Mark Berlin
MPhil, Cambridge
ISID Professor of Practice
A graduate of the University of Toronto (BA) ; University of Ottawa, (LL.B) ; and Cambridge University (M.Phil.), Mark L. Berlin was appointed as a Professor of Practice at ISID in 2012. He brings to 海角社区 a wealth of experience in academia and government practice. For 25 years he was Adjunct Professor in the Law Faculty at the University of Ottawa and authored various articles and co-published "Human Rights in Canada" (Buttersworth). At the same time, he worked for the Department of Justice. Over the course of his career at Justice he had the good fortune to directly serve as legal and policy counsel to 4 Attorneys General; Senior Counsel - Criminal Law Policy; was Senior General Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General; Special Advisor on the Middle East to the Minister of Justice and Director General of International Legal Programmes. His focus was on legal technical assistance and institutional capacity building in failed and fragile states establishing justice sector reforms in diverse areas such as Sudan, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and the Palestinian Authority to name a few.听 Over a period of 15 years Prof Berlin served in various capacities on the executives of both the Ontario and Canadian Bar Associations. In 2012 he was appointed and served 2 terms until 2018 on the Law Commission of Ontario. In 2018 he was appointed by the Government of Canada to serve on the Board of Trustees to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. In 2020 he was appointed to the Board of Directors to the Justice Education Society of British Columbia. Since 2018 Prof Berlin has served as the Special Advisor to the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs focusing on international relations.
Michael Brown
ISID Professor of Practice
Michael Brown is a regular consulting advisor to the United Nations (UN) on natural resource and land conflicts, mediation, indigenous peoples and peacebuilding. He is a听Professor of Practice in Conflict Mediation at 海角社区's Institute for the Study of International Development. His work focuses primarily on natural resource and land conflicts.听 He was the UN's Senior Mediation Expert on Land and Natural Resource Conflicts for the Department of Political Affairs' (DPA) Standby Mediation Team, and a Senior Expert on Natural Resources, Environmental Diplomacy and Mediation for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). He has held leadership and senior advisory positions with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN DPA, the World Bank, and UN peace missions.
Among many professional and academic publications, Michael is one of the principal contributing authors of Natural Resources and Conflict: A Guide for Mediation Practitioners (United Nations, 2015). His experience spans dozens of countries through Latin America, Asia, Africa and North America. His natural resource conflict expertise covers extractive industries, land and water disputes, particularly when local and/or indigenous communities are involved or affected. In Canada, he has worked on environmental law, aboriginal law, policy development and alternative dispute resolution. He is now focusing on consensus building, mediation, and the design and strengthening of policy and institutional frameworks to promote conflict prevention and resolution. He was called to the Bar in the Province of Ontario, and is a Certified Mediator in the Province of Qu茅bec. He speaks English, Spanish and French.
Neil Buhne
ISID Professor of Practice
Neil joined ISID as a professor of practice in March this year. That came after 37 years serving the United Nations. Through these years, Neil focused on helping it better work together to serve people at the country level, through development cooperation, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. Most recently, he was the Regional Director, Asia-Pacific for the United Nations Development Coordination Office based in Bangkok, starting up and leading an office that provided oversight and support to 24 UN Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams in the region; after concluding 4 years in Pakistan as United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator. He was also UN Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Sri Lanka from 2007 to 2011 during the last years of the 30-year civil conflict. Before that he was UN RC/UNDP RR in Bulgaria from 2003 to 2007, and UN RC/UNDP RR in Belarus from 1999 to 2003, as well as Acting RC and UNDP RR/Deputy RR in Malaysia from 1995 to 1999. He began his UN career with UNDP in Sri Lanka, and then in Sudan, Bhutan, and Pakistan. From 2011 to 2015, he led UNDP鈥檚 engagement with the humanitarian and peace-building communities and as Director of UNDP鈥檚 Geneva office. Though now retired as a full time international civil servant, he remains engaged with the issues and work of the UN. He grew up in Windsor Ontario beginning his university education in the International Relations Programme at the University of Windsor and then then did a Masters鈥� at the Norman Paterson School of International Relations at Carleton University. From there he worked briefly with the North-South Institute before beginning with his UN career in October 1984. Both his sons, Nicholas and Christoph are graduates of Mc Gill鈥檚 International Development Studies programme and his wife, Sonja, served with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Since 2018 he is also a Swiss national, and currently is Research Associate at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Affairs and Development. At ISID/海角社区 he hopes to help students better understand what the UN does at the country level, including both the opportunities to contribute more, and the limitations it faces. Working with colleagues at 海角社区 he hopes to contribute to research and reform on how the UN and multilateral institutions can overcome such limitations to more effectively support people overcome the challenges they now face.
