Executive Director, Transparency International Ghana

 Mary Awelana Addah is the Executive Director of Transparency International Ghana and a seasoned policy and governance expert with a master’s degree in development studies. She has led major national initiatives in anti-corruption, public financial management, and social accountability. Mary holds leadership roles in Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Coalition, Open Governance Partnership Initiative (OGP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Platform and serves on the governing boards of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and BUDGIT Ghana. Mary has engaged with national and international platforms including the African Union, World Bank, UNODC and UN and holds advanced professional certifications in governance and policy and gender and related matter.

Senior Programme Development Officer, Transparency International UK, Global Thematic Networks 

Executive Director, Transparency International Zimbabwe

Tafadzwa Chikumbu is the Executive Director of Transparency International Zimbabwe and a Development Economist with extensive experience in anti-corruption, fiscal transparency, human rights and natural resource governance. His career spans government and civil society, giving him both insider and outsider perspectives on governance and democracy at national, regional, and international levels, including engagements with parliaments, government ministries, the SADC Secretariat, AU, World Bank, IMF, and UN. He holds a Master’s in Economic Policy Management and has coordinated multi-regional projects on fiscal transparency while contributing to research and knowledge generation on governance in Africa.

Chair and President, Transparency International Canada

Susan is a past Chair and Board member of Transparency International Canada. She currently sits on the international Board of Transparency International. 

Susan’s career with the international secretariat of Transparency International spanned almost two decades. She worked for the organization in London, Washington D.C., and Berlin. As Head of Transparency International’s Business Integrity Programme, she led projects aimed at raising standards of corporate anti-corruption practice and represented TI on initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact, the Partnering against Corruption Initiative of the World Economic Forum and the B20. 

Executive Director, Transparency International Canada

Senior Program Specialist, Global Health, IDRC

Nafissatou Diop has a rich professional career in global health and international development. Before joining the Canadian Association for Global Health as Executive Director in January 2023, Nafissatou was a freelance consultant. From August 2017 to January 2022, she successfully led the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) Initiative, a Canadian flagship co-funded by three agencies of the Government of Canada. Prior to joining IMCHA, Nafissatou was the Country Director of the Population Council’s Senegal office. Nafissatou also held positions at the Global Health Research Initiative, the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, and the Center for Studies and Research on Population for Development of the Sahel Institute.

In 2018, Nafissatou was listed as a Francophone Woman Leader in Global Health.

Nafissatou holds a Ph.D. in public health and a certificate in health communication from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (USA), as well as a graduate degree in computer science (France).

Partner, Ottawa, Gowling WLG

Elad Gafni is a partner in the Gowling WLG Ottawa office, practising primarily in the areas of competition and antitrust law and foreign investment review, including national security.

In the area of competition law, Elad leverages his Master's degree in economics to successfully advise and represent clients on merger-related issues, including pre-notification filings under the Competition Act and the Canada Transportation Act, in a wide range of industries. He also has extensive experience advising clients in relation to the civil and criminal provisions of the Competition Act, and assisting clients in responding to requests for voluntary disclosures from the Competition Bureau, and to information and document production orders in relation to alleged violations of the Competition Act. In addition, Elad regularly assists clients, including industry and trade associations, with developing and implementing competition law compliance policies.

In the area of foreign investment review, Elad advises clients across a broad range of industries on notification filings, national security reviews, net benefit reviews, and cultural sector reviews under the Investment Canada Act.

Director, International Programs, Oxfam Canada

Erin Kiley is the director of International Programs at Oxfam Canada. Prior to this position, Erin was Oxfam Canada’s manager of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Programming since 2019.

Erin is a feminist dedicated to community and international development and has spent much of the last 21 years working for social justice and development organizations. Before joining Oxfam, Erin was a senior manager at United Way of Ottawa and oversaw community grant allocations.

With 12 years of experience working in international development in a variety of program and project roles and two years completing a research-based international development Master of Arts at Guelph University, Erin has worked and lived in a variety of contexts. This includes seven years based in Africa (Botswana, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Senegal) and several years in Europe in her youth (Romania, Germany and Austria). Born in Deep River, Ontario, Erin left the area with her family as an infant and grew up in New Brunswick. Erin settled in Gatineau, Quebec in 2013

Regional Advisor, Africa, Transparency International Secretariat

Samuel Kaninda is one of the Africa Regional Advisors at the Secretariat of Transparency International (TI) in Berlin focusing on Central and West Africa. He previously held the position of Programme Coordinator: Public Sector Integrity in the same organisation. In this role, Samuel was working with TI national chapters and in Africa on addressing corruption in their public sectors both in terms of diagnosis and solution, including at sub-national level. Before joining the anti-corruption movement in 2013, Samuel worked in the local government sector through the Pan African association of local government known as United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA). Supporting African local government associations in the areas of advocacy, capacity development and institutional strengthening was at the core of Samuel’s role. Samuel’s academic background is public management.

Huguette Labelle holds a doctorate of philosophy in education. She is a companion of the Order of Canada and has been named to the Order of Ontario. She has been awarded honorary degrees from twelve Canadian universities and the University of Notre Dame in the United States. She has received the Vanier Medal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada, the McGill Management Achievement Award, and l'Ordre de la Pléiade.

