Meet The Team

Kristin Douglas

Executive Director

Kristin is an experienced and passionate non-profit professional with a focus on fund development, relationship management, strategic planning, campaign management, and volunteer engagement. Most recently, she worked as the Executive Director for Ethiopiaid, a non-profit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights and women’s empowerment. Read More

Isabelle Hachette

Program Manager

Isabelle has over twenty years of experience working in international development and emergency relief programs in countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Cambodia. She has worked with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), United Nations agencies as well as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Read More

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Ann Meinzinger

Administrative Assistant

Ann came to World Accord in 1999 after many years of working in accounting management in Belleville. Ann lives in Kitchener where she also received her formal education. Ann manages several portfolios of work at World Accord, including the accurate maintenance of all financial records, donor data, payables, payroll, banking, and program funding records. Ann has also worked with World Accord’s partners in Central America, training program staff in financial management information systems.


Our Directors

Mary Pearson

President (Corunna, ON, Canada)

Mary Pearson is an entrepreneur running a small business that provides bookkeeping and other business services to her community. This experience serves her well in the role of President of World Accord’s board of directors. As an individual, Mary is dedicated to personal evolution to becoming one’s best so she is right at home in an organization that seeks to help individuals and communities develop and evolve into Communities that Thrive.

Stephen Thompson

Treasurer (Edmonton, AB Canada)

Stephen Thompson is a long-time supporter of World Accord, dating back to the early to mid-1980s. Stephen’s support for World Accord is driven by its emphasis on working with local organizations to determine and direct the community supports they need. Stephen brings to the Board his 30 years of experience in municipal government in both community development and in city council support functions such as meeting management, and election and census management. Following early retirement from his municipality, he served his church, the Community of Christ, as its administrator for the congregations in western Canada for 7 years. Stephen holds masters degrees in Public Management and in Religion.

Leah Christensen

Vice President (New Westminster, BC, Canada)

Leah Christensen was introduced to the idea of international development by Terry Fielder, the founder of World Accord when she was 10 years old. Since then, she has been a supporter of the organization and its ideals of social & economic justice. After years of studying and living abroad, she has committed herself to public education as a force for social change. Read More

James Bennett

Secretary (Kitchener, ON, Canada)

James Bennett has experience across a number of industries, having worked in various capacities within the restaurant, retail, manufacturing, financial, and technology sectors as both an employee and a consultant. Most recently he has been focusing on leadership development and has been associated with the John Maxwell organization. James was drawn to World Accord in part because of their operating philosophy that empowers locals to be a part of the change that they are seeking vs the recipient of a grant and also because he truly believes in the potential of people to make a difference when the right circumstances are presented. James has been involved with World Accord since 2014 participating in several Construction Expeditions as well as supporting events like the Black and White Gala since its inauguration.[/read]

Juhi Hiren Shah

Director (Waterloo, ON, Canada)

Juhi Hiren Shah has spent the last year working for Canadian Red Cross’ Mobilization team and International Operations teams after graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Master’s Degree in International Development. She is a young professional working towards the sustainability of emergency response measures through domestic and international teams at Red Cross. She is motivated by her passion for reducing gender-based violence in developing countries and her deep interest in environmental justice. Read More


 

Stephany Ospina-Coral

Director (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Stephany Ospina-Coral is a Colombian lawyer, specialized in public law, with experience in legal defense, human rights, and international law. Her experience working for the Colombian government and in different international organizations in the United States, Australia and Canada have allowed her to develop different perspectives to address social issues that impact the development of countries and across the world, such as social justice, gender, poverty, climate change, among others. She is currently based in Toronto, where she is pursuing a postgraduate degree in International Development.

Scott Murphy

Director (Independence, MO, USA)

Scott Murphy has served as a member of the First Presidency of the Community of Christ since April 2013. The First Presidency provides primary leadership to the international body of the Community of Christ. In his role in the First Presidency, Scott functions as the chief operating officer for the operations and mission of the church in the 59 different nations where the church is present. Community of Christ International Headquarters is located in Independence, Missouri. Read More


Our Advisory Committee

Dr. Prateep Nayak

Professor (University of Waterloo, ON, Canada)

Prateep Nayak is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. He has an academic background in political science, environmental studies, and international development, and holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Manitoba. He engages in interdisciplinary scholarship with an active interest in combining social and ecological perspectives. Read More

Dr. Laxmi Pant

Professor (University of Guelph, ON, Canada)

Laxmi Prasad Pant, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Food Systems at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich and remains associated with the University of Guelph through projects he is currently working on. His research focuses specifically on capacity development for agricultural and rural innovation, sustainability transitions, public engagement in emerging technologies, and teaching controversial issues. Read More

Dr. Alicia Sliwinski

Professor (Wilfred Laurier University, ON, Canada)

Dr. Sliwinski received her Ph.D. (2005) and M.Sc. (1996) in Anthropology and a B.A. in Art History (1991) from the Université de Montréal. She also received a post-graduate diploma in management from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in 1998. Prior to her doctoral studies, De. Sliwinski worked as a consultant in international development projects and in program evaluation. Read More

Narinder Sharma

(Guelph, ON, Canada)

Narinder Sharma is a dedicated Humanitarian and Development professional, with over 30 years of experience providing leadership and developmental assistance within developing countries including Uganda, Sudan (Darfur), Syria, Iran, Somalia, Angola, Yemen, Kenya, and India. Notably, he has spent over 25 years with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) holding the positions of Chief of Field Offices, Program coordinator, and Water and Environmental Sanitation Expert. Read More