2014 Conference Speakers

The Right Honourable Joe Clark

The Right Honourable Joe Clark was elected eight times to the House of Commons of Canada and served as Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Leader of the Opposition. Since leaving politics in 2003, Mr. Clark has worked in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, advising Governments and their electoral commissions and has served on the boards of Canadian and international NGOs and companies, including Pearson College of the Pacific, the Institute for the Study of International Development (McGill), GlobeScan Inc, Triton Logging Inc, Stratus Royalty Corporation, and Meridiam Infrastructure (supervisory board). Mr. Clark is Vice-Chairman of the Global Leadership Foundation, a member of Inter-American Dialogue, and an Honorary Witness to the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His most recent book is "How We Lead: Canada in a Century of Change", and he is a Companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence.

Honorable Christian Paradis

Christian Paradis was first elected to the House of Commons in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 and 2011. In July 2013, Mr. Paradis was appointed Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie. Previously, he was appointed Secretary of State (Agriculture) in January 2007, Minister of Public Works and Government Services in June 2008, and Minister of Natural Resources in January 2010. He was appointed Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) in May 2011.Prior to his election to Parliament, Mr. Paradis had a legal practice specializing in corporate law.

Kalpona Akter

Kalpona Akter is the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS). Kalpona started working as a garment worker when she was 12 years old; at age 16, she was fired for trying to organize a union in her factory. In 2001, she and two other former garment workers founded the BCWS, which conducts labour rights and leadership training for garment workers and advocates for their rights.

Kalpona and other BCWS members have been subjected to serious repression for their work – including her detention, along with two other leaders of the group, the murder of one of their leaders, Aminul Islam, and the revoking of the organization’s legal status – but international solidarity has helped to win Kalpona and her co-workers’ release and to regain the organization’s legal status.

Recently, the BCWS has been providing support to the victims of the Rana Plaza building collapse, in which over 1,100 garment workers were killed and over 1,600 injured. They are lobbying for just compensation for all the vic¬tims of the disaster and for brands and for retailers to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

Rachelle Anctil

Rachelle Anctil studied international development at the University of Ottawa, leading to a career as an international development practitioner. As Senior Program Officer, Rachelle works on program development at WUSC. She has previously worked as Project Manager and Head of Mission for SUCO in Haiti where she led a number of food security projects in response to the 2010 earthquake and the hurricane season of 2012. Among other experiences, Rachelle has worked on other international development initiatives in Senegal, Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda. Rachelle also holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). 

Jim Armstrong

Jim is a frequent speaker at conferences and the author of many articles on international partnerships, capacity development, HRM transformation, and performance management.  Jim is the author of the recently published book ‘Improving International Capacity Development: Bright Spots’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).

 As President of The Governance Network™ (TGN), Jim led major change projects with national leaders around the world. Before starting TGN in 1991, Jim was a Department Head in the City of Edmonton, Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Province of Saskatchewan, Vice Principal for the Canadian Centre for Management Development, and Director General of Consulting and Audit Canada.

Jac Van Beek

Jac Van Beek is Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada) since January 2014. The Association and its members advocate for the CMC designation and are dedicated to advancing the profession and delivering the benefits of those efforts to the client community. CMC-Canada is a founding member of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI). He is also a strategy advisor/Part-time Adjunct Professor of Strategy for Telfer School of Business at University of Ottawa from 1996. He is part of the Chair, Board of Advisors (Ottawa Chapter), AIESEC, for over 8 years. He provides oversight and on-going direction to the Executive of the Ottawa University Chapter of AIESEC - "the international platform for young people to explore and develop their potential". Van Beek was also VP Programs and Planning, Canada Foundation for Innovation, from 2007 to 2010 and director, planning and performance management at The National Research Council, from 2002 to 2007. Before that he was senior Director at Operations, Acerra/Calian, from 2000 to 2002. Jac has served as a consultant with a number of professional firms including: Connecthree Consulting, Ottawa and Deloitte Consulting.

Isabelle Bérard

Since November 2013, Isabelle Bérard is the Director General for the International Assistance Envelope (IAE) Management Bureau within the Strategic Policy Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. Its mandate is to ensure horizontal integration within the Department of issues related to programming supported by the IAE. Ms. Bérard has been involved in international development for more than 25 years. In 1993, after working 5 years as a consultant, she joined CIDA to perform policy and strategic planning work. During her career, she has worked in several countries in Africa, as well as in Haiti, Pakistan and the Middle East. She has had the opportunity to deal with a large range of issues including natural resources, refugees and gender equality. In 2008, she represented Canada on the OECD Peer Review for Norway. Ms Bérard has a Bachelor Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Quebec in Montreal and a Graduate Diploma of International Development and Cooperation from the University of Ottawa.