Ms. Labelle served for nineteen years as deputy head of different Canadian government departments. Among other positions, she was secretary of state and head of Transport Canada, the Public Service Commission, and the Canadian International Development Agency. She has served on more than twenty councils and boards of directors.

Executive Director, Transparency International Rwanda

Apollinaire is a Rwandan citizen! He is a holder of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, major in Management, from Neuchatel University (Switzerland) and a Postgrad Diploma in International Projects Management of Applied University of Western of Switzerland. Apollinaire completed also professional trainings including “Governance and Development”; “Measuring Corruption & Governance”; “Communicate with Media”; “E-procurement”; “UNCAC and its review mechanisms, leadership”; “Good Public Financial Management in Key Sectors,” to name a few. He has more than 25 years of professional experience both in private and non-governmental institutions. Since 2007, Apollinaire works with Transparency International movement as Executive Director of the Rwandan chapter since April 2009 (more than 16 years in anti-corruption field at the top of TI-RW managerial position). Apollinaire was among 15 experts of TI chapters appointed to support TI Movement Strategy 2030 known as Strategy Task Force, and he is currently Member of Strategy Reference Group of Transparency International Movement. In November 2024, Apollinaire was elected for three years term as one of 11 Board members of Transparency International.

Executive Director, Ligue Congolaise de Lutte contre la Corruption

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State, International Development.

Director, International and Social Justice, Canadian Teachers Federation 

Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University

Dr. Sheila Rao is a socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in the feminist political economy of agri-food systems, communication technologies, and organizational change and policy in international development. Her domestic research interests focus on feminist policy, social inequality, and justice movements.

She has extensive experience in qualitative and collaborative research design and analysis, contributing to both large-scale, multi-country projects and in-depth ethnographic studies with international research institutions and non-governmental organizations.

Director, BESA Global and Co-Director, Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program

Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church is a practitioner-scholar with a lifelong interest in governance processes that have run amok.  She has significant experience in peacebuilding, governance, anti-corruption, evaluation and learning across the Balkans, West and East Africa. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Besa Global, where she also co-leads the Corruption, Justice & Legitimacy (CJL) Program.  In this capacity she has pioneered the application of systems thinking to corruption analysis and the role of social norms as a driver of corrupt practices.  Cheyanne taught on the intersection of conflict and corruption as well as program design, monitoring and evaluation in fragile contexts at the Fletcher School, Tufts University for 15 years.  Prior to this, as the first Director of Evaluation for Search for Common Ground she developed the organisation’s initial strategy to institutionalize an evidence and learning culture and practice.  Her interest in understanding peacebuilding effectiveness started during her role as the Director of Policy & Evaluation at INCORE, University of Ulster. She has had the privilege of working in an advisory capacity with a range of organizations such as ABA/ROLI, CDA, ICRC, IDRC, UN Peacebuilding Fund and the US State Department. She can be commonly found in the Canadian Rockies with her fierce daughters and gem of a husband.

Research and Policy Director, IMPACT 

Kady Seguin is the Policy & Research Director at IMPACT, where she leads research and policy strategies to improve natural resource governance in areas affected by conflict, corruption, and criminality. With over a decade of experience, she has worked extensively on transparency, human rights, and illicit trade in the extractive sector.

Kady has played a key role in national and international policy initiatives, including Canada’s extractive sector transparency legislation and capacity-building programs for civil society. Her research focuses on the intersection of natural resources, security, and development, with a strong emphasis on inclusion and accountability.

She holds a Master’s in Globalization and International Development from the University of Ottawa, where her thesis examined the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.

Senior Education Advisor, Plan International Canada

Pete Simms is the Senior Education Advisor at Plan International in Canada and has worked in education for the past fifteen years. Originally a primary school teacher, Pete has supported education systems as a teacher trainer, an advisor to Ministries of Education, and within UN Agencies and INGOs. He specialises in fragile and conflict settings, and responses to complex and protracted crises, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, and DR Congo. In recent years Pete has focused on the intersection of child protection and education, specifically in refugee and forced displacement contexts. 

Regional Program Manager, Transparency International Secretariat

Nikola Sandoval is Regional Programme Programme Manager at Transparency International Secretariat, with oversight responsibility for projects across Africa and Asia Pacific. Nikola has 20 years of anti-corruption experience, working on TI’s research, advocacy, and capacity development programmes in these regions, aimed at supporting civil society efforts and public sector integrity and working with a range of national partners, regional organisations, and donors.  Nikola holds an MA in International Studies from SOAS at the University of London.

Executive Director, National Indigenous Diabetes Association

Céleste Thériault is a community leader, advocate and forever learner. Her background is in Business Administration and Project Management. She grounds her work in doing what is best for the greater good of community.

Céleste is a member of the Red River Métis Nation. She grew up, lives, and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Treaty 1 Territory. Her pronouns are she/her. Outside of work, Céleste can be found adventuring with her dog, Ollie, connecting with her family and friends, and practicing her beadwork. Céleste holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Winnipeg (2018) and a Certificate with Honours in Project Management from RRC Polytech (2023). She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at Queen’s University Smith School of Business.