Bart 脡des
ISID Professor of Practice
Bart 脡des is a policy analyst, commentator, and author of Learning From Tomorrow: Using Strategic Foresight to Prepare for the Next Big Disruption (2021). He focuses on developing Asian economies, international development, cross-border trade and investment, innovation, social policies, and transformative trends reshaping the world. Since December 2020, he has served as a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, and was named a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in January 2021. Between 2001 and 2020, 脡des held senior staff positions at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), most recently serving as the lender鈥檚 North American Representative (2017-2020). While based at ADB鈥檚 Manila headquarters, he oversaw teams responsible for policy, strategy and operational guidance on education, governance, health, inclusive business, ICT for development, knowledge management, poverty reduction, social protection and stakeholder consultation. He also guided formulation of ADB鈥檚 landmark Public Communications Policy, explored the impact of climate change on migration in Asia, launched ADB鈥檚 largest community of practice (on social development), and managed partnerships with civil society organizations, donors and international organizations. Between 1994-2000, 脡des led communications for a Paris-based EU-OECD joint initiative supporting public administration reform in Central and Eastern Europe.听 脡des has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Government from Georgetown University, and a master鈥檚 degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan鈥檚 Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Born in Prince Albert, SK, he now resides in Montr茅al, QC.
Timothy Hodges
ISID Professor of Practice
Timothy (Tim) Hodges is Professor of Practice in Global Governance at 海角社区's Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID), where his work focuses on environmental global governance, and the negotiation and implementation of international sustainable development treaties by Indigenous Peoples, governments, and stakeholders.
Professor Hodges is a former career Canadian diplomat, with a focus on environmental, economic, sustainable development and trade policy issues including, for example, in the UN General Assembly, UN Permanent Forum, G8, WTO, APEC, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Food and Agricultural Organization, UNESCO, OECD, Organization of American States, NAFTA, and the Arctic Council. He played a leading role in technology transfer, human rights, and ethics debates in a range of fora including in the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and UNESCO.
Tim headed Canadian delegations to Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety negotiations and genetic resources (ABS) treaty talks, prior to serving as Co-Chair, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the United Nations treaty on Access and Benefit-sharing of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge (i.e., the Nagoya Protocol). Professor Hodges is past President of Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO).
A principal focus of his research at the Institute is understanding how local communities and stakeholders (including Indigenous Peoples communities), in both the South and the North, participate in and benefit from implementing international sustainable development treaties (such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity). Through his work at ISID, Tim is also leveraging his experience to the benefit of students looking to understand global governance systems and contemplating a career in international affairs. To that end, he lectures widely at 海角社区, across Canada and around the world on sustainable development and international treaty making.
Concurrently, he is Principal at Timothy J Hodges & Associates -- an international consultancy providing confidential strategic advisory and leadership services to governments, private non-profit organizations, industry, and Indigenous and local communities. As well, he is currently serving as Mentor for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa, Caribbean, and the Pacific 鈥淵outh Empowerment and Training Initiative.鈥�
Tim is a frequent commentator on a range of issues global discussions on emerging issues at the science-policy nexus, including most recently on the implications of digital sequence information (DSI) and biodiversity on conservation and commercial research and capacity development for communities.
Rachel Kiddell-Monroe
LLM, 海角社区
ISID Professor of Practice
Rachel Kiddell-Monroe is a lawyer and an activist, specializing in humanitarian assistance, global health, governance and bioethics. She is passionate about social justice and finding ways to show humanity and solidarity for people and our planet. In 2018 Rachel founded , a non-profit organization which works with a radical community first approach to health to promote principles of community self-empowerment and solidarity. The first project is co-creating an innovative platform for change with Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic to enable them to address the tuberculosis epidemic at the community level.
This initiative builds on Rachel鈥檚 long history of humanitarian work which began in 1989 when she left her legal practice to work on indigenous rights and East Timorese independence with grassroots organisations in Indonesia. From there, Rachel joined M茅decins sans and headed various emergency humanitarian missions in Djibouti, Rwanda (before, during and after the genocide) and Democratic Republic of Congo. After becoming programme director of MSF Canada, she was appointed Regional Humanitarian Affairs Advisor for Latin America based in Costa Rica. She also led the MSF Access to Medicines Campaign in Canada until 2007.
Rachel became the founding President of in 2007 and most recently, she served as a Director on MSF's International Board, its highest governance platform. In 2013, Rachel was invited to be a Professor of Practice at 海角社区 where she lectures on international development, humanitarian action and access to medicines. She completed her LL.M in Bioethics at 海角社区 and her thesis focused on a multicentric approach to global governance for health. Rachel has (co)authored several peer-reviewed publications, most recently on access to medicines, humanitarian ethics and the global refugee crisis.
Rohinton Medhora
ISID Professor of Practice
Rohinton P. Medhora is a distinguished fellow and former president of CIGI (2012鈥�2022). He also served on CIGI鈥檚 former International Board of Governors from 2009 to 2014. Previously, he was vice president of programs at Canada鈥檚 International Development Research Centre. His fields of expertise are international economic relations, innovation policy, development economics and governance.
