Ellie (Eliza) Oldach (she/her) is part of the core staff of First Light. She graduated from College of the Atlantic in 2015, then spent a year in Aotearoa/New Zealand as a Fulbright Fellow where she studied intertidal ecology, and experienced a place where Indigenous care and culture is supported in policy and practice. Ellie's experience in Aotearoa prompted her to see the colonial structures of the USA in a new light, and seek pathways towards shifting US systems to return Indigenous care to lands and waters. That pursuit led her to graduate studies in environmental policy at UC-Davis, then back to Wabanaki homelands to begin work with First Light. Today, Ellie weaves her First Light work with community-based research, working closely with the non-native conservation community and Wabanaki partners to shift conservation practices, return land, and imagine different futures for land and people care.