Michael Bitz

Mr. Bitz, Vice President for Public Financial Management and Accountability (PFMA) at Cowater International Inc., is a PFMA expert with over ten years of experience in reforms of PFMA systems, policies and laws. Mr. Bitz has worked for the IMF, World Bank and UN, as well as DFID, DFATD, USAID and SIDA, among others, in over twenty countries. His work has been instrumental in guiding reforms of financial systems and tackling practices that undermine the integrity and efficiency of public finances and contribute to systemic fraud. In addition to his work, Mr. Bitz has spent seven of the last nine years living in African countries including Tanzania and Tunisia before returning to his native Ottawa in March.

Anna Brown

Anna Brown is the Program Officer for Africa and Research and Development at CCA.  She is responsible for managing CCA’s projects in Malawi and Uganda as well as co-ordinating research projects that investigate the role of co-operatives and credit unions in poverty alleviation. Anna has previously worked overseas promoting gender equality in the co-operative movement in both Malawi and Ghana.  She is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, and Humber College’s International Project Management Program. 

Stephen Brown

Stephen Brown is Professor of Political Science at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses mainly on the intersection of the policies and practices of Northern countries and other international actors with politics in Southern countries. He has published widely on foreign aid, especially Canada’s, as well as on democratization, political violence, peacebuilding and transitional justice/rule of law in Africa. He is the editor of Struggling for Effectiveness: CIDA and Canadian Foreign Aid (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012) and is currently co-editing a volume on the securitization of foreign aid (jointly with Jörn Grävingholt) and another on rethinking Canadian aid (with Molly den Heyer and David Black).

Gavin Buchan

Gavin Buchan is currently acting Director General, Development Policy, with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.  He came to development in 2012 from the Privy Council Office, prior to which he was Director, NATO and Afghanistan Policy, with the Department of National Defence. He spent fifteen years as a Foreign Service officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, including overseas postings in Prague and the Hague, and a year as Political Director at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Anne Buchanan

Anne Buchanan is an independent consultant offering services as advisor, trainer, process facilitator, researcher and writer.  She supports organizational capacity strengthening efforts by assessing, evaluating and developing policies, practices, strategic directions and training with a specialized focus on ethical learning cultures. Anne has developed and facilitated multi-stakeholder processes including member engagement, group dialogue, and reflective learning. As a researcher, analyst and writer, she has produced codes of ethics, standards of practice, reports, articles, training curriculum, and guidance materials covering such topics as: governance practices; gender inclusion, diversity and cultural competency; equitable partnerships and collaboration; principles for international development effectiveness; leadership; public engagement; and ethical fundraising. Anne has an M.A. in Public Ethics and specialized certificates including Adult Education, Community-Based Conflict Resolution, and The Teaching of a Second Language (English). 

Daniel Buckles

Daniel Buckles is a facilitator, evaluator and researcher with 30 years of experience in participatory approaches to international development and community engagement. Dr. Buckles is currently an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University and independent consultant working on economic development in rural and urban environments and conflict management. He worked 10 years for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and was previously a Senior Scientist and Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) based in Mexico. Recent publications include a textbook on Participatory Action Research Theory and Methods published in 2013 by Routledge in the UK, and a study on indigenous peoples’ land rights in India published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press.

Lisa Burley

Lisa Charette

Lisa Charette is the Sector Analyst for the professional services sector of the Manufacturing and Life Sciences Branch at Industry Canada.  She conducts research and analysis, and provides policy advice to senior officials on issues affecting services to manufacturing.  In her previous roles, she was a Policy Analyst examining global value chains, innovation, investment opportunities for Canadian manufacturers, forest products, and Aboriginal economic development.  Prior to joining Industry Canada, Lisa was an Employment Equity Compliance Officer with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.  She holds a B.Com. from the University of Ottawa.

Jim Chester

Jim is a development consultant, project evaluator and project coordinator.  He has 20 years’ experience working in emerging and developing countries.  Projects included implementing national capital market capacity development programs for regulatory licensing.  As a CIDA project evaluator he leads the financial analysis section.  He identifies new project opportunities, consortia and sourcing experts to bid on new opportunities.  

 Jim, is project manager and owner of Canadian & International Project Management Ltd. in Oakville On.  He works with DevPar Financial Consulting Ltd (for over 20 years) as well as with other companies   He is a CAIDP director on the External Affairs and Education sub-committees and Co-Chair of the International Sector Interest Group (ISIG) for the Canadian Association of Management Consultants.

