Dean
Assinewe

Dean Assinewe is an Indigenous Opportunities Consultant for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) where he plays a key role in the development and implementation of programs, resources, and initiatives with a specific aim to enhance the number, relevancy and accessibility of opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in the forest and conservation sectors.  

With 20 years experience in the Ontario Professional Foresters Association, Dean’s work promotes sustainable and capacity development in a diversity of sectors including the renewable energy sector, mining, forestry as well as the federal and provincial governments.  Dean also operates his own consulting business where he focused on heat treatment inspections for the pallet and container industry, forest management, industry relations, forest auditing and assisting First Nations who are pursuing forestry and non-timber forest product businesses.    

Dean is a graduate of the Sault College Forestry Technician Program and obtained his Forestry Degree at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON.    

In his spare time, Dean is a co-owner of Green Legacy Farm where he and the family grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, raise meat chickens, small scale sawmilling and is starting a maple syrup operation in Bonfield, ON.