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  • Speaker and Moderator Line Up

Honourable Jigmi Y. Thinley

Keynote Speaker: Honourable Jigmi Y. Thinley, former Prime Minister of Bhutan

Jigmi Y. Thinley was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Bhutan and founding President of the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa party. He has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs, and twice as Prime Minister when the post was held on an annual rotational basis by the Cabinet Ministers. He is a strong advocate of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness, is the chair or on the leadership of numerous boards and international organizations and has been conferred, among many awards, the Druk Wangyel Medal, which is the highest civilian decoration, by His Majesty the Fifth King of Bhutan in 2009.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, OC, OOnt

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Opening remarks

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell is an energetic and highly regarded renaissance woman, an accomplished civil servant with wide-ranging interests, and is passionately devoted to the advancement of humanity. An intelligent, perceptive, and compassionate woman, Ms. Dowdeswell has devoted herself to public service, where her talents and skills have contributed greatly to many important initiatives, most notably those that integrate environmental, economic, social, educational, and cultural concerns.

She cares deeply about the environment, which she considers the fundamental basis for life on earth. She has led provincial, federal, and international institutions, and has served on the boards of corporate and non-profit organizations. Her years as an Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations profoundly shaped her worldview and continue to inform her thinking as she undertakes her role as 29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Ms. Dowdeswell is an Officer of the Order of Canada and holds 10 honorary degrees.


Sarath Chandrasekere, Ph.D

Sarath Chandrasekere is currently a faculty member of the Humber College International Development Degree Program.

Sarath is a sociologist by training and a social development specialist in practice. He possesses over 15 years of teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels in four Canadian universities and abroad.

Sarath has also worked in Sri Lanka as a social work educator; in the Philippines as a development communicator; in Nepal as the Canadian project Manager for a CIDA health development project; in Nunavut (Canada) as a community wellness director and in Prince Edward Island as the provincial director for Health Canada. Sarath’s landmark projects in the above countries include: Community Rehabilitation of the Diasabled (Sri Lanka); Community Wellness centre (Nunavut); women’s empowerment through literacy (Nepal), and coordination of health services information/intelligence and gender-based analysis (Prince Edward Island-Canada).

Sarath has published over ten research articles and his latest publication will be entitled Untold Stories of Development. 

Dr. Ron Colman

Dr. Colman is founder and executive director of GPI Atlantic, a non-profit research group that, over 15 years, constructed a comprehensive index of wellbeing and sustainable development in Nova Scotia, Canada, called the Genuine Progress Index.

Ron received his Ph.D from Columbia University, taught political science in universities for two decades, worked as a researcher and speech-writer at the United Nations, and has authored numerous studies on measures of population health, social wellbeing, economic security, natural resource health, and environmental quality. From 2001-2005 he served as editor-in-chief of the national magazine, Reality Check: The Canadian Review of Wellbeing.

Ron worked with the Royal Government of Bhutan for more than a decade on its holistic measures of progress, on bringing its integrated Gross National Happiness (GNH) development approach into the education system and national accounts, on the new GNH Centre, and on hosting a major high-level meeting at the United Nations with 800 government, academic, religious, and civil society leaders to launch a new development paradigm. In 2005 Ron and GPI Atlantic hosted the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness, titled ReThinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing in Canada, with 450 leading delegates from 33 countries. He is presently working on the Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative, a civil society-based development project in south-eastern Bhutan.

Dr. Harry Cummings

Dr. Harry Cummings is a Professor at the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph and the Director of Harry Cummings and Associates.

His experience includes farmers’ markets and economic impact of agriculture in Ontario, greenbelt agriculture, international rural development and project management of large interdisciplinary rural development projects, with specialty areas including economic impact assessment, evaluation, economic impact of agriculture, survey and research methods.

He specializes in monitoring and evaluation and has done assignments with this focus around the world. Recent work in this regard ranges from local food charters in Thunder Bay and Simcoe to decentralization at Unicef in Indonesia and Social Circus among the Inuit in Northern Quebec.

He holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Geography from Clark University and is a Registered Professional Planner.

