Inuk leader to bring the North to Harvard Business School

Stephanie Mikki Adams, an Inuk leader from Rankin Inlet who is now based in Ottawa, has been accepted into a Harvard Business School executive education program and says she’ll bring the North into Harvard University’s halls with her.

Adams is the executive director of the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families in Ottawa.

She announced her acceptance Thursday on Facebook.

“This acceptance is more than personal achievement. It’s representation. It’s reclaiming space. It’s opening doors wider for those coming after me,” wrote Adams.

The four-day certificate program, Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities, is offered in partnership with the Native American Finance Officers Association, Harvard Business School Executive Education, and the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada.

Participants will include Indigenous leaders from Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. They will focus on investment strategies, governance, entrepreneurial finance, negotiations, and change management.

Adams said she applied a month ago after learning about the program through the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada, which she has been affiliated with since earning her Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager designation in 2009.

“I’m looking forward to the impact that it’s going to provide me because [the program] brings together leaders from all around the world,” she said in an interview.

“I’m going to be able to learn alongside them, which will be able to expand my perspective, and at the same time deepen my ability to guide complex, growing organizations such as the Inuuqatigiit Centre.”

Adams said the program aligns closely with her work at Inuuqatigiit, which has grown from 70 staff in 2019 to more than 120 this year, with triple the budget.

The organization provides “wraparound services” that support all aspects of Inuit family life in Ottawa, including health, education, housing and cultural programs.

“I believe this program is going to build my confidence in being able to advocate for the services and programs that we receive here in an urban setting, as well as invest in my community’s future here in Ottawa,” she said.

The program will take place May 4 to 8, 2026, at the Harvard University campus in Boston.

It has a fee of $3,750, covering tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, meals and travel.

Adams will travel to attend the week-long sessions in person and said she will be covering the cost herself with the support of Inuuqatigiit Centre and its board of directors.

“It’s so amazing to have family [and community] supporting me and backing me up because it also builds confidence in ourselves, that we can attain those skills in those degrees,” said Adams.

“It lets our youth and our adults know that education has no age limit and is not something to use for power, but to gain knowledge. It’s how we can give back to our community collaboratively.”

Adams hopes to bring some items from her home community in Rankin Inlet to Boston next year, including an atigi, or traditional parka, that her daughter will make for her.

“I’m super excited and I’m looking forward to carrying my community, my ancestors, my mom, my grandparents, that I know are also looking down on me with pride,” she said.