Rohinton sits on The Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030, as well as the Commission on Global Economic Transformation, co-chaired by Nobel economics laureates Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz. He is chair of the board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, vice-chair at the McLuhan Foundation, board member of Partnership for Economic Policy and is on the advisory boards of the WTO Chairs Programme, UNU-MERIT and Global Health Centre. From 2021 to 2022, Rohinton chaired the Ontario Workplace Recovery Advisory Committee.
Rohinton received his doctorate in economics in 1988 from the University of Toronto, where he subsequently taught. In addition to his Ph.D., Rohinton earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Toronto, where he majored in economics.
He has published extensively in professional and non-technical journals and has produced several books: Finance and Competitiveness in Developing Countries (Routledge, 2001) and Financial Reform in Developing Countries (Macmillan, 1998), which he co-edited with Jos茅 Fanelli. In 2013, he was co-editor of Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, which is volume 27 in the influential Canada Among Nations book series. In 2014, he co-edited International Development: Ideas, Experience, and Prospects (Oxford University Press) and Crisis and Reform: Canada and the International Financial System, which is volume 28 in the Canada Among Nations book series.
Christian Novak
ISID Professor of Practice
Christian Novak joined ISID in 2018 as Professor of Practice. He focuses on development finance, particularly on the effective use of public and private capital to help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The topics that he covers include: the operating models and methods of development finance institutions, blended finance, funding needs for the advancement of priority sectors and underserved segments of the population, environment finance, and impact investing.
Christian Novak possesses combined experience in investment banking and in economic & social development, having worked for renowned international banks and for a prominent regional development finance institution. As Managing Partner of FMA, he provides advisory services in the field of development finance and impact investing. He played leading roles in launching various initiatives for the development of the private sector, namely through the use of innovative financing, including starting up a microfinance institution, two foundations aimed at fostering infrastructure and education, the 'impact investing' team of an investment bank, and the private-sector arm of a development finance institution.
He graduated as a Public Accountant and holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Argentina.
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Jamal Saghir
ISID Professor of Practice
Mr. Jamal Saghir is an Economist and former Director at the World Bank, Washington D.C. He is an expert in Energy, Water, Transport, Infrastructure, International finance, and Economic Development with over 25 years of experience at the World Bank Group.
Mr. Saghir is currently Professor of Practice at the Institute for the Study of International Development at 海角社区, Montreal, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the听Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines and Affiliated Scholar at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut. He is also Special Advisor to the Executive Committee of Bollore Transport and Logistics, France; member of Board of directors of CICA S.A; SATRAM-HUILES SA; SAMC-COMBUSTIBLES SA and SM TANK, Switzerland; member of Board of directors of FFA Private Bank, Lebanon and Dubai; member of the member of Board of directors of AMEA Power LLC, Dubai; member of the Advisory Board of GRV Global Ltd, London and member of the Council for Sustainable Development Goals 1, End Poverty, The World Government Summit, Dubai.
From 2010 to 2016, he was Director of Sustainable Development and Senior Regional Adviser at the World Bank. He held directorships in Africa in agriculture and rural development, energy and infrastructure, environment, climate change, water, transport, and sustainable development. He provided intellectual and operational leadership and managed one of the largest departments of the World Bank Group with over 400 staff. He was responsible for a portfolio of nearly $25 billion.
From 1990 to 2000, Mr. Saghir served in senior management and leadership roles in a variety of private and public sector development operations in Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. In 1999 he served as Sector Manager in the Middle East and North Africa region of the World Bank.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Saghir served as Resident Advisor to the Prime Ministry in Tunisia and Country Director for Scientex Corporation, Center for Privatization (1988-1990), and from 1985-1988, he held the positions of Economic Adviser and Chief of Staff to the Associate Minister of Finance and Privatization in Quebec (Canada). From 1982 to 1985, he served as Economist at the National Assembly of Quebec.
Mr. Saghir was appointed in 2009 by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon as core member of the United Nations Energy and Climate Change Advisory Group, and he was also appointed as core member of the Global Energy Assessment from 2008-2011. He contributed to the delivery of major reports to the UN Secretary General and international community on Energy and Climate Change. 颅颅颅颅颅颅Mr. Saghir has contributed to over 40 publications, essays and books. He holds a B.A and M.A. in economics from Laval University, Canada He has also attended management executive programs at the Harvard Business School, Cambridge University and the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). He is fluent in English, French and Arabic.
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脡liane Ubalijoro
ISID Professor of Practice
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脡liane Ubalijoro, PhD is Chief Executive Officer of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and Director General of ICRAF. An accomplished leader with a background in agriculture and molecular genetics, she serves on several boards and has been recognized for outstanding contributions to innovation, gender equity and sustainable prosperity creation.
Dr Ubalijoro has been a Professor of Practice for public-private sector partnerships at 海角社区 since 2008, with research interests focusing on innovation, gender and sustainable development for prosperity creation. From 2021 to March 2023, she was the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Canada Hub Director for Future Earth. She is a member of Rwanda鈥檚 National Science and Technology Council and Presidential Advisory Council, the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet, the Science for Africa Foundation and the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board, among others. She is also a fellow of the International Science Council.
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