Natalya Garrod is based in Toronto, Ontario. She is of settler heritage with roots in Ukraine, Poland, Italy, and England. She is a daughter, sister, and auntie to many nieces and nephews. In her work, her goal is to improve relationships between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous companies, agencies, bodies, and governments. She is passionate about the protection of water (quality and quantity) and helping nations to assert sovereignty and nationhood. As of recently she has been involved in helping First Nations to establish and govern Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in Canada. 

She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph in Environmental Governance and a Master's degree in Rural Planning and Development. Her MSc thesis research entitled Local Water Collaboration to Enhance Community Source Water Protection at Chippewas of the Thames First Nations, Ontario examined water governance and collaborative models between First Nations and local governing bodies. She gained experience working directly with First Nations through a community-based collaborative research project entitled Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Water Security Planning where she performed data collection and analysis. Natalya has proven success in mobilizing research results to achieve community goals. 

She spent a year and a half as the Planning and Ecology Team Manager at the Three Fires Group, a First Nations-owned economic development corporation that aimed to build generational wealth for First Nations clients. Prior to that she spent two years gaining Professional Planning experience working for both the Niagara Escarpment Commission a branch of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and local government in the Town of The Blue Mountains. She is a Registered Professional Planner with the Canadian Institute of Planners and Ontario Professional Planners Institute. 

She is currently finishing a part-time Advanced Planning Certificate in Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) with Vancouver Island University.