Elizabeth Dove

Elizabeth Dove is Senior Vice President, Strategy, The Divinsky Group. She is a specialist in strategic engagement of the public, business and the government on social change.

In her career, she has worked as senior staff and consultant on advancing a wide range of social issues:  the arts, health, children’s welfare and particularly international development. Passionate about the power of collaboration, she seeks out projects that bring together actors from different sectors to create value for their organizations and the broader community. Through her leadership, citizens and the government more easily dialogue on foreign aid, banks have adopted new ways to support aboriginal peoples, mining companies better understand the concerns of social justice organizations, international development organizations have found new ways to partner with the business community. She has a Bachelor of International Development and Consumer Studies from the University of Guelph and a Master of Management from McGill University. In 2012, Elizabeth was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Susan J. Elliott, PhD

Susan Elliott is a Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management cross appointed to the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. 

Elliott completed her PhD in medical geography in 1992 and accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in Geography at the University of Victoria. In 1994, she moved to McMaster University as an Assistant Professor in Geography linked to the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health. She left McMaster in 2010 to move to the University of Waterloo as Dean of Applied Health Sciences. In her time at McMaster, she took on a variety of administrative and research leadership roles including Director of the Institute of Environment and Health, Senior Research Fellow in the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health as well as Dean of Social Sciences.

Her primary research focus is on relationships between environment and (public) health, both of which are broadly defined. As such, she explores the role of the built environment, the role of the socially constructed environment, and the role of the physical environment. She recently accepted a lead role in the AllerGen NCE, as a program lead for the theme related to policy, public health and society related to gene-environment interactions around food allergy. As such, she is the Principal Investigator for the development of a National Food Allergy Strategy for Canada. The majority of her research is characterized by science-policy bridging; that is, how can science affect policy and hence human health.

Elliott is an active researcher, both in Canada and in the developing world. She is also Senior Editor (Medical Geography) for Social Science and Medicine, the most frequently cited social sciences journal in the world. She currently supervises an amazing team of research students and staff; see: https://uwaterloo.ca/geographies-of-health-in-place/

Asha Gervan

Asha is a Project Management and Training specialist with more than 10 years of experience in international development and humanitarian assistance.

In managing complex emergency projects, she has worked directly with victims of conflict and natural disaster in Uganda, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Pakistan. Asha has also been involved in the development of high-level training courses for senior humanitarian managers, working with various organizations in Canada, Spain and the Netherlands. Asha began teaching part-time in Humber’s postgraduate International Project Management Program in 2012 while working as Associate Director of Médecins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders Canada, and most recently spent two months in Indonesia with Humber’s Sulawesi Economic Development Strategy Project (SEDS). She took over as Manager of the International Development Institute in January of 2014. Asha holds Bachelors in Political Science from Trent University as well as a Masters in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics.

Josh Folkema

Josh Folkema has more than ten years of experience in the development and humanitarian sector.

He has engaged in academic research, rapid onset emergencies, long term development programming, facilitation, leadership, and technical advising in over forty countries globally. Josh brings an academic background with a Bachelor of Science in geological engineering from Calvin College in Michigan and a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto.

In his current role Josh brings his theoretical background in complex adaptive systems and a deep desire to explore new ways of developing ideas for ongoing problems. Over the past six years with World Vision Canada he has been engaged in providing technical support and management for food assistance, private sector stakeholder engagement, agriculture development, environmental management and climate change. Through his work he has developed analytical tools that work with primary data sources, stakeholders and systems theory to build better programing that address root causes of vulnerability. Josh also leads World Vision's work on utilizing Geographic Information Systems. Through leading the work on improved data management he has also worked to develop a vulnerability model that works to aggregate large amounts of data into simple visual and analytical formats.

TJ Grant

TJ Grant has a passion for working with the poor, the lost and the broken and seeking to bring hope and transformation to people’s lives.

TJ has worked with World Vision for the past 8+ years in a variety of different roles. This has included in Advocacy and Education, in Marketing overseeing the 30 Hour Famine campaign and currently in International Programs covering countries in Southern Africa. TJ has recently returned from Zimbabwe where he worked for one year with the World Vision office there to help strengthen their grants acquisition and management working with donors such as the UN, Global Fund, DFID, etc.

