Board of directors
Jens Immanuelsen
Chair
Jens Immanuelsen, chair of Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat
Jens Immanuelsen was employed at KGH (Royal Greenland Trade), later known as KNI, for nearly two decades. From 1993 to 2021, he played an active role in politics: first as mayor of Kommuneqarfik Upernavik, and later as a member of the municipal board for Avannaata Kommunea. Most recently he served as Member of the Government for Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture.
Kuupik V. Kleist
Board member
Kuupik V Kleist, board member of Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat
Kuupik V Kleist became president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council/Kalaallit Nunaat in 2022. He holds a degree in Social Sciences from Roskilde University. Kuupik V Kleist has previously been a member of Inatsisartut (Parliament) for about 15 years, and a member of Folketinget (Danish Parliament on behalf of Greenland) for seven years. Kuupik V Kleist was Naalakkersuisoq (Minister) 1991-1995, and was Chairman of naalakkersuisut (The Government) 2009-2013.
Kuupik V Kleist has been involved in the work of the Inuit Circumpolar Council for a number of years, both as a member of the top management and as a consultant.
Birger Poppel
Board Member
Birger Poppel, board member of Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat
Birger Poppel is an emeritus professor at the Ilinniarfissuaq (Institute of Learning) within the Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) and is also affiliated with the university’s Department of Cultural and Social History. He was Statistics Greenland’s Chief Statistician from 1989-2004, following which he joined the university. He is engaged in several national and international research projects, including the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic (SLiCA) and the Wealth of the Arctic Group of Experts (WAGE), which is studying economic and social inequality. In 2017, he was elected a member of the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research, and a year later he received the Research Fellow Award from the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS).
Hilu Tagoona
Board Member
Hilu Tagoona, board member of Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat
Hailing from the central Canadian Arctic, Hilu has a background in community development and is the Senior Arctic Advisor with Oceans North. She has 15 years' experience participating as an Inuk intervenor in final regulatory reviews of mining projects in Nunavut. She is a member of Nunavummiut Makitagunarngningit, an independent non-governmental organization created to inform Nunavut residents about the impacts of uranium mining. Hilu is also a member of MiningWatch Canada. She has represented Inuit nationally and internationally, having reported on autonomy and self-government at a UN seminar as it relates to the implementation of UNDRIP, NWAC's contribution to the Canadian Impact Assessment Act, revamping of the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Professionals, and the Local Knowledge Integration Workshop for Circumpolar Arctic Research for CNRS. Hilu has her BA from Carleton University.
