Jessica Barudin is Kwakwaka'wakw, a member of the 'Namgis First Nation living in Alert Bay, BC. She is a proud mother, Sundancer, Indigenous scholar, and trauma-informed yoga teacher. Jessica is the founder of Indigenous Yoga Collective and co-director of the First Nations Women's Yoga initiative, a unique training for diverse First Nations women and two-spirit peoples that offers an 80-hour trauma-informed, culturally rooted yoga curriculum.

She is completing her Ph.D. and is writing her thesis which is titled: "Braiding Knowledge through breath, language, and movement: Culturally-adapted, trauma-informed yoga for First Nations women" that centers Kwakwaka'wakw ways of wellness and healing alongside the science of Yoga, and modern approaches to resolving trauma through embodiment and language learning.

Jessica has over a decade of experience as a visionary in Indigenous health, research, and education. She has offered wellness initiatives, program development, and consulting for Indigenous communities and organizations across Turtle Island. She is passionate about creating healing and wellness pathways on the land for Indigenous women and girls. She is dedicated to upholding ancestral and ceremonial teachings and values while learning her Kwak’wala language alongside her two daughters.