A member of the Little Pine First Nation, CeCe Baptiste holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She holds the Certified Public Accountant designation and the designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors. Over the course of her career, she has held senior positions in a variety of sectors, including provincial ministries, financial institutions, Crown corporations and higher education institutions. Ms. Baptiste has served as a member of the Board of Directors of SaskGaming Corporation and the United Way of Saskatoon and Area. She currently serves on the Canadian Mountain Network and Canada’s Ballet Jorgen board. Her leadership abilities have been recognized with nominations and awards, including finalists for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, CBC’s Top 40 Under 40, FSIN Strength of our Women in Business, and U of S Canada 150 Citizen Award. Ms. Baptiste works tirelessly to improve partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities by advocating for leadership on the boards of which she is a member.

Currently, Ms. Baptiste is the Vice-President of Finance at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT). Each year, this training institution awards diplomas, certificates and designations to more than 2,300 students in all major cities and many rural communities in Saskatchewan. Ms. Baptiste works with the institution’s board and external leaders from the higher education sector, governments and industry partners to foster Indigenous prosperity. In this role, she is responsible for risk management, governance and financial accountability, providing strategic advice to management for multi-year decision-making.

In addition, Ms. Baptiste lectures on intergenerational trauma, resilience and reconciliation. She actively participates in public forums where the current realities of Indigenous peoples are discussed, drawing a clear distinction between the impacts of intergenerational trauma, the culture of Indigenous peoples, and the culture or context of those affected by poverty.