Our Mission & Model
MGPN is built around Indigenous digital sovereignty — Indigenous communities leading in technology, on-shore and under documented Indigenous control. We operate as an employment engine, not a school. Cohorts begin with structured training and supervised practice on real client work; once participants are assessed as work-ready, they move into paid roles at MGPN or with on-shore employer partners through our wage-subsidy network. Delivery happens through three CCIB-certified service lines — Capacity, Managed, and Professional Services & Augmentation — entirely in Canada, by Indigenous-led teams. Skills stay where they’re learned. Data stays where it’s created.
Maverick Gardner Pathways North (MGPN) is an Indigenous-majority-owned, for-profit company that delivers digital services and builds an Indigenous digital workforce inside the same business model. Co-Founded by Michelle Brennan and Chris Germain, MGPN was built to address what most workforce programs have struggled to do: turn training into employment that lasts.
The cohort model embeds delivery into training. Participants begin with structured learning paired with supervised practice on real client work. Once assessed as work-ready, they are hired into paid roles at MGPN — working on the same client engagements they were practicing on, now as employed staff. No unpaid practicums dressed as careers. No certificate-only graduations. Outcomes are measured in employed alumni and continuing careers, not credentials earned.
MGPN operates as both a workforce engine and a CCIB-certified service provider. Three service lines — Capacity Services for IT companies and internal IT teams, Managed Services for end-customer organizations, and Professional Services & Augmentation for defence primes, federal departments, and regulated enterprises — generate the revenue that funds the cohort model. Outcomes and revenue compound; they don’t compete for the same dollar.
The flagship hub in Grahamdale, Manitoba anchors a remote-first delivery model. Participants train and work from their home communities across the Interlake and Northern Manitoba without being asked to relocate. Bringing the work to the community, rather than asking the community to leave, is how regional economic development actually compounds: skills stay where they are learned, wages circulate locally, and long-term talent retention becomes a property of the model rather than a hoped-for outcome.
Our mission rests on three commitments:
Indigenous digital sovereignty. MGPN is Indigenous-owned, Indigenous-led, and CCIB-certified. Decisions, delivery, and data all stay under documented Indigenous control and within Canadian jurisdiction. We connect local talent in Manitoba and the Prairies to on-shore digital roles their communities have historically been excluded from — keeping the skills, the work, and the accountability in Indigenous hands.
Pathways to paid work. MGPN cohorts begin with structured training and a work-readiness assessment. Once a participant is assessed as work-ready, they move into a paid role — hired directly with MGPN or placed with an on-shore employer partner through our Manitoba Métis Federation wage-subsidy network. No unpaid practicums dressed as careers, no certificate-only programs. We measure success in employed alumni and continuing careers, not credentials earned.
On-shore delivery, accountably staffed. MGPN delivers Capacity, Managed, and Augmentation services from Canada — often from rural Indigenous communities. Every billable hour is performed by trained, supervised, MGPN-employed staff. No offshore outsourcing, no hidden subcontracting. CCIB-certified, Indigenous Business Directory–registered, PSIB-eligible, and structured for defence-grade data residency — an accountable, Indigenous-led alternative to offshore delivery.
Meet Our Team
Michelle Brennan
Co-Founder & Managing Director - Member of Cote First Nation
Michelle Brennan is MGPN’s co-founder and Managing Director. She brings over fifteen years in operations leadership and compliance-driven project delivery, and a professional background in construction administration and health & safety — disciplines that demand rigorous documentation and the systems thinking that holds up under audit. She applies the same discipline to MGPN, translating strategy, funding, and partnerships into structured, on-time execution.
Day-to-day, Michelle leads workforce program delivery, funding and grant coordination, regulatory compliance, and audit-ready documentation across the organization. She aligns operations with funding frameworks such as ISET, ties training pathways to employment outcomes, and keeps complex multi-stakeholder initiatives moving from planning to completion. Under her leadership, MGPN’s employment-first model stays accountable to real community needs and labour-market demand — measured against the outcomes that matter: sustainable employment, skills development, and long-term Indigenous economic participation.
Mariah Reddick
Workforce Co-ordinator
Mariah Reddick brings over ten years of administrative and client-service experience to her role as Workforce Co-ordinator at MGPN. Her background spans high-volume call environments, client record management, scheduling, and operational documentation — built across roles in financial services and administrative support where accuracy, discretion, and consistent follow-through were non-negotiable. She holds an Administrative Assistant Certificate through the Miziwe Biik Training Program and a Human Resource Management Certificate from the Canadian College of Business and Technology, credentials that reflect both her connection to Indigenous employment pathways and her commitment to building professional depth in the HR and workforce space.
Day-to-day, Mariah supports the coordination and administration of MGPN’s workforce programs — tracking participant progress, managing records, scheduling, and ensuring that documentation is accurate, organized, and audit-ready. Her decade of experience managing client relationships and complex workflows in fast-paced environments translates directly into the logistical rigour MGPN’s cohort model depends on. She brings the same attention to detail and professionalism that kept multi-advisor operations running smoothly to the work of building Indigenous digital careers — making sure participants and programs are well-supported from intake through employment.
Chris Germain
Co-Founder & Strategic Lead
Chris Germain is MGPN’s strategic lead and co-founder. He brings over thirteen years building, scaling, and governing organizations in cybersecurity, nuclear energy, and critical infrastructure — sectors where audit-ready operations, regulatory rigour, and continuity under pressure aren’t optional. As President & CEO of The Maverick Gardner Corporation, a founder of a managed services and cybersecurity provider, a vCISO, and a Controlled Goods Program–accountable leader, Chris brings the governance backbone that lets MGPN operate at institutional grade.
Within MGPN, Chris owns service delivery governance, quality control, and compliance frameworks — aligning the cohort employment model with real market demand, billable work, and revenue that compounds rather than depends on a single funding stream. He also leads investor and funder engagement, positioning MGPN as a scalable workforce engine aligned with Indigenous procurement, digital sovereignty, and on-shore service delivery. He ensures MGPN can scale without trading off the operational discipline its clients depend on.