier, cleaner, and eventually more affordable, that propels me. We are breathing life into the concept of free, prior and informed consent in a way that sets an appropriately high benchmark for the entire country. There is a sad history of renewable projects attracting negative attention when rights-holders have their priorities ignored. None of our projects are complete until affected communities say, 'Yes,' at least four times. They must agree to explore alternatives to diesel, identify their preferred alternative, understand the economics, costs and social benefits, and approve the execution plan. Communities also play a key role in identifying co-benefits. For example, as we prepare to build the road to the water-power project, we are exploring erecting shelters to make snowmobile transportation and recreational land access safer. Building shelters is not part of our core business, but we do intend that people affected see maximum benefits. So, we build shelters. Popular support has helped regulators and the utility modernize their approaches and allows us to move more rapidly with each project. In 2019, we had two megawatts (MW) of renewable energy under various phases of development. By 2025, we have more than 30 MW. As director at Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC), 32-year-old Heather Shilton is passionately committed to ensuring communities drive the clean-energy transition. Does disinformation slow you down? We believe in telling people everything we know. For the water-power project, we identified 16 alternatives for power to Iqaluit. One of those was remaining on diesel. Every development has costs and benefits, and people have the right to make the choice. It is our experience that if we respect people's intelligence, value relationships and add technical know-how, communities will sort through the disinformation themselves. Everything we say is presented in both Inuktitut and English, and we use a lot of visuals. We allow the process to take the time it needs. What makes your work hard? Sometimes, lack of accurate data gets in our way. For example, much is made of how expensive renewables are in the North, and we require federal financial support. But diesel is also subsidized. We have been attempting to calculate the taxpayer-funded support for diesel in Nunavut for five years without success, making it harder to provide our communities with good data for their decisions. Our team is talented, passionate and feels the urgency of economic and climate change. Moving at the pace of community trust can be hard, but we know it is fundamental to a just, clean-energy transition in Nunavut. We have learned to take a longer view. What keeps you awake at night? If we don't get the way we communicate right, we risk losing community trust. It is hard to win that back. Funders are sometimes impatient with our process. Climate change is a daily reality. It's worrisome when hunters get lost because they are not able to read the ice the way they used to, due to unreliable weather patterns. What gives you hope? When an elder feels their values are prioritized for the first time in their lives, I know we are on the right track. My team is inspiring every day. We are creating energy sovereignty and good, clean jobs close to home. That feels good. What do you see if we get this right? People all over the North and across the country engage in a collective re-imagining of the kind of futures that are possible. How did the way you were raised affect you? In a high school ecology class, we read former US vice president Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I was terrified, but I knew that being part of the solution would guide the rest of my life. The fear galvanized me, but the desire to protect the people and places I love and help them thrive in their own ways keeps me engaged. What would you like to say to other young people? There is no better feeling than working with people who are making a difference and learning together. Check the sources of your information. Ask who might benefit from you believing it. What about older readers? It can be frustrating to hear older people say, "It's your generation that will save us.' Older people often have power and agency that are not available to younger folks. Use it to protect our future.
Time Business News
24-04-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
An Exclusive Interview: The Vision of Dr. April Willis for Business and Nonprofit Success
Founder of April Willis Consulting, LLC, April Willis has created a business that is more than that; it is a movement. With her passion for enabling others to live their best life, April combines years of education, nonprofit leadership, and business strategy expertise in every endeavor she undertakes. Her North Texas-based firm works with clients across the country, providing personalized consulting, professional coaching, and energetic speaking services. April recently introduced the National Nonprofit Collaborative, a revolutionary subscription site that equips nonprofit leaders with the tools, templates, and resources they require to succeed. April's mission is straightforward: assist you in going farther, faster. In this interview, she explores her path, her philosophy, and how she's making waves of empowerment throughout the nation. We meet people where they are. We started in this business ten years ago writing resumes at the name-your-price approach so that every person would be able to look like a work of art on paper, regardless of their economic position. We have continued that approach all of these years and still offer a name-your-price approach for resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn optimization. We also started the National Nonprofit Collaborative as a way to provide consulting supports to nonprofits that couldn't afford a consultant. We have premier services for those who can afford it, and we offer services at prices for those who need a little extra support during challenging times. I think this really sets us apart and allows us to build powerful relationships with our clients. 2. Your extensive experience spans education, small businesses, and nonprofits, guiding organizations toward sustainable growth. How do you balance the diverse needs of these sectors when developing tailored strategies, and what common challenges do you find across them that your consulting approach addresses? I balance sector needs by focusing on core strengths like clear messaging, systems thinking, and capacity building. Across education, small businesses, and nonprofits, common challenges include limited capacity and disconnected efforts. I also work a lot with people who have really big hearts and want to change the world, but lack the business acumen to do so well and for a long period of time. We allow leaders to do what they do best- solve community challenges– while we work behind the scenes to ensure they have a strong foundation upon which to build their business and then scale it. Absolutely. One example is how the National Nonprofit Collaborative (NNC) helped a grassroots mental health nonprofit streamline their grant reporting and donor communications. They were spending hours each month juggling spreadsheets and piecing together impact stories. Through NNC, they accessed a shared reporting template, automated email workflows, and storytelling prompts aligned with funder priorities. As a result, they not only saved time but also saw a 40% increase in donor retention and secured two new grants within six months. This reflects NNC's core vision: when nonprofits spend less time on admin and more on impact, they thrive—and so do the communities they serve. Our goal is to shift the sector from burnout to collaboration, from silos to shared success. I integrate my academic background by translating theory into tools that work in the real world. Research helps me understand systems, change management, and behavior—but I always ground that in practical application. For example, I might use a theory of change framework to guide a strategic plan, but I'll pair it with simple action steps, clear metrics, and team training. It's about making complex ideas accessible and actionable. My goal is to help organizations not just hit short-term targets, but build systems, skills, and culture that support long-term resilience—so they're not just surviving, but growing with intention. A bold vision I have is to get the National Nonprofit Collaborative into the hands of 70% of the nation's nonprofits. We're doing this through a B2B strategy that engages large companies as sponsors, funding annual memberships for nonprofits in the communities they serve. It's a win-win: companies deepen their community impact, and nonprofits gain access to the tools, support, and collaboration they need to thrive. This vision is about scale, sustainability, and building a stronger nonprofit ecosystem—together. April's work is centered on impact. From her hands-on consulting practice to the continually expanding National Nonprofit Collaborative, April transforms the way people and organizations find success. Her skill at combining strategic intelligence with empathic leadership makes her a go-to voice in an increasingly changing domain. She is more than an advisor; she is a connector, navigator, and champion for those who strive to grow and serve. April's commitment to providing others with usable, quality resources speaks of a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities between the nonprofit and entrepreneurial sectors. With leaders like April, the future appears to be collaborative, innovative, and decidedly bright. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Council pledges to tackle social housing shortage
A council said it was committed to tackling its housing shortage after a report showed more than 6,000 people were waiting for social housing at any one time. Figures published by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) showed only 1,319 homes became available over a 12-month period in 2023-24. The authority's five-year housing strategy, which is currently under consultation, stated that the "need is not being met" due to the high number of people on its Keyways Housing Allocations Scheme. NNC said its Keyways team remained "dedicated to assessing new housing applications as expediently as possible" and that it was working with house builders to ensure that affordable housing targets were met. At a scrutiny meeting discussing the strategy on Tuesday, Conservative member for Raunds, Lee Wilkes, said: "I bet that waiting list is going up faster than we're managing to reduce it. There is no way any council can resolve it - we can't even put a dent in it." According to the housing strategy document, there are more than 6,500 households in North Northamptonshire waiting for a social home – a third of which had been identified as "priority need", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Mr Wilkes said he hoped the council's new housing strategy would help build a "much stronger" planning policy, giving the authority more power to instruct developers to provide what was needed in the area. Jason Smithers, Conservative leader of NNC, said: "As with many local authorities, the current demand for social housing outstrips the supply of council-registered properties available for rent. "The council is committed to regular reviews of the housing register to ensure it is up to date and reflective of current housing need. "Our Keyways team remains dedicated to assessing new housing applications as expediently as possible." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. How councils in Northamptonshire want to spend your money Council plans digital and EV spending in budget North Northamptonshire Council Local Democracy Reporting Service
BBC News
28-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Northamptonshire council pledges to tackle social housing gap
A council said it was committed to tackling its housing shortage after a report showed more than 6,000 people were waiting for social housing at any one published by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) showed only 1,319 homes became available over a 12-month period in authority's five-year housing strategy, which is currently under consultation, stated that the "need is not being met" due to the high number of people on its Keyways Housing Allocations said its Keyways team remained "dedicated to assessing new housing applications as expediently as possible" and that it was working with house builders to ensure that affordable housing targets were met. At a scrutiny meeting discussing the strategy on Tuesday, Conservative member for Raunds, Lee Wilkes, said: "I bet that waiting list is going up faster than we're managing to reduce it. There is no way any council can resolve it - we can't even put a dent in it."According to the housing strategy document, there are more than 6,500 households in North Northamptonshire waiting for a social home – a third of which had been identified as "priority need", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Mr Wilkes said he hoped the council's new housing strategy would help build a "much stronger" planning policy, giving the authority more power to instruct developers to provide what was needed in the Smithers, Conservative leader of NNC, said: "As with many local authorities, the current demand for social housing outstrips the supply of council-registered properties available for rent."The council is committed to regular reviews of the housing register to ensure it is up to date and reflective of current housing need."Our Keyways team remains dedicated to assessing new housing applications as expediently as possible." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