TJ has an Undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo in English and Religious Studies and a Master’s degree from the University of Guelph in International Development and Capacity Building. He is also a recent graduate of the Arrow Leadership Program.  TJ has been married to his wife Heather for over 12 years and they have two boys, Everest who is 6 and Isaiah who is 4.

Phillip Haid

Phillip Haid co-founded PUBLIC in 2008 to disrupt the way companies, charities, governments and consumers/citizens think about public engagement and doing “good”.

Driven by a passion to prove that profit and purpose must go hand in hand to generate large scale social impact, he set out to build a hybrid company – part agency/part social innovation lab – that creates social impact through public engagement, fundraising, advocacy and volunteer engagement programs, campaigns, platforms and businesses. As CEO, he is responsible for overseeing the strategic and creative growth of the business. Phillip is a columnist for Fast Company and the Financial Post writing on “profitable good”. PUBLIC’s clients include: Unilever, Rexall, Indigo, Public Health Agency of Canada, Toronto Public Health, WWF, YMCA, ParticipACTION, Partners for Mental Health, Alzheimer’s Society, and White Ribbon.

Steve Stockton

Steve Stockton has taught environmental science courses at Humber College since 2008.

His most recent course, “Extinction” concentrates on the current global decline in biodiversity. His course “Water” looks at the management and mismanagement of this critical resource. Before coming to Humber Steve ran NatureStock, a Toronto-based environmental consulting firm, specializing in plant identification, habitat restoration, and constructed wetlands. He is passionate about environmental education, previously taking part in the Scientist in Schools program in elementary schools in the GTA, running the “Green Cottager Awards” with Cottage Life Magazine and occasionally filling in as an Environmental Columnist on the CBC Radio show “Fresh Air”. He received his PhD from the University of Ottawa in 2003, working on the effects of introduced species on the forest dynamics of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

John Lewis

Professor of International Development Studies at Humber College, John has spent 20 years studying and working in the fields of international human rights and development.

His first overseas post was as a young volunteer coordinating infrastructure projects in post-war Central America. His most recent overseas experience has been working with refugee and human rights organizations in the Middle East and Central Africa.

John's areas of interest are primarily the promotion of democracy, good governance, and human rights. Over the years, he has worked with international organizations including the Carter Center and the OSCE as well as grassroots, local agencies. He has served as an elections expert on more than 10 election observation missions around the world including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian Territories, and Bangladesh.

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Dr. Faisal Moola, PhD

Director General, Ontario and Canada’s North
David Suzuki Foundation
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Forestry,
  University of Toronto
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies,
  York University

Faisal Moola is one of Canada’s most respected environmental scientists and advocates. His research in conservation science and environmental policy has been published in numerous academic journals and award-winning books and he is a regular contributor to the opinion pages of Canada’s leading newspapers. For the past decade Faisal has led an expert team of scientists, policy experts and community organizers at the David Suzuki Foundation, in support of the protection of Canada’s cherished wild spaces and endangered species, as well as the greening of our towns and cities. Faisal has been at the forefront of some of Canada’s most iconic environmental battles, including successful efforts to protect B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest and efforts to pass a national law to protect endangered species throughout the country. After living for several years on the west coast, Faisal has come back to the Greater Toronto Area, where he was born and raised. He is Director General for the Ontario and Canada’s North Department at the David Suzuki Foundation and has an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Toronto and York University. He’s an avid cyclist and spends as much time as possible exploring the wonders of nature with his family.

Tanjina Mirza

Dr. Tanjina Mirza is the Vice President of International Programs in Plan Canada, an international NGO working in over 70 countries.

