Members
The NWT Human Rights Commission is composed of three to five Commission Members who are appointed by the Legislative Assembly for a term of four years. Commission Members are selected based on their interest in, and sensitivity to, human rights. They are from different communities in the NWT and work part-time for the Commission.
Current Commission members
Mary Pat Short, Chair
Mary Pat Short has made her home in the Northwest Territories since 1980, residing in small communities and in the regional centre of Fort Smith where she lives currently. She is proud to have been an educator for 34 years and has taught students from the primary level to adults. Mary Pat held elected and appointed positions with the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association both regionally and territorially. For seven years, as Chairperson of the Status of Women Committee, she represented NWT teachers at the national level. Mary Pat Short has been the Chairperson of the NWT Human Rights Commission since the Commission was founded in 2004.
Yacub Adam, Commission Member
Yacub Adam, originally from Malawi, currently lives and works in Yellowknife as a political consultant. He has provided consulting services to private companies, government corporations, government departments, and Ministers in the Northwest Territories. He has served as Chair of the Aurora College Board and Chair of the Aurora Research Council. Yacub holds degrees in Politics from various Universities in Britain. In his academic career, he has lectured in various fields of politics at universities in West Africa and the UK. Yacub brings to the Commission a very personal interest in human rights, his academic background, as well as his varied life experiences of having lived and worked in three continents. Yacub Adam began his mandate as a Commission Member in 2008.
Rita Mueller, Commission Member
Rita Mueller has called the Northwest Territories “home” since 1989. She has lived and worked in a variety of different communities including Fort Resolution, Hay River and Behchoko. She is currently the Director of Early Childhood and School Services for the Government of the Northwest Territories’ Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE). She moved to the Department of ECE after teaching and being the principal of Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional High School (CJBS) in Behchoko for 13 years. She still resides in Behchoko and commutes to Yellowknife for work. Rita is an elected board member of the Community Government of Behchoko, as well as a board member of the Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board. Since 2006 she has contributed to the educational mandate of the NWT Human Rights Commission as a Commission Member.
Roger Wah-Shee, Commission Member
Roger Wah-Shee is Tlicho Dene and was born and raised in Fort Smith, NT. Roger graduated from the Faculty of Law in University of Victoria in 2008 and currently works for the Government of the Northwest Territories. A strong believer in restorative justice and human rights, Roger is looking forward to learning and working with the NWT Human Rights Commission. Roger joined the Commission in October 2010.
Past Commission Members
- Bill Turner, Yellowknife, 2010-2011
- Tammy Rogers, Inuvik, 2006-2010
- George Collins, Hay River, 2008-2009
- Colin Baile, Yellowknife, 2004-2008
- Joletta Larocque, Hay River, 2004-2008
- Lorne Gushue, Yellowknife, 2004-2006
- Rosemary Kirby, Inuvik, 2004-2006