Michael Cocolakis

Michael Cocolakis is a Manager with KPMG’s Global Infrastructure Advisory Services.  Michael has obtained a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in economics from McGill University and is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Charterholder. Michael has eight years of work experience in economic and financial analysis. While at KPMG, Michael has worked on a number of studies that involve large infrastructure and capital projects, including developing a business case to assess different delivery models for a Light Rail Transit system extension in Edmonton, analyzing the economic effects of an expansion of Montreal’s metro system and investments in Canada’s intercity passenger rail network. Before coming to KPMG, Michael was employed as an Economist at the Department of Finance and Treasury Board Secretariat of the Government of Canada.  At the Government of Canada, Michael worked on transportation and infrastructure funding programs. His work included the drafting of policy documents such as Memoranda to Cabinet.

Catherine Coumans

Catherine is Research Coordinator and Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Program at MiningWatch Canada. Departing from a rights-based perspective Catherine has worked in solidarity with community members, primarily Indigenous peoples, affected by Canadian mining companies in India, Mongolia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Kanaky-New Caledonia. Catherine has contributed to reports on full-cost accounting for mining, Human Rights Impact Assessment, participatory health assessment and participatory research with women in mining-affected communities. Her policy research and writing is currently focussed on corporate accountability (standards, due diligence, access to remedy), mining and development, and home country legislative reform to assure access to judicial and non-judicial remedy for people who have been harmed by Canadian mining companies overseas. 

Anne Delorme

Anne Delorme has an MBA from McGill University and has been working in international development for more than fifteen years with notable institutions such as the United Nations Development program (UNDP), the International Development Research Centre as well as Canadian and international NGOs.  She specialises in gender and private sector development issues.  She is currently the Gender Equality Program Manager at l’AQOCI and the Coordinator of the Comité québécois femme et development (CQFD) and its innovative Gender Community of Practice.

Laura Dorling van der Oord

Chris Eaton

Chris Eaton was appointed Executive Director of World University Service of Canada in 2009. During his tenure he has strengthened WUSC’s programming on education, skills-for-employment and leadership opportunities for youth and women.  Prior to joining WUSC, Chris was CEO of Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan for four years.  Chris has also held senior roles with Aga Khan Foundation Canada, beginning in 1999.  Chris spent most of the 1990s based in conflict-affected northern Uganda, working for the Netherlands Development Organization. Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree in political economy and a Master’s degree in political science, both from the University of Toronto.  

Benoît Gauthier

Benoît Gauthier is a published social researcher specialized in strategic and organizational research and intervention, in market research, in program evaluation, in applied social research and in policy analysis. He has been an active member of the Canadian Evaluation Society for some 30 years. He is a Credentialed Evaluator, a Certified Management Consultant, and a Certified Marketing Research Professional. He is a member of the Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec. Mr. Gauthier has been involved in the development of the Canadian Evaluation Society Professional Designation Program since 2006, first as a member of an advisory group, then as a member of the Credentialing Board, and now as Vice-President in charge of the program. Benoît Gauthier is CES' President Elect for 2014-2016.

Joey Hartman

Stephen Horan

Harry Kits

Henry Knight

Deb Krizmanich

Deb Krizmanich is the CEO and Founder of Powernoodle Inc, an intelligent decision making platform in the cloud that enables better, smarter, faster decisions. Deb is an entrepreneur driven by a passion for technologies that unleash the innate potential of individuals and organizations. Her career in transformational technologies began with IBM and lead her to cofound a web-based healthcare company. Deb also cofounded Digital Opportunity Trust, an NGO that connects technology and youth leadership for impact.  Funded by IBM, Cisco, USAID and CIDA, she designed and executed sustainability programs for individuals, communities, and nations in Africa and the Middle East. For Deb's work in building trust so that culture drives transformation, Trust Across America has recognized her as a Top Trustworthy Business Leader in 2013 & 2014.

Richard Labelle

Richard Labelle is based in Gatineau, Quebec and has over 32 years of experience on the use of ICTs in support of human, economic, social and sustainable development. He has undertaken missions to over 57 developing countries. He has participated in the development of national as well as sectoral and organizational strategies and action plans. He provides advice on the use of ICTs for development to a variety of governments and development partners. More recently, his focus has been on advancing recognition of the essential role ICTs and related smart technologies and cleantech in general can play for climate and environmental action and in moving to a green economy and a sustainable future.

Jean-Marc Lafrenière

Jean Marc Lafreniere is a Chartered Accountant (1988) and Certified Fraud Examiner (1993). He began his career with KPMG in Winnipeg and transferred to their government services practice in Ottawa, where in 1989 he had his first experience auditing a CIDA funded project in Sudan. He was a Director, Forensic Audit, for two years at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. In 1999, Mr. Lafreniere helped to establish the Anticorruption Unit of the Asian Development Bank. He spent nine years at ADB, including a two-year leave working as an investigation auditor for UNICEF in New York. Since 2008, Mr. Lafreniere has been the Director, Forensic Audit, at CIDA and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

Lai-Ling Lee

Over the past twenty years, Lai-Ling has held management positions and consulted for Canadian Crossroads International, CARE Canada and Medecins Sans Frontieres Canada.  She led logistics and country coordination teams for MSF emergency health projects in Georgia, Indonesia, the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and participated in the Canadian Red Cross recovery assessment of the 2010 Pakistan floods.  Since 2009, Lai-Ling has been at the international department of the Canadian Red Cross in Ottawa and is currently Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships.

