CRIAW-ICREF is a not-for-profit charity that is governed by a Board of Directors.
Board Members
Besma Soltan, President (Oct. 2023 – Sept. 2026)
Besma Soltan has 15 years of experience in the social and educational sectors, working with grassroots organizations, nonprofits, startups, entrepreneurship incubators, and higher education institutions. She co-founded a nonprofit and a startup company focused on raising community awareness about local and global issues. Her work has supported thousands of youth, learners, and educators in engaging with economic justice, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Interdisciplinary Social Research at Trent University, where she examines the barriers to successful entrepreneurship and the influence of intersectional identities on the experiences of racialized women entrepreneurs. Her research aims to empower women and racialized entrepreneurs through community-based education and offer practical and transformative insights into how educational and economic systems can be redesigned to be more inclusive, participatory, and just.
Rivellie Tchuisseu, Incoming-President (Oct. 2024 – Sept. 2027)
Rivellie Tchuisseu is a Research Coordinator, where she spearheads multidisciplinary projects focusing on the environment, agriculture, gender, diversity, and the role of women in decision-making institutions. Her research spans both Canada and the United States, with a particular emphasis on agricultural and environmental policy. She also owns an agri-food and environmental consulting firm, leading initiatives that shape policies both nationally and internationally. As an Agronomist Engineer with an international MSc in Sustainable Development earned under the prestigious European Union Leaders program, Rivellie has lent her expertise to the OECD, the European Union, and NSERC committees. Notably, she contributed to the most recent version of the NSERC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) guide and actively works with Indigenous populations on various environmental and agricultural projects.
Rivellie has served as a researcher at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment in Paris and as a Visiting Researcher at Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. She is the author of multiple scientific and expert reports on agriculture, environmental sustainability, and international relations. Her strategic approach emphasizes proactive leadership and partnerships, driving innovation, policies, and practices toward sustainability.
Currently completing her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences as a recipient of the prestigious Canadian Vanier and Quebec Excellence Scholarships, Rivellie remains actively involved in higher education. She serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Cégep Gérald-Godin and represents Canada as a leader in education for the Commonwealth’s 75th anniversary. Fluent in both French and English with a knowledge in German, Rivellie continues to shape conversations around gender, diversity, and environmental justice on a global scale.
Anne Webb, Past President (Oct. 2019 – Sept. 2022, Oct. 2022 – Sept. 2025, Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2026)
Anne Webb is a senior policy advisor on equity, diversity and inclusion in research, based in Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia. Before joining the federal research funding sector in the fall of 2013, she worked for over 25 years with non-profits, designing and coordinating qualitative and participatory feminist research and providing research training to academic and community-based researchers internationally and in Canada. Anne is the co-editor of two books, African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment (Zed, 2009) and Women, Gender and ICT in Africa and the Middle East: Changing Selves, Changing Societies (Zed, 2014). She has also published articles and book chapters, including “Information and Communication Technology in a Gender Inequality Context: Research learnings from Africa and the Middle East” (Journal of Information Policy, 2016). She has served as a peer reviewer on international funding opportunities focused on gender in STEM.
Elsy Gagné, Treasurer (Oct. 2022 – Sept. 2025, Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Elsy has been practicing law since 1999 in the areas of commercial litigation, business, regulatory law, employment law and human rights. After earning an M.Sc., a Ph.D. and an LL.B., Elsy completed her LL.M. Elsy has been practising law in various Canadian jurisdictions in litigation and has appeared before different courts and tribunals.
Before her legal practice, Elsy published articles and was formerly a university lecturer. Over the years, Elsy has been active in various non-profit organizations addressing issues such as violence against women. Elsy has provided services to sex and labour trafficking victims in Alberta. Elsy has served and will continue to serve as a member of the Board of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. She was also a member of the Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Board.
Elsy has been politically appointed by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to serve on the Federal Board of Referees – Board of the Employment Insurance and then by the Alberta Lieutenant Governor in Council as a public member on the Board of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta. Recently, Elsy was a Chair of an Appeal Hearing by the complaint’s director from the decision of a hearing tribunal of the College of Naturopath doctors of Alberta.
Amongst her professional affiliations and community involvement, Elsy is currently a member of the Association for Women Lawyers – Calgary and the President of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta. Elsy is very active with the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Alberta.
Elsy is fluent in both English and French. Elsy has a keen interest in issues relating to women’s rights, constitutional minority language rights and access to justice.
