Summary
Driven and versatile.
Indigenous Astronomer & Director, Digital Services
My career began after completing an MSc. in Astrophysics at McMaster. I have since worked as an Oracle Analytics consultant and solved technical problems pertaining to loading and analyzing data from large Oracle databases. At Six Nations Polytechnic, I was put on a path to become a professor of Indigenous Astronomy, and have been a guest speaker since then to explain how I navigated learning more about Indigenous Knowledge about astronomy coming from my western astrophysical background. At Two Worlds Consulting, I now work with a group of consultants who navigate the ethical space between Indigenous and Western Knowledge systems. I've completed projects for Indigenous Nations, governments (municipal, provincial, and federal), and not-for-profit organizations. I'm a Qualified Indigenous Facilitator with the Government of British Columbia, and I've completed research and led Indigenous Knowledge components of impact assessments in the regulatory sector, and facilitated workshops about Indigenous Knowledge.
Here are some of my speaking engagements:
Highlights
Events as an Invited Speaker
Projects Completed
Impact Assessments
Reconciliation Planning Projects
Resume
Summary
Melanie Demers
Adaptable and agile problem-solver. Leader, author, speaker, data analyst, and researcher who is passionate about creating and communicating multiple perspectives.
Professional Experience
Director, Digital Services
April 2024 - Present
Two Worlds Consulting
- Establish new department and business line at TWC.
- Build and lead a team of Digital Services Analysts, Specialists, and Technical Leads.
- Design methodologies to implement cutting-edge Digital Services solutions, for projects related to Indigenous Knowledge and socio-environmental data.
- Lead proposal development for Digital Services projects.
- Identify and understand emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence) and how principles of Indigenous data sovereignty interact with new technologies.
Technical Lead, Indigenous and Stakeholder Information Management
2023 - April 2024
Two Worlds Consulting
- Provide technical direction and mentorship for TWC team members on project work.
- Develop and maintain leading standards and methodologies pertaining to information management.
- Act as an internal expert on information management platforms and emerging technology and as a liaison between TWC and its clients.
Oracle Analytics Consultant
2018 - 2022
Prometheus Group
- Managed 5 clients and provided technical advice on all Prometheus Group (PG) Oracle data analytics projects.
- Developed custom reports in Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE).
- Maintained Oracle datawarehouse and Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes.
- Technical tools and concepts used: Oracle datawarehousing, OBIEE, Informatica, the Oracle Data Administration Console (DAC), ETL processes, the Oracle Administration Tool, Oracle SQL.
Education
MSc. Physics and Astronomy
2016 - 2018
McMaster University
Studied and published a paper about how the disc properties of spiral galaxies vary in X-ray strong and X-ray weak groups, contributing to the understanding of galaxy evolution. Published datasets for further scientific use (see VizieR catalogue).
BSc. Physics and Astronomy
2011 - 2015
York University
Studied observational astronomy and raised $11,000 through tele-donations at the York University Call Centre.