Mark Lusignan

Active internationally for more than 29 years, Mr. Lusignan has considerable experience in the design, implementation and management of development assistance and commercial projects abroad. As Director, Grants Contributions and Contraction Management, Mark brings significant first hand knowledge of CIDA operations and programs at the executive, operational and field levels. He previously held the positions of Director, Business Operations and Director, Contacting Policy within the Agency.

Mary Lynch

Mary Lynch has more than 35 years professional experience, with 25 of these focusing exclusively on international development.  Lynch has focused her work primarily on private sector development but has also combined this with trade and enabling environment issues important for economic growth.  Her consulting work has taken her to over 45 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Americas and Central and Eastern Europe.  She has worked with the public sector, private sector and non-governmental organizations.  These assignments have been funded by development partners such as CIDA, World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Danida, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Institute on Cooperation in Agriculture and UNDP.  Mary has a Doctorate in economic development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Norman MacIsaac

Executive Director of the LÉGER Foundation since 2011, Norm MacIsaac has broad experience in international cooperation, having worked and lived in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He has worked with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and with several NGOs including the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), South Asia Partnership and the Trade Facilitation Office of Canada. He is a graduate of UQAM, and holds a Master’s degree from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.  He has worked as a specialist in training, microfinance and livelihoods promotion, and has designed, managed and evaluated programs in the field. He has held senior positions in several organizations, and is constantly learning, often from his mistakes, and laughing, often at himself!

Louise Mailloux

Louise Mailloux is a partner at Goss Gilroy Inc. She has in-depth knowledge of international development cooperation spanning over 30 years through studies in social anthropology and development and her work experience in the management, applied research and monitoring and evaluation of international development programs. She has over 12 years of experience in program evaluations including impact, meta-analysis, as well as country and program level evaluations. She has conducted other international development assignments, including organizational assessments, baseline studies, gender audits and training for bilateral, multilateral and regional organizations, research institutes such as ODI (Overseas Development Institute) and KIT (Royal Tropical Institute), as well as for non-governmental organizations.

Yemi Makinde

For close to 20 years before starting Akada Network, Yemi’s experience covered two main areas: as a management consultant specialized in Organizational Excellence and Corporate Performance, she helped organizations improve and governments at different levels to transform. In recent years, she has focused more on helping SMEs and development agencies achieve their strategies. Yemi also has extensive experience in Partnerships Development and led this strategy within an international non-profit across 40 countries working with 55 National Partner Organisations. Yemi is certified in the relevant tools of her consulting trade and has degrees in Agriculture, Organisational Psychology and an MBA

Jean-Marc Mangin

Jean-Marc Mangin is the Executive Director of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, which brings together Canada’s 85,000 teachers, graduate students and researchers and 80 post-secondary institutions in the humanities and social sciences. Mr. Mangin spent over 15 years responding to humanitarian crisis as a public servant with the UN, international NGOs and the Canadian Government. In 2006, he became the executive director of CUSO and led a merger with VSO. As the 2009 Copenhagen climate change summit loomed, Mr. Mangin launched, as its first executive director, the TckTckTck/ Global Campaign for Climate Action, a cross sector civil society initiative now bringing together over 350 international organizations and networks in support of transformational change to avoid the worst climate disruptions. He has lived for nearly 10 years in Asia and Africa. Born in Manitoba, raised in Quebec, educated in BC and Ontario, Jean-Marc Mangin holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University.

Don Martin

Don Martin hosts CTV News Channel's daily marquee political program, POWER PLAY. One of the most respected journalists on Parliament Hill, Martin has been covering politics in Canada for 32 years at The National Post and Calgary Herald, before joining CTV. Martin brings three decades of experience to his role as the host of POWER PLAY. Previously a national affairs columnist based in Ottawa, Martin wrote regularly about federal politics for The Calgary Herald and The National Post with a special eye on western issues of interest to his favourite province, namely Alberta. He has spent the last 30 years covering politics, starting with Calgary city hall and moving to the provincial legislature before heading to the nation's capital in 2000.

