George Anderson [President and CEO] George R.M. Anderson has been President and CEO of the Forum of Federations  since 2005.  He served over thirty years in Canada’s federal public service, where his positions included Deputy Minister of Natural Resources (2002-2005) and Deputy Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Cabinet office (1996-2002)  He held assistant deputy minister level positions in the energy, finance and foreign ministries.  He has degrees in political science from Queen’s University and Oxford University, and a diploma from the École nationale d'administration in Paris.  He was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs in 1992-93.   He is the author of Federalism: An Introduction (Oxford University Press: 2008) and is a trustee of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Joyce Abarbanel [Program officer, Africa programs] has worked in international/community development, peace-building and protection in a variety of conflict and post-conflict settings in Africa. Joyce has worked for the UN, numerous NGOs and government organizations, including UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee, the Centre d'Etude et de Coopération International, and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. She has a BA in History and Spanish from Carleton University, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production from Concordia University, and certification in conflict resolution. She is fluent in English and French.

Céline Auclair [Vice President, Governance Programs] was one of the founders of the Forum. She has a PhD in international relations from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. She was Deputy Ombudsperson for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997-1998 and advisor to the office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996-1997. Her languages are French, English and Spanish.

Mina Behi [President's Office Assistant] has a degree in Public Administration and Political Science from Ryerson Polytechnic University. Her past experience includes event planning, client and public relations, product launches, and senior executive office management. She is fluent in English, German, and Persian.

Dominic Cardy [Director for Asia-Pacific Programs] worked for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) from 2001 to 2008, most recently as Director in NDI’s Nepal office. Previously based in Cambodia (2002-2005), Pakistan (2002), and Bangladesh (2001-2002) he has assisted programs in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Laos, and Pakistan. Prior to 2001, Dominic worked for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, as staff for a Member of Parliament, and in different capacities for the New Democratic Party. Dominic speaks English and French and holds a BA in International Relations from Dalhousie University. He flies ultra light aircraft and does scuba diving in his spare time.

Rita Champagne [Program assistant, public information] has extensive experience working on international programs for Canadian NGOs. She is editorial assistant for Federations magazine and other Forum publications. Her technical and communications skills are used to maintain the flow of information within the Forum and to its friends. She is fluent in French and English.

Rupak Chattopadhyay [Senior director, Global Programs and head, international conferences] has master's degrees in economics and political science from the University of Ottawa and the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and did his doctoral work in political science at the University of Toronto. He is fluent in English, Bengali, Maithili, Hindi and Urdu.

Diana Chebenova [Program Manager, Governance Programs] is responsible for the Forum's program in Brazil, and has worked on projects in Russia, Mexico and India. She has an MA in commerce from the University of Economics of Bratislava and an MA in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. Diana speaks Slovak, Czech, Spanish, English, Russian, and some Portuguese.

Rhonda Dumas [Program Assistant, Global Programs] is responsible for logistics for the Global Dialogue program. Her past experience includes bookkeeping, conference planning and corporate travel. In her previous position, she was responsible for membership with a non-profit organization focusing on youth issues. She speaks English and French.

Shannon Elliot [Webmaster/copy editor] has worked as web and new media co-ordinator for United Way/Centraide Ottawa and for the Canadian Solar Industries Association, and for a number of years as multimedia designer and illustrator. She has a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and a diploma in radio and television broadcasting from Seneca College in Toronto, Canada. She speaks English and French. Currently Shannon is on leave, replaced by Yani Roumeliotis.

Sheela Embounou [Senior Director, Finance and Operations] brings to the Forum 20 years' experience in managing UNFPA population assistance programs in Central and West Africa. She graduated from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and directs the Forum's Finance, Operations and Human Resources activities. Her languages are English and French.

Keely Gregory [Human resources manager] has a Bachelor’s in social sciences from the University of Ottawa and a human resources management certificate. She has worked for more than seven years in human resources in the private and public sectors in Canada. She is bilingual in English and French.

Reinold Herber [Senior advisor] joined the Forum on Aug. 1. He is on a three-year secondment from the German Foreign Service, where he worked since 2002. Previously, Mr. Herber worked at the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government. At the Forum, he is working on planning and research projects, co-editing the German edition of Federations Magazine and co-coordinating the Young Professionals Program.  Mr. Herber has a PhD and a diploma in economics from the University of Cologne. He taught political science at the Universities of Bonn and Trier, Germany. He was involved in a number of research projects of the EU, World Bank and IMF, mainly in Eastern Europe. He speaks German and English.

Shawn Houlihan [Director, Africa Programs] has an MA in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a BA and Master of Development Economics from Dalhousie University. He spent five years in Ethiopia (1993-1998) in governance and civil service reform. He also has extensive experience in Sudan, for Canada and for the United National Development Programme. He worked as a consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency on matters of governance, capacity development and conflict management, including on the Middle East, Horn of Africa, Pan Africa and Southern Africa. Shawn is currently based in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Udo Jude Ilo [Nigeria consultant – based in Lagos] was senior programs officer at the Nigerian Bar Association, research assistant at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London, and secretariat co-ordinator for the Nigerian Coalition on the Death Penalty Abolition, among other appointments. He has a Master of Laws degree from Central European University in Budapest, a Barrister at Law from the Nigerian Law School and an LLB from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.