She completed her Medical degree from Dhaka University in Bangladesh, Master of Medical Science in Community Health from the University of Western Australia and a PhD in Demography from the Australian National University. As a health researcher Tanjina worked with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh and at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Canberra, Australia. She has designed research projects including operations research, data collection tools and analysed large data sets such as Demographic Health Surveys to measure and monitor health indictors in many countries. As a Demographer, she is highly experienced in quantitative and qualitative data analysis and presenting it to the policy levels. From research she moved into NGOs in the regional office of International Planned Parenthood Federation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to support many countries in the region including North Korea and Cambodia. She has also worked as a consultant for WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA in Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In Plan Canada, she joined as a Senior Health Advisor to support CIDA funded health projects in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Bolivia and Kenya. Tanjina has also taught in various universities and colleges. Presently, Tanjina provides leadership to the International Program Department and overall all strategic direction and technical assistance in designing, monitoring, measuring impact and sharing results of international development programs.

Marissa Kokkoros

Marissa Kokkoros is the Founder of Aura Freedom International and a human rights crusader.

She entered the humanitarian world from the front door doing field work with different organizations around the world. From her travels in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Nepal, Bosnia and more, she has studied and researched the position of women and girls in different places and the communities surrounding them, using her skills as both an English teacher and humanitarian clown to break through barriers. Marissa has spent extensive time with sex workers in India’s red light districts and survivors of human trafficking in Nepal and Italy.

After a long time away from home, Marissa returned to Canada in 2013 and founded Aura Freedom International (www.aurafreedom.org), plunging head-first into projects in human trafficking and girls’ education. 

Slightly radical and always bold, Marissa’s strengths lie in her unwavering passion for equality and her ability to put power into the hands of women and girls and move people with her strong words and writing. 

She believes in the power of art to advance humanity. Theatre, film and music have always been her outlet, while human rights and gender issues have always kept the rhythm of her heart. And yes, she is still a big clown.

Maria Paula Ballesteros

Originally from Colombia, Maria Paula has 10 years of program management and field experience.

She has worked with national and international organizations in conflict contexts in Colombia, with a focus on education, health, prevention of child soldier recruitment, and early childhood.

Her portfolio includes work at the Colombian National Planning Department, which oversees the country’s social development progress.

Maria Paula holds a double Master’s Degree in Development and Governance from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, and International Relations from the Barcelona Institute of International Studies. She joined Plan Canada two years ago as a Program Manager for the Protecting the Rights of Conflict-Affected and Vulnerable Children in Colombia program.

Leah Adema

Leah Adema has been with Presbyterian World Service & Development since 2010—first as an intern in Tanzania and since then as program coordinator managing development projects in Malawi and India. 

The specific focus of her programs is maternal health, sustainable livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment.

Leah graduated from the University of Toronto’s International Development Studies program, where she gained “an appreciation for the intricacies of the social-political dynamics in a community—to work on issues like poverty and injustice on a larger scale, you have to understand what’s happening at the grass-roots level.”

Cory Wanless

Cory Wanless is a lawyer at Klippensteins Barristers and Solicitors. Cory represents clients across Canada and beyond in the areas of corporate accountability, native rights, environmental law, and affordable housing.

Along with Murray Klippenstein, he currently represents 13 Mayan Q’eqchi’ in three groundbreaking lawsuits against Canadian company HudBay Minerals regarding human rights abuse in Guatemala. Cory and Murray also recently represented a coalition of human rights organizations in an intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the matter of Yaiguaje v Chevron. Cory has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and Alberta.

Cory is a frequent speaker on the topics of corporate accountability, Canadian mining and human rights, and has guest-lectured at various universities and faculties of law throughout Canada. He is a graduate from the University of Alberta (B.A.) (2004) and the University of Toronto (J.D.) (2008).

Simon Chorley

Simon Chorley serves as International Programs Manager for UNICEF Canada.

He is responsible for business engagement on children’s rights as part of corporate responsibility, government fundraising, liaison with other UNICEF offices, and advising on child protection issues. Prior to his role at UNICEF Canada, Simon served for six years as UK Coordinator for a leading international anti-human trafficking organization in London, England. He oversaw government relations, project management, funding proposals, media commentary and training delivery, and advised on business engagement. He currently lives in Ontario with his wife and two-year-old daughter, and is an avid Manchester United soccer fan.

Dr. Craig Johnson

Dr. Craig Johnson is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Development Studies at the University of Guelph in Canada.