Sarah Martin

Sarah Martin is a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo in Global Governance and Global Political Economy. Her general research interest is the global political economy of food and agriculture with a particular interest in the interactions between finance and agriculture. Sarah was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, MN and Washington, DC. in 2013

Carolyn McAskie

Carolyn McAskie is a Senior Fellow in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Ottawa, a member of the Board of the Pearson Centre and an Officer of the Order of Canada. She has had a career in the Canadian International Development Agency particularly in Multilateral Affaires followed by almost a decade in the United Nations where she worked her magic in Humanitarian Affairs, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding. She has served abroad in Kenya with the Commonwealth Secretariat, as Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka as well as in Burundi with the United Nations. As a Canadian delegate she has played an important role in the UN Funds and Programmes and the International Financial Institutions as a member of Facilitation Team of the Burundi Peace Progress and as Envoy of the UN in Cote d’Ivoire.

Rohinton P. Medhora

Rohinton P. Medhora is President of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (www.cigionline.org), a non-partisan think tank located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.  CIGI's research programs focus on the global economy; global security and politics; and international law.  Previously he was Vice President, Programs at Canada’s International Development Research Centre, a research funder.  He received his doctorate in economics in 1988 from the University of Toronto, where he also subsequently taught for a number of years.  His fields of expertise are monetary and trade policy, international economic relations, and aid effectiveness.  His recent publications include co-edited books on development thought and practice, Canada’s relations with Africa, and Canada’s role in the international financial system.  He serves on the Boards of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (www.ineteconomics.org), the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (www.pasgr.org) and the science and environment organization START International (www.start.org).

Carol Miller

Carol Miller is currently Evaluation Specialist for the Oxfam Knowledge Hub on Gender-Based Violence, Centre for Gender Justice, Oxfam Canada. She has worked for over 20 years as a social development researcher and evaluator with international NGOs, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies. Posts held include Research Associate, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva; Policy Analyst, ActionAid UK, London; and Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Unit, Oxfam Canada, Ottawa. She has taught courses at The Open University, Oxford University and The Monterey Institute of International Studies, and has published on issues related to women’s rights and policy advocacy. She holds a D.Phil.(Oxford), and M.Sc.(London School of Economics) and a graduate Diploma in Program Evaluation(School of Public Administration, Carleton University).

Brian Mitchell

Brian Mitchell is the Executive Director of TFO Canada and is responsible for strategic management, new business development and special projects. Brian has been with TFO Canada since 2004.  Prior to this, Brian took on a number of roles in the private sector, as a consultant, as Chief Financial Officer at a publicly-listed Canadian software firm, and as manager of international sales. Brian was also a lecturer at the University of Sierra Leone. Brian holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Science in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and a Certified International Trade Professional.

Nicolas Moyer

Nicolas Moyer joined the newly formed Humanitarian Coalition (HC) in December 2007 with the mandate to establish a humanitarian joint appeal mechanism for Canada. He has guided the formation of the HC as it has evolved from a pilot to become an organization of national significance. He has overseen the development of humanitarian fundraising and communications for the organization, program accountability measures and all other facets of the organization’s growth.

Before working with the HC, he worked for rural development and women’s empowerment programs in Ethiopia. In that country, he also established the Canadian Network of NGOs(CANGO) and wrote for and edited a national newspaper.  He holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the Université de Montréal and a Masters in International Relations from MacQuarie University in Sydney, Australia. 

Lauchlan T. Munro

Before being appointed as Director of the School of International Development and Global Studies in July 2012, Lauchlan served as Vice-President at Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 2008 to 2012. From 2004 to 2009, he served as Director of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to the President of IDRC. Prior to joining IDRC, Lauchlan was Chief of Strategic Planning with UNICEF. Lauchlan also worked for UNICEF in DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. From 1985 to 1987, he was a member of the Royal Bhutanese Civil Service. Lauchlan got his Ph.D. from the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester.

Julian Murray

Julian Murray is a consultant specializing in strategic planning and performance management in international development, mainly for clients in the multilateral system (UN and OAS).  Prior to embarking on this third career as a consultant, Julian was a staff-member at CIDA for 26 years, during which time he worked in a range of programming and management positions in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Multilateral Branches - as well as in the President's Office, and on field postings in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Before CIDA, he worked with the UN and NGOs in Africa and Asia, mainly in the humanitarian field. He is a Board member of CAIDP, and a member of the Canadian Evaluation Society, the International Development Evaluation Association and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Sering Falu Njie

Sering Falu Njie is a statistician and a development professional with over 20 years of hands-on experience working on poverty issues in Africa. He has spent 10 years working in the Government of Gambia, where his most recent position was Director General of the National Planning Commission. Falu has also worked with leading international NGOs including Save the Children and Action Aid in the policy advocacy arena. For many years, he has been a lead consultant on Social Accountability with the World Bank Institute and Social Development Division of the World Bank. Since February 2009, he has been the Deputy Director for Policy with the United Nations Millennium Campaign in New York where he leads the campaign’s global policy work as well as coordinating the citizen feedback initiative.

