Raylene Whitford is Métis and the founder of Canative Energy, a social enterprise dedicated to economically empowering Indigenous communities who have been impacted by the extractive industries. 

Whitford spent nearly ten years working in finance in the oil and gas industry in London before moving to Latin America, where she works directly with Indigenous communities to support the commercialization of their existing businesses. She was once the youngest CFO for a company listed on the London Stock Exchange and also spent six months as the only female roughneck on a drilling rig in Northern Alberta. 

Whitford encourages Indigenous youth to gain as much international experience as possible, as she believes this was key to her success thus far in her career. A Chartered Accountant with an MBA in Oil and Gas Management, Whitford is currently a PhD student in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alberta.