His professional and academic interests centre upon the study of cities and global environmental politics, focusing primarily on the challenge of sustaining human and ecosystem health in a context of rapid urbanization and climate change. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in International Development from the London School of Economics, and has taught at the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University College London and the University of Oxford. In 2009, he was an ESRC-SSRC Visiting Fellow with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Environmental Change Institute, both at the University of Oxford. In 2013, he was a Senior Visiting Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany. Dr. Johnson has published widely in the field of development, focusing primarily on questions of governance, livelihoods and the environment. He is the author of Arresting Development: The Power of Knowledge for Social Change (Routledge, 2009) and co-editor of Policy Windows and Livelihood Futures: Prospects for Poverty Reduction in Rural India (Oxford University Press, 2006). His most recent book is The Urban Climate Challenge: Rethinking the Role of Cities in the Global Climate Regime, which was published as part of the Routledge Cities and Global Governance series in 2015.

Susan MacGregor 

Susan is a disaster management specialist with over 15 years experience in the International Relief and Development Industry.

She spent 12 years based overseas providing direct services to victims of natural disasters and conflict.  She started teaching at Humber part time in 2006 and became the Program Coordinator of the Post Graduate International Development program in 2009.

Susan has worked with a number of agencies including; Air Serv International, the Red Cross, World Vision and UNHCR focusing on the management and logistics of operating in difficult locations.  She has worked in the following countries on a variety of development and relief situations:  Indonesia, Chad, Sudan, DR Congo, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Angola , Mozambique and Liberia.

She continues to remain involved in the field through consultancies with the Red Cross, Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, World Vision, and Air Serv International.  She also serves as a regular guest lecturer at the US Air Force Special Operations University.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Tourism Management, an MBA and a Masters of Disaster and Emergency Management.

Marilyn McHarg

Marilyn is a founding member of the Canadian section of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

Marilyn worked with MSF as a Field Nurse in Uganda, a Training Consultant and Medical Coordinator in Sudan, and a Medical Coordinator and Head of Mission in South Sudan and Liberia. Also, Marilyn served as Operational Director and later as Director of Operations for MSF in Switzerland. She spent six years as the Executive Director of MSF in Canada. Following this, Marilyn led the medical and research organization, Dignitas International. In recognition of her community service, Marilyn received a Queen’s Alumni Humanitarian Award, an Honorary Doctorate degree, and the Order of Ontario.

Jamie McIntosh

Jamie McIntosh is the Vice President of Programs and Policy with World Vision Canada (WVC), providing oversight to a global portfolio of program commitments and advocacy initiatives.

Jamie also serves on World Vision International's Expanded Global Operations Leadership Team, Regional Working Group for East Africa, and Advisory Council for World Vision China.

Previously, Jamie served as the founder and Executive Director of International Justice Mission Canada. While in this capacity he served as a member of the President's Council and senior leadership team of Washington, DC-based International Justice Mission.

Jamie holds a Master of Studies degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. In 2012, Jamie was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award by the Prime Minister of Canada. He also received the International Freedom Award from the Joy Smith Foundation for work addressing human trafficking.

David Miller

David Miller is President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund – Canada, Canada’s foremost conservation organization. The WWF creates solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive.

David Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and Chair of the influential C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group from 2008 – 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies, and a strong and forceful champion for the next generation of jobs through sustainability.

Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and university affiliations. He is currently an adjunct Professor at York University and a member of the Board of Directors for Centennial College. In his former capacity as Counsel, International Business & Sustainability at Aird & Berlis LLP, Mr. Miller advised companies and international organizations on issues surrounding the creation of sustainable urban economies.

David Miller is a Harvard trained economist and professionally a lawyer. He and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.

Lauchlan T. Munro

Lauchlan Munro is director of the School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa. He is a socio-economist and manager.

Before joining the University of Ottawa, Lauchlan served as Vice-President at Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 2008 to 2012. From 2004 to 2009, he was Director of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to the President of IDRC. From 2000 to 2003, 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 is a two-time graduate of the University of Toronto, and he earned his Ph.D. from the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester.

Dr. Heather Murphy, PhD.

Heather has over 10 years experience working in area of water and health in Canada and abroad.