Eric K. Kalambay [Program Assistant, Finance and Operations] specialized in communication at university and multimedia in college. Before joining the Forum, he worked at various francophone NGOs in Ontario. His languages are French, English, Lingala and several others.

Felix Knüpling [Director, Europe programs] has been with the German parliament - the Bundestag - for six years. He was a senior staffer in the office of a member of the Foreign Affairs committee. Previously, he worked at the International Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO in Brussels. He also worked as a journalist for the German-Polish Quarterly DIALOG. Felix holds a Master's Degree in Political Science from Free University Berlin and a BA in International Relations from University of Kent (Canterbury). Felix is fluent in German and English.

Marc Lemieux [Director, Iraq and Middle East programs] previously worked two years in Iraq under IFES, the International Foundation for Elections Systems providing civic education training to local civic groups and partners. He also worked on UN-supervised elections in Cambodia in 1993. He has monitored elections in Haiti, Bosnia, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. In addition to working with civic groups in Congo Kinshasa, he deployed numerous Canadian election monitoring delegations for CIDA between 2000 and 2002. He also worked for Elections Canada during three elections. Marc has a Master's in international relations from McGill University. He is fluent in English and French.

David-Alexandre Mac Donald [Director, Asia-Pacific programs and Partnerships and Development] has worked for several years in the field of parliamentary and intergovernmental relations in Canada. With the Forum since 2001, he has led the Forum's internationalization program. The Forum now has nine partner countries. He has also played a key role in developing and implementing Forum programs in Brazil and in Argentina. David-Alexandre has lived in North and South America, Europe and Africa. David holds a master's degree in international politics from the University of Ottawa. He speaks French, English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Rod Macdonell [Senior director, Public information and education] was previously executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. He graduated in law at l'Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec. From 1983 to 1999, he was an investigative journalist at the Montreal Gazette. For five years, he taught investigative journalism to journalists in Africa through a World Bank program and delivered training workshops for journalists in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. His languages are English and French.

Marta Montes [Finance manager] is the senior accountant of the Forum of Federations, with over ten years' experience in the NGO sector. She speaks Spanish and English and has been with the Forum since February 2000.

David Parks [Director, North America Programs] is the senior program manager for North America. He has an MA in international development. Before joining the Forum, he worked in Mexico, developed alternative energy projects in Cuba and also worked with fair trade coffee producers in Central America. His languages are English and Spanish.

Nicole Pedersen [Program Assistant, Governance Programs] has been with the Forum of Federations since 1999. She began as a volunteer at Mont-Tremblant and was hired full-time after the conference. Nicole has a BA in social sciences with a concentration in political science. She is fluent in English and French and speaks Arabic and some Spanish.

Sanjeev Pokharel [Nepal consultant based in Kathmandu] has worked on conflict transformation and peace-building projects in Nepal. He has also worked on projects aimed at supporting initiatives of policymakers in designing a federal model for Nepal. He has an MPhil degree in Social Anthropology from University of Bergen, Norway, and is fluent in Nepali and English.

Chris Randall [LAN Manager] is a computer engineer who has been with the Forum of Federations since August 1999. He does system design and user support for the Forum. His languages are English and French.

Irina Shmakova [Program Officer, Asia-Pacific Programs] previously worked on peacebuilding and democratic governance issues for Canadian and international organizations including the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Montenegro. Irina holds master's degrees in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, Ottawa and international relations from Central European University, Budapest as well as a Degree in Oriental Studies from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia. She speaks English, Russian, French and Hindi.

Carl Thomas Stieren [Program manager, public information] has worked for Canadian NGOs in peacebuilding, international relations and development. He has a BA in history from York University, Toronto, Canada, and a certificate in business computer systems and programming from Ryerson University in Toronto. He is a former co-ordinator of Canadian Friends Service Committee and has worked as a reporter and as a technical writer. He speaks English, French and German.

Werner Thut [Vice President, development assistance programs] joined the Forum of Federations on Aug. 1, 2008. Mr. Thut is on a three-year secondment from Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign affairs, where he was with the Division of the Americas between 2006 and 2008. From 2003 to 2006, he was the Deputy Regional Director for Central America with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and was based in Managua, Nicaragua. Before his foreign assignment, Mr. Thut was the head of the Development Policy Division at SDC, working out of the agency’s headquarters in Bern from 1998 to 2003. Between 1992 and 1998, he was head of the Planning and Strategy Division of the staff of the Swiss Federal Cabinet. Mr. Thut has a PhD in history from the University of Bern, and has done research in Nepal.  The Forum currently runs development assistance programs in Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria and Sudan and is in discussions with other countries to be added to the Forum’s portfolio of development activities. He is fluent in German, English, French and Spanish.

Judith van Berkom [Librarian] has worked as a manager of library services and as information specialist for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the British Medical Association in London, England. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and certification as a Library and Information Specialist from Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She speaks English, French and Dutch.