Sunitha Bisan, Secretary (Oct. 2022 – Sept. 2025, Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Sunitha Bisan is passionate about gender and ecological justice. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa. She is dedicated to changing narratives to increase women’s participation, acceptance of women’s leadership, and improve environmental governance. She encourages the training of relevant stakeholders for gender responsiveness in governance. With community partners, she supports participatory research to evidence grassroots gaps and challenges, particularly in the ASEAN region. She was part of a 2021 study looking within Nordic countries’ climate finance using the OECD markers that evidence the continued struggles to be gender responsive. An earlier 2014 study with Indigenous women leaders in Sarawak, Malaysia, supported the appreciation of gender-based violence in the climate crisis and was acknowledged by the UNFCCC in 2019.
Calais Caswell, Board Member (Oct. 2022 – Sept. 2025, Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Calais Caswell is a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) Policy Advisor within the Resilience program of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). In this role, Calais leads and supports research and capacity strengthening on nature-based solutions and climate adaptation with a focus on GESI. She collaborates with a variety of partners on gender and nature-related initiatives in the Global South to design gender-responsive nature-based solutions. Prior to IISD, Calais was a GESI Senior Technical Specialist at MEDA where her work contributed to thought leadership and implementation of gender-related programming in several projects across East and West Africa, and the Americas. Additionally, Calais has worked as a gender and environment specialist with an international co-operative development foundation, and a researcher and policy analyst for development programming in Canada and the Americas.
Janelle Charland, Board Member (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Janelle is from Cold Lake First Nations and currently resides in Edmonton. Janelle has worked closely with many First Nation Communities to improve and maintain relationships and better understand their needs. Janelle has conducted research using feminist methods, coordinating feminist-based engagement strategies, and employing feminist approaches in her work, while advancing the Indigenous Strategy. Janelle has experience engaging with Indigenous Legal Traditions, First Nations Governance, a deep understanding of large-scale integrated oil and gas operations, and Federal Government Policies.
Janelle holds a BSc. in Environment and Conservation Sciences and a BA in Native Studies from the University of Alberta. She also holds a Biological Sciences Diploma, Specializing in Renewable Resources. Janelle also has extensive volunteer experience, including serving as Secretary and Treasury member on the CLFN Powwow Committee.
Carrie Elrick, Board Member (Oct. 2024 – Sept. 2027)
Carrie is a passionate advocate for creating work environments that have a positive impact and foster prosperity. She aids in developing equity at the social and policy level to ensure people can bring their best to what they do each day. Her engaging approach helps involve individuals, policymakers, and leaders in creating inclusive policies that promote diversity and equity. She addresses systemic barriers to women’s health and well-being to accelerate their participation in the workforce. Carrie digs deep by working to translate social justice goals into enhancing successful business outcomes.
She holds a Master of Social Work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and an MBA in Service Management. Early in her career, Carrie embraced a framework of policy, practice, and research to inform and evolve her understanding of the challenges women face in the search for equity within societies. She grew this practice by incorporating concepts of belonging and translating the empowerment of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to identify opportunities for organizations to excel. Her entrepreneurial mindset and business skills enable her to coach and mentor women towards embracing their big, audacious goals and get to where they want to go.
Maggie FitzGerald, Board Member (Oct. 2024 – Sept. 2027)
Originally from Newfoundland, Maggie FitzGerald joined the Department of Political Studies as an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan in July 2020. Her research and teaching focus on the ethics of care, global ethics and international political theory, decolonial ethics, normative and critical international relations theory, and feminist political economy. She is the author of Care and the Pluriverse: Rethinking Global Ethics (Bristol University Press, 2022).
Maggie completed her doctorate in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University, Ottawa, ON. She also holds a Master of Arts in Political Economy from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a Specialization in Political Economy from St Thomas University, Fredericton, NB. She has been involved in community-based activism and research as a member of Reproductive Justice New Brunswick, and currently as a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Saskatchewan.
Tara Howse, Board Member (Oct. 2023 – Sept. 2026)
As a lifelong social justice advocate and fiery feminist, Tara’s passions for pursuing gender equity can be summed up with the belief that voice matters, particularly for those who are often ignored or even belittled. As a youth, she channeled that passion into coaching young girls in hockey. While not coaching hockey today, sport still is a large part of her life, and she serves as a ride lead for a local organization that creates supportive and encouraging environments for women mountain bikers of all skill levels.
