Carol Hopkins is the Chief Executive Officer of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and is of the Lenape Nation, Canada. Carol was appointed as an Officer in the Order of Canada, 2018. In 2019, she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Western University.
Carol has spent 30 years in the field of First Nations substance use and mental health. She holds both a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Toronto and a degree in sacred Indigenous Knowledge from Midewiwin, equivalent to a PhD in western based education systems.
Carol has throughout her career, made use of Indigenous knowledge and culture in the areas of research, policy, practice-based evidence, teaching, education, and in facilitating processes of decolonization specific to epistemic racism. She has co-chaired national initiatives known for best practice in national policy review and development. Her leadership has been engaged within Health and Mental Health for First Nations, Provincial, Territorial, and Federal governments serving several expert advisory committees and task groups.
In recognition of this work, Carol has received several national awards over the years, and most recently received the 2025 Canada’s Top Mental Health Advocate Award for Indigenous Mental Health.
Contact: chopkins@nnapf.com