Patricia Peña

Patricia Peña is the Director General for Economic Development at the Department for Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). She is responsible for Canada’s institutional relationship and programming with the World Bank Group and other international financial institutions. She also oversees sectoral policy and global programming on economic growth, governance and natural resources, and provides leadership to these communities of practice at DFATD.  She has over 15 years' experience in the field of democratic governance internationally. Prior to joining the Canadian public service, she worked at the UK Electoral Commission for 7 years in a variety of policy and management roles. She has served in her personal capacity as a scientific expert for the Council of Europe, Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) since 2005 and participated in formal peer evaluations of six member states.

Keith Phillips

Keith Phillips has spent the last 10 years building and deploying cloud based systems for monitoring evaluation and continuous improvement of organisations and communities. Prior to this he has an International Business career with Unilever, Gillette and Apple computers spanning Africa, Middle East, Europe and Asia. It was with Apple that as CEO of the UK and then as senior executive in the USA that he developed a passion for technology and how it will change the way we do business. Keith now has his own company QLBS (Quantum Leap beyond spreadsheets) that has built a cloud based platform for M&E. Deployments have included, Business community building across the Pacific, Skills Development in Tourism, Microfinance Organisational Assessment, Institutional Capacity Assessment in  E Europe, Africa and China. Amongst other Heads of State he has advised Helen Clarke (UNDP) in Innovation when she was Prime Minister of NZ.

Pierre Seïn Pyun

Pierre Seïn Pyun, as Vice President, Government Affairs, lead government relations activities in Canada for Bombardier Inc., Bombardier Aerospace and Bombardier Transportation. A lawyer by training, Pierre has significant background in international trade, serving a stint with the federal government.  Most recently, Pierre managed sector practices and developed and implemented global commercial strategies for the Canadian government in Ottawa. He also has served in a senior diplomatic role overseas, completing a post in China from 2001-2009. Pierre holds degrees in Common Law and Civil Law from McGill University and completed a Certificate in International Commerce at the University of Montreal.  He is fluent in French, English, Mandarin and Korean. Pierre serves on the board of directors of a number of associations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the Board of Governors of the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation.   

Fraser Reilly-King

Fraser is the Policy Analyst on Aid and International Cooperation for the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC), the umbrella organization for Canadian not-for profit organizations engaged in international development work. He sits on the Management Committee of the Reality of Aid Network as Vice-Chair, and is the North American representative to the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness. He writes a regular blog on aid and development for the Ottawa Citizen. Prior to joining CCIC, Fraser worked for eight years at the Halifax Initiative Coalition (HI), the Canadian presence for public interest research, advocacy and education on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs). He has a Masters in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

Diana Rivington

Diana Rivington recently retired from CIDA as the Director, Human Development and Gender Equality. During her 2003 to 2007 posting to the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, Diana sat on the Advisory Committee of UNIFEM and on the governing Bureau of UNICEF and was a key player in Canada’s successful involvement in the global effort that created UN Women. Diana has made significant contributions to international for a focused on women’s empowerment, including as Chair of the OECD Working Party on Gender Equality from 1998-2000. She is an international development consultant with expertise in gender equality and social equity. She is also Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa with cross appointment to the Institute of Women’s Studies and the School for International Development and Global Studies. She has worked in international development since the 1970s as a teacher, NGO officer, project manager, policy analyst, diplomat, and manager.

Alan Robbins

Partner and Global Head of Membership & Alliances Alan works with Devex members to help them, as the tagline goes, to Do Good and Do It Well. A member of the team that founded Devex, he continues to serve the health, growth and wellbeing of the Devex Membership of donor agencies, companies and NGOs around the world. In addition, he leads Devex's work in creating new and innovative partnerships with all types of development actors. Also, Alan served as Deputy Director of the Executive Council on Diplomacy aimed to foster understanding between the US government and civil society, and the foreign diplomatic community in Washington, DC. He also spent brief stints working in New Jersey politics and local government.  Alan has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and History from Rutgers University and a Masters Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Shelagh Savage

Shelagh Savage, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships, joined the Coady Institute in June 2009. In addition to research and teaching in the areas of Partnership – Shelagh manages Coady’s key strategic partnerships, including DFATD. She is also responsible for managing youth programs, strategic planning as well as monitoring, evaluation & learning. Shelagh has worked in partnership with communities and civil society organizations in South Asia, East Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean & Canada as well as with governments and UN organizations such as ILO, UNOCHA and UNICEF. She is also a former Board member of CCIC. Shelagh worked very closely with CCIC and EQUITAS on the recent collaboration “Integrating HRBA and Equitable Partnerships into Development Programming – Operationalizing the Istanbul Principles” which included a pilot workshop, facilitators guide and follow-up learning opportunities