She obtained her Ph.D in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph, Canada, where she focused on appropriate water treatment technologies for developing countries. Following her PhD, she worked for 2 years with the United Nations International Emergency Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist in Mali and Madagascar. She recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Public Health Agency of Canada where she focused on determining the burden of waterborne disease on the Canadian population. She is presently a Research Fellow at the University of Guelph where she is conducting research on the challenges of water provision in Canadian First Nations communities. In July 2015, Heather will join the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia as an Assistant Professor in Environmental Health.

Heather’s research interests involve understanding and addressing water and health challenges in both developed and developing countries. 

Katherine Scott

Katherine Scott has worked in the social development field as a researcher, writer and advocate over the past 20 years. Her on-going work focuses on issues of social and economic inclusion as they affect children, families and communities.

Katherine currently serves as Vice President of Research at the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD), planning and managing the research agenda and public education activities of the CCSD. She is a founding member of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing’s National Research Advisory Group and played a key role in developing the index through her research on Community Vitality. Katherine lives and works in Ottawa, Canada, with her family. She holds degrees in political science and environmental studies.

Dr. Kent Schroeder

Kent Schroeder is the Director, International Development Projects, at the International Development Institute (IDI) at Humber College in Toronto.

He also coordinates Humber's Bachelor of International Development degree program. Kent has over 15 years of experience working on a variety of international development initiatives in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. He has worked as a project manager, trainer, curriculum designer, researcher and evaluation consultant for projects focused on governance, microfinance, HIV/AIDS, entrepreneurship and community health. He has also managed a governance and capacity building initiative with indigenous peoples in the Canadian arctic. Kent recently completed a major research study focused on the power dynamics surrounding the implementation of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan. He has a PhD in Political Science/International Development Studies from the University of Guelph.

Ian Smillie

Ian Smillie has lived and worked in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Bangladesh. He was a founder of the Canadian NGO, Inter Pares, and was Executive Director of CUSO.

He has worked at Tufts and Tulane Universities and as a development consultant with many Canadian, American and European organizations, with primary emphasis on South Asia and West Africa. He is the author of several books, including The Charity of Nations and Freedom from Want. His most recent book, Diamonds, was published in 2014. Ian Smillie helped to design the Kimberley Process certification system for rough diamonds and was the first witness at the war crimes trial of Liberian warlord, Charles Taylor. He chairs the Diamond Development Initiative and is the incoming Chair of the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID). He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2003.

Mukti Suvedi

Mukti Suvedi has been a peace practitioner, educator, facilitator and consultant for over 12 years.

He has lived and worked in South Asia and has developed and implemented multiple peace projects and programs. He has supervised peace training for the South Asian emerging leaders and is a founding member of Peace Initiative Network Nepal, associated with more than 397 NGOs, which was instrumental in establishing the foundation of peace in Nepal.

Mukti is active in teaching peace and has delivered lectures at various universities in Europe and Asia. He is a visiting research fellow at Centre of Religions for Reconciliation and Peace at University of Winchester, UK. As a peace practitioner Mukti also brings extensive experience from the field. He has worked in both supporting conflict affected and displaced people and later in rehabilitation and reconciliation. He also facilitates policy on internally displaced people affected by conflict. As an expert mentor, Mukti has facilitated several trainings focused on peacebuilding, reconciliation, and conflict transformation. He brings hands-on experience on peacebuilding programs from South and South East Asia and Rwanda.

Angela Wilton

Angela Wilton is the Managing Senior Advisor, Research and Learning for Save the Children Canada; she is also a core member of the Knowledge Network for Children and Youth in Canada.

Angela is currently focusing on building the organization’s knowledge and understanding of adolescent and youth programming in diverse contexts. She has been with Save the Children for five years, including several years working in the Pacific and South East Asia for Save the Children New Zealand, and a number of years in Nairobi, Kenya for Save the Children International with a focus on the East Africa region. She has also worked for NZAID, the New Zealand Government’s aid agency, and various organisations in Tanzania, Belgium and India, always with a focus on youth. She has two Masters degrees, the second of which is in Cultures and Development Studies from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium.