Board of Directors

Dr. Amit Chakma, Chair
President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario. In addition to his role at Western, Dr. Chakma currently serves as chair of the Board of Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency.  He is also a former Vice-president of the University of Waterloo. He also served as Dean of Engineering and then Vice-President (Research) and International Liaison Officer at the University of Regina. Dr. Chakma is a graduate of the Algerian Petroleum Institute and of the University of British Columbia.  Dr. Chakma is a leading expert in petroleum research and energy management and has also written over 100 articles. In 1998, Dr. Chakma was recognized with Canada's Top 40 under 40 Award.

Dr. David Turpin, Vice-Chair
David H. Turpin, CM, PhD, FRSC, is the sixth President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Victoria. An internationally recognized scholar in botany and oceanography, Dr. Turpin has been listed as a highly cited researcher by Thomson ISI for his work in the fields of plant biochemistry and physiology. He has received numerous honours and distinctions for his many contributions including the Steacie Fellowship, election to the Royal Society of Canada and membership in the Order of Canada. Before joining the University of Victoria, he served as Vice-Principal Academic and Dean of Arts and Science at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Maryse Meunier, Regional Member Québec
Maryse Meunier is a Microbiology and Immunology undergraduate student at Université de Montreal and an engaged citizen who wishes to engage others around her. She was involved in many organizations, including her student union, her university's environmental committee and organizations promoting international cooperation, development, citizen mobilization and community involvement. She is currently vice-chair of her WUSC local committee and she is active on the topics of development, refugee issues and the fight against inequalities.

Roya Rahmani, Member-at-Large
Roya Rahmani is an international development and governance consultant, specializing in gender and human rights programming.  She has worked with Rights and Democracy, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the NYC Department of Education,  and the Afghanistan's Ministry of Education  among others. She is currently working as an advisor to the Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds a masters degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and a B.SC from McGill University. She has won serval awards and fellowships and is a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr. Roland Paris, Member-at-Large
Dr. Roland Paris is University Research Chair in International Security and Governance at the University of Ottawa. He is also the founding director of the Centre for International Policy Studies as well as Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Paris is the former Director of Research at the Conference Board of Canada. Paris holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, an M.Phil. from Cambridge University, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto. Notably, he has won the Grawemeyer Award for his book At War's End: Building Peace After Civil Conflict. Paris has won two awards for public service, and four awards for graduate and undergraduate teaching.

Margaret Bloodworth, Member-at-Large
Margaret Bloodworth is former senior public servant, most recently Associate Secretary to the Cabinet and National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister (2006-2008). Prior to that she was the first Deputy Minister of Public Safety (2003-2006), Deputy Minister of Defence (2002-2003) and Deputy Minister of Transport (1997-2002). She chairs the management board of Cornerstone Housing for Women and is a Senior Fellow with the University of Ottawa School of Public and International Affairs and a member of the boards of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, the Canadian Council of Academies, the Canadian Ditchley Foundation and the Hospice at May Court. Margaret is a member of the Order of Canada. She has received the Public Service of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award, the Vanier Medal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, a honorary degree from the University of Winnipeg, a honorary diploma from the Canadian Coast Guard College and charter membership in the Common Law Honour Society of the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Nicole Lacasse, Member-at-Large
Nicole Lacasse is the Associate Vice-rector of Academic and International Activities at the University Laval. Nicole holds a Licentiate in Law from the University of  Sherbrooke and a PhD Doctorat in International Trade Law from the University Panthéon-Sorbonne. Nicole Lacasse founded and was the first chairholder of the Stephen-Jarislowsky Chair in International Business Management. Nicole Lacasse has directed several projects for international organizations. 

Rajendra Theagarajah, Member-at-Large
Mr. Theagarajah is the current chairman of Lanka Financial Services Bureau. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Sri Lanka Governing Board, Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce EXCO, Member of the Sri Lanka Auditing Quality Assurance Board, Member of Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board, Member of Academic Council of the Institute of Bankers Sri Lanka, Member of Council of the Employer's Federation of Ceylon, Colours of Courage (Cancer Trust) and Council Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. Mr Theagarajah is a past Chairman of the Sri Lanka Banks' Association and Past President of the Association of Professional Bankers in Sri Lanka. He is the first Sri Lankan to assume Chairmanship of the Asian Bankers' Association from November 1st 2010 for a two-year tenure.