Society for International Development
Ottawa-Gatineau Chapter

SID Ottawa-Gatineau Executive
2009-2010

President

Soraya Hassanali

As President of SID-OG since 2007, Soraya has worked to strengthen the chapter's governance capacities particularly related to chapter finance, volunteer recruitment and outreach/communications. Soraya intends to continue this work during her third term as President (2009-2010). Prior to this, she was a member-at-large with SID-OG since 2004.

Professionally, Soraya currently works as a Senior Gender Equality Specialist in the Multilateral Programs Branch at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Prior to joining CIDA, Soraya was a Senior Cabinet Affairs Advisor with Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSD), and also worked for over five years with Status of Women Canada (SWC), where she held a number of positions. Before entering government, Soraya worked with two INGO's in Europe on issues related to Sustainable Development. Soraya holds a M.Sc. in Development Economics and Gender Studies, from the London School of Economics, and a B.A from McGill University in Economics and Political Science.

In 2003, with support from the Ford Foundation, Soraya was selected as a Program Fellow in the Knowledge Networking and Capacity Building Program on Gender Macroeconomics and International Economics (IWG-GEM) at the University of Utah. Presently, Soraya is a co-chair of the program committee for the Women's World Congress, to be held in Ottawa-Ontario in 2011.

Vice-President, Programming

Dr. William J. Cowie

William Cowie has been a consultant, trainer and lecturer in international development for over 30 years. He began his consulting career in Kenya with the IDRC and since then has worked in many different countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He has worked on projects as far ranging as deployment for democratic elections in the Ukraine to evaluations of Pan-African development institutions. He has taught courses in global economics at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and has designed and developed many different management and professional training courses (including, most recently, a modern foreign policy making training course for the Government of Indonesia).

William has been vice-president of programming at the Society for International Development for 5 years. He is currently a project manager (national and international) for the Canadian Institute of Planners. He oversees projects on climate change adaptation planning (Iqaluit, Atlantic Canada) and community planning capacity building (Guyana, Caribbean Regional).

Vice-President, Membership & Secretary

Vivian Cummins

Vivian Cummins is a librarian with a longstanding interest in international issues. Her travel and work experience in Africa and Asia have given her a particular focus on education in developing countries.

For many years, she was the co-ordinator of the resource centre at The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

Treasurer

Alexandra Semard

Alexandra Semard is a qualified chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). For four years, she worked as a financial auditor at one of the top 10 accountancy practices in the UK. She has extensive experience in financial statements and accounts preparation.

Her areas of interest in development include microfinance, anti-corruption, poverty programs in Latin America and international finance. She holds a Master's Degree in Political Science from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Lille and a Master's Degree in Management from ESCP-EAP in France, completed at EGADE Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. While studying for her Master's in management, she wrote her final paper on risks in emerging markets focusing on the Mexican banking system.

Members At Large

Dr. Arch Ritter, Programming

Archibald Ritter is a distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in the department of economics and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. He holds a B.A. in economics from Queen's University, an M.A. in economics from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. in economics with a minor in Latin American studies from the University of Texas.

He has worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Chile and the Department of Energy Mines and Resources in Canada. He has also lived and worked in Kenya and Tanzania. Arch was the initiator on the Canadian side, and the Canadian co-ordinator, of the Master's in economics program offered by the University of Havana to young Cuban professors in the 1990s. His research interests and publications relate to the development issues in East Africa, especially Kenya and Tanzania, and Latin America, specifically Cuba and Chile. He also focuses on the international economy and the international mineral economy. He has published extensively on Cuba's development policies and experience, as well as on Chile and Kenya.

His is currently teaching at Carleton University, working on various research projects, and focusing on a variety of voluntary activities.

Dorothy Rogers, Finance and Event Co-ordination

Dorothy Rogers is a retired university librarian with extensive experience in the use of government information sources. Apart from Canada, she has lived and worked in Sierra Leone and the Outer Hebrides.

She has a M.A. from Yale University, holds a B.L.S. from the University of Toronto and a B.A. from Wellesley.

Hannah Yakobi, Communications

Hannah Yakobi is an award-winning journalist and communications specialist. She has lived and worked in many different countries, including Canada, Russia, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Hannah has worked extensively as an arts and culture reporter, a photojournalist and a communications expert for almost a decade. Some of the organizations she has worked for include the National Post, CanWest News Service, OK! Magazine, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Canadian Cancer Society, the United Way and Estēe Lauder.

Hannah is a highest honours' graduate of the Bachelor of Journalism program at Carleton University (School of Journalism and Communications). She has travelled extensively in Europe and North America and speaks four languages (English, French, Spanish and Russian). She has strong professional and personal interests in issues of international development, culture, languages, international business, diplomacy and foreign affairs.

Trang Nguyen, Event Co-ordination

Trang Nguyen is a graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. She has a B.A in international relations from the Institute for International Relations in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Before coming to Canada, she spent four years working as a journalist for a popular electronic newspaper in Vietnam.

Trang has a strong interest in foreign policies of the Great Powers and international development issues. Specifically, her research themes include China's rise and Great Powers' policies to manage emerging powers; MNEs and FDI in Asia; FDI and its impact on socio-economic issues in developing countries (i.e. technology transfer, growth and poverty reduction, gender equality); development aid and weaknesses in the disbursement of aid in Asian developing countries.

Max Baccouche, IMIT

During his academic career, Max Baccouche was greatly involved in the social and cultural environments. These opportunities enabled him to develop a comprehensive knowledge of the youth community, and the student environment in particular, due to positions held in several student councils.

At the Public Works and Government Services Canada, Max is a programmer with ITSB and he has represented the branch on the NYN National Council. These experiences have opened his mind and allowed him to develop a strong sense of observation, as well as a clear understanding of the realities faced by the youth of today. As vice-chair, his goal is to promote the interests of the youth groups he represents.

He is an avid traveller and is passionate about people and cultures.

Elizabeth Cliffen, Gender Equality

Elizabeth Cliffen has been a member of SID-OG and on the gender equality committee since 2007. As a member of the committee, she helped organize many gender mainstream events, such as Women's Empowerment in Afghanistan, Human Rights in Latin America: Overcoming Gender Bias? and Child Soldiers: A Gender Perspective.

With an academic background in international development, Elizabeth has spent a few years living in Asia and travelling in that region. She currently works in the education field.

Jennifer Butterfield, Volunteer Co-ordinator

Jennifer Butterfield is a recent graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

She is currently working for the Afghanistan Task Force at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

The field of international development has always been one of Jennifer's primary interests.

Denis Marcheterre

Denis has been working for CIDA for over 20 years. He lived in Costa Rica, Brasil, Algeria and Washington. He also worked with NGOs and for multilateral development banks. He has an Msc in Economics, an MA in International Development and an MA in Evaluation.