Fresh off her first week as Chief Executive Officer of Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Jenaya Chutskoff reflected with MBC News on her deep roots in Saskatchewan and her emotional connection to the cultural site.
Chutskoff, who grew up in the small community of Watrous, was raised in a blue-collar family where her father operated a local mechanics garage. After attending business school at the University of Regina and earning her accounting credentials in Saskatoon, her professional path brought her to Wanuskewin—a place she says captivated her right from the start.
“If you’ve been to Wanuskewin, it’s a really incredible place, and it’s really magnetic—figuratively and potentially literally as well,” Chutskoff told MBC News.
Over her decade-plus tenure at the park, Chutskoff wore many hats, starting in finance and administration before taking on board management, government relations, and leading the park’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Seeing the organization and its team grow over the years fueled her desire to step up when the leadership opportunity arose.
“I had an opportunity over the years obviously to really see our staff thrive and grow, and it really made me excited for the possibility and the opportunity to be able to truly step in to a true leadership role with the park,” she shared.
Taking over the top position officially last week, Chutskoff described the reception from her colleagues as overwhelmingly supportive.
“It’s been absolutely incredible,” Chutskoff said of her first week. “I had a really, really warm welcome from the staff, which obviously, as you can imagine, is really confidence-building in this role… they actually even decorated my office with a little welcome-back sign, which was really kind.”
While taking in the milestone, Chutskoff noted that she remains keenly focused on the work ahead, particularly as the organization moves into the final push for its UNESCO application.
“Of course, obviously [I’m] very acutely aware of the work that now needs to be done in this shift to an actual CEO role,” she said.
(Photo provided by Wanuskewin Heritage Park)