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Lil’wat Nation has its new permanent chief administrative officer.
Kerry Mehaffey, who has served in the position since February 2020, had the interim tag removed in November, and the Nation announced the move in January.
In an email to Pique, Mehaffey said that taking over the role long-term rather than keeping the seat warm has changed his perspective.
“I definitely look at the job differently,” he said. “Although I have been familiar, each person coming in has their own approach and thoughts about the position. While I have done it in the past, I have really focussed on getting things ready for someone else to step in.”
Mehaffey’s main focus as he assumes the CAO job permanently is continuing to navigate COVID-19. The Lil’wat Nation had kept the virus at bay for months before its first cases in December. Lil’wat quickly cleared the cases and has worked diligently to immunize residents.
“We have delivered 842 vaccines to people who live or work on-reserve and we have a second dose to deliver in five weeks. We are really just waiting for this to be over before we get back to other priorities,” Mehaffey wrote.
Mehaffey noted that pandemic response has taken up much of the Nation’s bandwidth as staff members and residents handle uncertainty, burnout and stress.
“Responding to COVID has been pretty all-encompassing,” he said. “We are very proud of the way that the community has responded throughout.”
Of course, peering through the COVID lens makes it difficult for Mehaffey and the Nation to chart a course for what to do once a sense of normalcy is restored.
“We are waiting to see what the world looks like coming out the other end of this pandemic,” he said. “Council really wants to see us re-connect with the community and as a community. It’s been hard on people and families to be apart.”
Lil’wat’s chiefs and council opted to keep Mehaffey in the role, with political chief Dean Nelson thrilled with the move.
“Not only is he a strong leader, but he has also proven to have excellent management and business skills as CEO of the Líl’wat Business Group,” Nelson said in a release. “For more than a decade, Kerry has demonstrated his commitment to Líl’wat Nation, our people and our culture. He has a strong understanding of our land, economic development and community needs.”
Mehaffey joined the Lil’wat Nation in 2007 as its on-reserve lands officer before rising through the ranks to become the economic development officer and later, the chief executive officer of Lil’wat Business Group, which operates at an arm’s length from the Nation.
Chief financial officer Dwayne Stanshall is the business group’s interim CEO. Mehaffey noted that he’s staying involved in some projects during the transition.
