Ya’ak-stalth Compassionate Leadership Gathering

The Ya’ak-stalth Compassionate Leadership Gathering, held on October 24-25, 2024, at Sunwolf in Squamish, BC, was a significant moment of reflection, accountability, and collective visioning. Co-hosted by Ah-up-wa-eek and Ya’ak-chamat-axa (Shawn and Heather Atleo) of the Atleo Centre for Compassionate Leadership and Thalkna (Dr. Ray Markham) and Sasanaxa (Leslie Carty) of the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia, the Tleetsu (gathering) was deeply rooted in teachings and practices of Team Atleo and those who guided them, and created opportunities for reflection, relationship-building, and collective learning. It provided a responsive space for health leaders to share stories, insights, and tangible examples while addressing specific challenges and opportunities within the systems they care for and support.  

This was beyond a community-building and strategic thinking event; the Tleetsu served as a methodological framework for evaluation—centering witnessing, storytelling, and shared accountability as actionable forms of validation and reporting. In this space, ceremony becomes a practice of knowledge exchange, where the integral components of success are captured through relational and cultural dimensions.  

Over 110 participants—healthcare administrators, family physicians and specialists, ministry officials, health authority leaders and patient advocates—came together to share insights, assess the impact of the Compassionate Leadership program, and co-develop a path forward for embedding these principles within the healthcare system.