Karen Ogen

CEO, First Nations LNG Alliance

Karen Ogen is the CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance, a society of First Nations in support of responsible LNG development in Canada — with a priority on the environment and First Nations consultation and engagement.

Karen brings extensive experience to her role, having served as elected chief of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation between 2010 and 2016. She was also a council member for the Nation between 1987 and 1990 and again from 2019 to 2022.

She is familiar with the needs of Indigenous communities throughout B.C. and seeks to increase economic opportunities for First Nations through providing information and education regarding responsible resource development.

While Karen recognizes that not all projects will be appropriate for all nations, she hopes to help inspire more First Nations to consider and engage in discussions with industry and government around the possibility of resource opportunities.

Karen’s academic background is in social work. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2007 and graduated from the Indigenous Governance Certificate Program from the University of Victoria in 2010. In 2022, she successfully completed the master’s in business administration at Simon Fraser University in the Indigenous Business Leadership program. She is the first in her family and community to attain two master’s degrees.

Karen was named one of the 35 Most Influential Women in BC: The power to disrupt in March 2016 by BC Business Magazine. She was elected in two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022, as one of the Business in Vancouver BC 500: The most influential business leaders in British Columbia in the Resources: Oil and Gas sector.