Meet Andrew Karesa.
Entrepreneur. Professor. Researcher. Podcast Host. Former Engineer. Endurance Athlete.
Andrew Karesa is a Cree entrepreneur from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, the founder and CEO of blueBell Village, and the host of The Dementia Collective.
After spending more than a decade working in engineering, Andrew took an unexpected career turn when his grandmother's experience with Alzheimer's disease inspired him to build an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia.
What started as a personal mission has since taken him into entrepreneurship, academia, public speaking, media, and a few places he never imagined ending up.
Today, Andrew is a doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business, where his research focuses on Indigenous entrepreneurship in healthcare. He also teaches business and leadership at the post-secondary level.
He's a TEDx speaker, the 2023 ASET Technology Professional of the Year, and a passionate advocate for changing how we talk about dementia.
Through The Dementia Collective, Andrew brings together remarkable people from around the world for conversations that are informative, sometimes uncomfortable, and occasionally hilarious.
Outside of all that, he's a husband, father of two, and endurance athlete who somehow decided training for an Ironman was a reasonable addition to his schedule.
A Few Hats Andrew Wears
At the heart of it all is a curiosity about people, the stories they carry, and what we can learn from one another.