Penelope Simons

Penelope Simons is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Common Law at the University of Ottawa. Her current research is focused on the human rights implications of domestic and extraterritorial corporate activity, state responsibility for corporate complicity in human rights violations, as well as the intersections between transnational corporate activity, human rights and international economic law. She is the co-author with Audrey Macklin of The Governance Gap: Extractive Industries, Human Rights, and the Home State Advantage (Routledge, 2014). She is also a co-author with J. Anthony VanDuzer and Graham Mayada of Integrating Sustainable Development into International Investment Agreements: A Guide for Developing Country Negotiators (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2013). Penelope teaches international human rights law, business organizations, public international law and a course on transnational corporations, human rights, international trade and investment law.  

John Sinclair

After studying economics at Cambridge University, he has followed a career as an international development practitioner, mainly working for CIDA and the World Bank. For both these institutions he was involved in strategic policy issues as well as working on effectiveness issues, including the Bank’s major decentralization process. He has been a Senior Fellow at Ottawa University’s School of International Development and Global Studies. He is a Distinguished Associate of the North-South Institute, Canada’s principal development think tank. He has worked in recent years as a consultant with the World Bank, AsDB, IFAD, UNICEF and the Ford Foundation. As a member of the McLeod Group, he is now a think/policy advocate on development issues, a role reinforced by writing in journals and newspapers.

Ian Smillie

Ian Smillie has lived and worked in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Bangladesh. He was a founder of the Canadian NGO, Inter Pares, was Executive Director of CUSO and is a long time foreign aid watcher and critic as well as an Officer of the Order of Canada since 2003. He has worked at Tufts and Tulane Universities and as development consultant with many Canadian, American and European organizations. He is the author of several books including The Charity of Nations: Humanitarian Action in a Calculating World. He served on a UN Security Council Expert Panel examining the relationship between diamonds and weapons in West Africa and he helped develop the 48 government Kimberly Process. He was the first witness at Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial in The Hague and he chairs the Diamond Development Initiative.

Bianca Suyama

Bianca Suyama is the executive coordinator of the South-South Cooperation Research and Policy Centre (Articulação SUL) since 2011. Before co-founding Articulação SUL, Bianca spent 5 years at CARE International UK as the Latin America and later Africa Governance Advisor, where she also led CARE’s advocacy efforts on aid/development effectiveness. Prior to this she worked for São Paulo’s city hall in the Participatory Budget Secretariat and as a popular educator in grassroots organisations. Bianca has a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.  She has worked and published on democratic governance, poverty reduction policy processes and south-south cooperation.

Jean Symes

Jean Symes works with Inter Pares’ Africa program team and its Economic Justice thematic, with an emphasis on resource extraction, tax justice, and human rights. Jean was previously part of the Latin America team of Inter Pares, where she helped develop Inter Pares programs with refugees and displaced people, access to land, gender, and peacebuilding. Before joining Inter Pares, Jean’s experience included human rights monitoring and promotion, social policy development and financial management. Jean is currently Chair of the Canary Research Institute for Mining, Environment and Health, on the Steering Committee of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, and a member of the Board of Directors of MiningWatch Canada.

Ian Thomson

Ian is the Resources and Rights Partnerships Coordinator at KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.   KAIROS brings together 11 national churches and other religious institutions in Canada, and 22 global partners in Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific, working together for social and ecological justice.  Since 2005, Ian has coordinated KAIROS’ public engagement campaigns on corporate accountability and ecological justice.  He also chairs the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA), a civil society network advocating for law reform in Canada to hold extractive sector companies accountable when they are complicit in human rights or environmental abuses abroad.  Ian holds engineering degrees from the University of Toronto and Queen’s University.

Stephanie Tissot

Stephanie Tissot is an independent development consultant. In 2013, she was a research award recipient at the International Development Research Centre, where she worked with the Donor Partnership Division. Her research focused on the development outcomes of the Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership and the value of cross-sector engagement for organizations and beneficiary groups. Previously, she supported the consulting and knowledge functions of the Just Governance Group, a firm offering multidisciplinary services to advance initiatives on good governance, human rights, justice, conflict and peace, and strategic development. She holds a certificate in corporate social responsibility strategy and management from McGill University, a MA from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and a BA in international relations from the University of British Columbia

Elly Vandenberg

Elly Vandenberg leads the advocacy efforts of World Vision Canada(WVC).  Her approach is faith-based, concrete, workable, evidence-based and solution-oriented.  She engages with governments and key influencers to understand their decision making contexts in order to influence child health, child protection and principled humanitarian aid. Relying on strategic relationship building, research, analysis, embedding advocacy in programming, policy development, policy influence and public awareness she often works in coalition with other Canadian and international groups.

