Indspire To Launch Executive Search For New President & CEO

April 28, 2025 – On behalf of Mr. Donald Worme, Chair, Board of Directors, Indspire announces its preparations to launch a national search for its next President and CEO as part of a planned leadership transition. The organization is committed to ensuring a thoughtful and comprehensive process to identify the right individual to lead Indspire into its next chapter. A competitive recruitment process will be conducted with the support of an executive search firm, which will be retained in the coming weeks. Applications will be accepted in due course, and updates on the search will be shared as they become available.

Current President and CEO Mike DeGagné will be leaving the organization effective September 30, 2025. After five years of leadership, Mike has positioned Indspire as a national leader in Indigenous education, advocacy, and excellence. During his tenure, he oversaw yearly growth in funding for Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarships (BBF) program and guided Indspire through challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic while expanding support for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. His commitment to Indigenous learners, educators, and communities has been unwavering, and his legacy includes a strengthened foundation for future growth and impact.

Mike will be focused on his work at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), where he serves as a professor of sociology and as Special Advisor on Indigenous Initiatives to the Vice-President & Principal. The Board of Directors expresses its sincere appreciation and gratitude for his outstanding contributions and for the transformative work he has led during his tenure. We wish him continued success as he returns to academia.

As Indspire embarks on this new chapter, we remain steadfast in our mission to close the education gap for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students and to celebrate and support Indigenous achievement across Canada.

Brandon Meawasige
VP, Communications & Marketing
bmeawasige@indspire.ca
1-855-463-7747 x2350

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