Jillian Bjelan resides in Huron County and has been very active in her community for the majority of her life. Growing up, she was a participant in 4-H clubs, performed in many community theatre projects, was a member of the Hensall South Huron Agricultural Society, involved in many school programs such as band, drama club, and student government, and was the 2015 Hensall Fair Ambassador. Her volunteer accomplishments earned her the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in 2016.

Jillian is passionate about applying social justice and equity principles to everything she does. She is a graduate of Western University with an Honours Specialization in Social Justice and Peace Studies with a Major in Political Science. During her undergraduate studies, she had the opportunity to travel internationally for research. In 2017, she visited rural campesinos in Dominican Republic with a research focus on water justice and in 2019 she travelled to Rwanda to learn more about the transitional justice processes following the 1994 genocide. Jillian also holds a Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo.

Currently, Jillian works as an Executive Assistant for the Municipality of Central Huron and is a Teaching Assistant at King's University College. She is an avid reader, out-of-practice saxophonist, and is excited to apply what she has learned about rural leadership and community development to projects in her community.