Tara has a Master’s of Interdisciplinary Studies with a Dual Focus in Global Change and Equity Studies. She analyzed the erasure of women’s and Indigenous voices from the resource extraction assessment process in BC, ultimately questioning how vulnerable populations can provide consent within the current power structures that exist. Professionally, she is an intersectional rural researcher, which often results in exploratory or foundational research and policy work. She has experience in a broad range of topics, including housing, disaster recovery, active transportation, diversity in politics, and resource development. Her work has garnered invitations on national panels, she serves as an Advisory Member for the University of Toronto’s Institute for Environment, Conservation, and Sustainability, and she attended the United Nations 67th Commission on the Status of Women as a delegate.
Tamara Pearl, Board Member (Oct. 2020 – Sept. 2023, Oct. 2023 – Sept. 2026)
Tamara (Baldhead) Pearl is a Nēhiyaw iskwew (Plains-Cree woman) from One Arrow First Nation in Treaty 6 territory and the traditional homeland of the Métis. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Alberta and a PhD in Law candidate at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on “anti-dominance” training which challenges the dominance dynamics of the settler colonial framework imposed upon Indigenous Peoples. Professor Pearl aims to contribute to training legal practitioners using anti-dominance to respectfully engage with Indigenous legal traditions and communities while using Treaty relationships as a guide. Her goal is to help train law students to not only better our communities but bridge them by using the Nēhiyawak or Plains Cree concept: māmawī wīcihitowin (“working together, helping one another”).
Kenya Thompson, Board Member (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Kenya Thompson is a researcher, activist and PhD student at York University’s Department of Politics, Majoring in Canadian Politics and Gender and Politics. Kenya’s work focuses on the intersection of public policy and social justice, aiming to deliver equitable policies that improve social and health outcomes for women, children, and families. Kenya’s professional and academic experience spans community-based and academic feminist research, addressing a variety of social justice issues, including income insecurity, social services for immigrant populations, and gendered violence. All approached through an intersectional feminist lens.
Kenya is a Junior Member of the International Network on Leave Policies and Research and the Reimagining Care/Work Policies project team. Kenya has also collaborated with organizations including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (Child Care Now), and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women.
Kenya holds a Graduate Diploma in Justice System Administration from York University, a Master of Arts in Political Economy from Carleton University, and a B.A. in Public Policy from Mount Saint Vincent University.
Nathalie E. Vilgrain – Board Member (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
Nathalie is a bilingual Black feminist based in Canada with over a decade of experience in community-based research, feminist organizing, and nonprofit governance. Nathalie’s work is grounded in an intersectional framework that centres the lived realities of racialized, immigrant, young, and marginalized women. She has served on several boards and advisory committees, contributing to inclusive policy development, participatory governance, and capacity-building for grassroots movements.
A Co-Founder and General Coordinator of the young feminist organization MARIJÀN, Nathalie has extensive experience as Program Manager from her work at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, EQUITAS – International Centre for Human Rights Education, and MOFIF – Mouvement ontarien des femmes immigrantes francophones. She also has experience in crisis intervention with survivors of domestic violence and training in GBA Plus.
With a background in coordinating feminist research initiatives and developing successful grant proposals, Nathalie brings practical expertise in fundraising, donor engagement, and strategic partnership development, with extensive experience in political education, feminist advocacy, and facilitating intergenerational and intercultural dialogue. She holds a B.A. in Social Science – Women’s Studies and Political Science from the University of Ottawa.
María José Yax-Fraser – Board Member (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2028)
María José is an Indigenous woman in the diaspora. She is an artivist and a scholarly and community research practitioner. A founding member of the Immigrant Migrant Women’s Association of Halifax (IMWAH), she is a strong advocate of gender equality, equity and the advancement of women. A community research practitioner and academic, she has worked as a principal investigator and co-researcher at a variety of organizations over the last 20+ years, including the CCPA-NS, the Canadian Museum of Immigration (CMI), and Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS). She has received grant funding from WAGE for several research projects, held numerous teaching positions at Dalhousie University, MSVU, SMU, and York University, and has had her work published in Peer-Reviewed Journals, Online Magazines and Book Chapters.
She is currently working as a Coordinator and Community Researcher at Migratory Grief Community Project Circle of Sisters in Halifax, N.S. She is a PhD candidate in the Department of Social Anthropology at York University. Her doctoral research study explores the meaning of a welcoming community for immigrant and migrant mothers in Halifax. Yax-Fraser also holds an M.A. in Gender and Women’s Studies from Dalhousie University, as well as a B.A. from Saint Mary’s University.