Rethinking Governance for Leaving No One Behind

Speakers:

Chair: Thomas Cormier, International Governance and Development Professional

Speakers:

Gillian Barth, President and CEO, CARE Canada

​Robert Greenhill, Executive Chairman, Global Canada Initiative

​Rebecca Tiessen, Associate Professor and Assistant Director of the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa

Hunter McGill, McLeod Group

Biographies:

Thomas (Tom) Cormier is a democratic governance expert with over 25 years of experience in Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Americas and Africa.  Involved in Canadian politics for over a decade, Tom participated in numerous election campaigns and worked at the House of Commons as an advisor to several Members of Parliament, including serving as Executive Assistant to a member of the federal Cabinet.

Working internationally for over 15 years, Tom has designed and directed numerous governance strengthening and democratic development programs in a variety of challenging and dynamic transitional political environments.  The programs sought to provide skills-building for elected officials and foster reform of legislatures; strengthen political parties and civil society organizations; encourage peaceful political dialogue about constitutional and democratic framework reform; and increase citizen engagement in the democratic process. Tom has worked on behalf of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Democracy International (DI), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights and Democracy). Tom’s international governance and electoral experience includes Canada, Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, United States, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Libya, Egypt, Haiti and Myanmar (Burma).

With a strong interest in global issues, Robert Greenhill has combined a career in international business with a commitment to public policy. Robert Greenhill is Executive Chairman of the Global Canada Initiative. Previous roles include Managing Director and Chief Business Officer of the World Economic Forum, Deputy Minister and President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Group of Bombardier Inc. Robert started his career with McKinsey & Company.

Robert has a BA from the University of Alberta, MA from the London School of Economics, and MBA from INSEAD.

A senior professional in the not-for-profit sector, Gillian Barth has devoted her entire career to the fight against global poverty and injustice working with many well-known organizations including, most recently, CARE Canada.  Her knowledge of both program and field operations is vast, and she has served in progressively senior roles with oversight responsibility for corporate resource and partnership development; water, sanitation, hygiene and health solutions; environmental impact; monitoring and evaluation; global human resources; information technology and knowledge management.

Today, as an experienced and passionate leader and strategic thinker, Ms. Barth leads CARE Canada in fulfilling its mission to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities of the world. Leading the successful execution of CARE Canada’s strategic and business plans, Ms. Barth continues to position the organization for success in a constantly changing global environment. 

In addition to ensuring the acquisition of timely and essential human and financial resources, Ms. Barth has promoted an unprecedented level of employee engagement and effective organizational culture that makes CARE Canada one of the country’s top employers.  Ms. Barth also monitors corporate risk management in Canada and in its numerous global operations, and actively engages in the governance of CARE Canada and CARE International. She serves as CARE Canada’s most senior executive external relations representative.

Ms. Barth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations. She volunteers for and chairs numerous non-governmental organization boards (including the Canadian Council for International Cooperation) and is a regularly sought after speaker.  Since birth, she has lived, worked and travelled to over 60 countries on all major continents.

Rebecca Tiessen is Associate Professor and Assistant Director of the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa. Her research areas include feminism, gender, security, Canadian foreign policy and development. Her recent book Obligations and Omissions: Canada’s Ambiguous Actions on Gender Equality, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017 (co-edited with Stephen Baranyi) provides an overview of Canada’s commitments to gender equality between 2006 and 2015 and their implications for policy and practice. She has written extensively on feminist theory, gender mainstreaming, and gender equality programming over the past 20 years. Dr. Tiessen is also a member of the Women, Peace and Security Network – Canada.

Hunter McGill is Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa.  Much of his career was spent at the Canadian International Development Agency, where he held a number of positions in the bilateral and multilateral program branches, including director for Zimbabwe and Zambia, and for Jamaica and Belize.  Following an assignment as Canadian representative to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, he was responsible for CIDA's humanitarian assistance programs.  From 2002 to 2006 he was head of peer reviews and evaluation at the Development Cooperation Directorate of the OECD.  Over the last three years he has taught at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.  He is a member of The McLeod Group.