Richard Veenstra

Richard Veenstra is the Executive Director of SUCO - Solidarité Union Coopération.  He has been involved in international volunteering and partnership development for close to 30 years, first as volunteer in West Africa and later managing programs for Canada World Youth, Development and Peace, and Crossroads International.  In 2008 he joined the steering committee to establish the Université de Montréal's certificate program in international cooperation and he still serves there as instructor and advisor.  He studied anthropology at the Université de Montréal and at the Centre for African Studies in Paris where he focussed on household food security strategies.  Today, as Executive Director of SUCO, he oversees programs in food security and economic development in Latin America, Haiti and West Africa.

Pierre Veronneau

Mr. Véronneau is consultant in social entrepreneurship and international development. He has worked with CUSO Montreal as a program manager in Africa and as director of operations. He was co-founder of an NGO called the Canadian Organization for Solidarity and Development (OCSD), where he served as director of overseas programs. He participated in the merger between Oxfam-Québec and the OCSD and became the Director of the new entity that retained the name of Oxfam-Québec.  Mr. Véronneau is also co-founder of Oxfam International (OI). He served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of OI. Former President and Treasurer of the Board of CCIC, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AQOCI, board and executive committee member  for Partnership Africa Canada, Director of the Oxfam Tsunami Fund (350 million $) and member of the program committee of the One Drop Foundation.

Cam Vidler

Cam Vidler is the Director of the International Policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Vidler leads the Chamber’s advocacy and government relations on international economic issues. He has a background in trade, investment and development policy, having previously worked for the Canada-India Business Council, UNCTAD, World Bank and Fraser Institute. Cam holds a BA (Hons.) from the University of Toronto and a Masters in international affairs from The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dominick Voyer

Dominick is President and CEO of Sogema Technologies Inc. (STI) and member of the Board of Directors of CRC Sogema Inc. As head of STI, Mr. Voyer leads the management team, provides the overall strategic and operational direction for the company, and is responsible for corporate strategic alliances and partnerships globally. Mr. Voyer worked in more than 35 developing countries over the last 27 years where he led economic governance/ public finance reform projects, including implementation of SIGTAS, a modern tax administration software, which is operational in more than 24 countries now.

Doug Ward

Doug Ward is Chair of the Board of Ottawa-based Farm Radio International. He worked at the CBC as radio producer, station manager, Northern Service regional director, and vice president, regions. He sat on the board of Inter Pares for eighteen years – six as chair. He is a member of the board of Farm Radio International, and has been chair for thirteen years. During that period, FRI took the radical step of moving under the overall management of a larger NGO (World University Service of Canada) while maintaining its own incorporation, fundraising and planning. Under the leadership of Executive Director Kevin Perkins, FRI has grown from a staff of four with a budget of $500,000, to a staff of ten in Canada and forty staff in Africa, with a budget of over $5,000,000.

Alan Wilson

Mr. Wilson is an experienced business development specialist with over 14 years of experience leading international business development and consulting on behalf of private sector, government, and non-profit organizations.  He specializes in market research and development, partnership building, contracting, and tender preparation for donor-funded procurement including the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, the U.K.'s Department for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Australian Agency for International Development.  His business development and project experience includes experience in such countries as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Philippines.  Prior to joining Cowater, he provided expertise to several organizations in a variety of sectors successfully contributing to international market development and expansion.

Claire Woodside

Claire Woodside is the Director of Publish What You Pay-Canada. Drawing upon her background in political science and international development, including an M.A. from Dalhousie and doctoral studies at NPSIA(Carleton), Claire works to create a more transparent and accountable global extractive sector. Through her role with PWYP, she has the opportunity to engage with governments, industry and civil society in Canada, including PWYP-Canada’s members, while also collaborating with PWYP coalitions across the globe. Claire has been working with PWYP since 2008, but has held her current position since 2012. She is the author of Lifting the Veil: Exploring the Transparency of Canadian Companies and continues to support PWYP-Canada’s work to improve access to public information on extractive companies. She brings to the position over ten years of experience working and researching on issues related to the extractive sector and responsible resource governance.

Rima Zabian

Rima Zabian is a successful business and community leader dedicated to building relationships, strengthening our community fabric and boosting the bottom line. Rima’s diverse career has led her to 25OneCommunity, a non-profit organization that provides co-working and meeting space for creative non-profits, freelancers, consultants and entrepreneurs. As Executive Director, Rima oversees the centre’s operations, finance and programming.  Prior to 25OneCommunity, Rima developed health and wellness programs both as a private consultant and as a counsellor and coordinator. Rima holds certificates in management and leadership, as well as various certifications. She is currently pursuing her PsyD in Transformative Psychology at the University of North Carolina.