People
The work of IofC is greatly enhanced by the gifts of time and the skills of many people across Canada. Some step forward for a specific initiative, others take on a longer term commitment.
Would you like to volunteer for one of the programs, present an IofC video in your community, put on a fund raising event, train as a facilitator for the Creators of Peace Circles? Contact Admin or one of the program organisers.
Canadian Program and Operations Coordinator
Mary Ella Keblusek, Ottawa
Regional Coordinators
Janyce Konkin, Alberta
Janyce works as Regional Projects Coordinator for Initiatives of Change (IofC), based in Calgary, Alberta. As Projects Coordinator she is responsible for overseeing and facilitating numerous initiatives such as: Trustbuilding and Forgiveness workshops; Creators of Peace Circles for Women; the Compass Program for Youth; as well as partnering, outreach and honest conversations with the business community, local organizations, and others in need.
In 2010 Janyce also undertook the Program Management of the Caux Forum for Human Security (www.cauxforum.net), a 5-year initiative of IofC under the leadership of Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, in Caux, Switzerland.
Janyce is an alumnus of the University of Calgary, 2006, obtaining her BA in Communications & Culture with a Major in Development Studies and Minor in Law & Society. During her undergrad Janyce traveled to Ghana for an internship with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) where she worked on the government Truth & Reconciliation Report, and also determined the existence and commitment to social accountability and good governance practices within civil society and government structures.
In 2010 Janyce received her Master’s Degree in Peace & Conflict Studies from the European University Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (EPU) in Austria. Her thesis was titled “First Do No Harm: A Comparative Analysis of African and Western Methods of Conflict Transformation.”
Her main research interests lie in the areas of intercultural communication, healing memories and good governance practices.
Communications
Samrawit Arayamedhin Mersha assumed the responsibility of Communications Coordinator of IofC Canada at the end of 2016 and worked on communications strategy development and implementation, improving internal communications and managing social media. As a means of improving internal communication, she started "Members Update" - a monthly internal newsletter with news, updates, announcements, reflections and fun corner. Samrawit also served on the IofC Canada board with responsibility for the Communications portfolio from June 2015 – Dec. 2016.
Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Samrawit obtained her first degree from Addis Ababa University in her hometown. She then got her Master’s degree in Media, Communications and Public Relations from the University of Leicester in the UK.
She says that the highlight of her involvement with IofC was when she went to Caux representing IofC Canada Board and Communications Committee. “It was an amazing experience that can only be captured with the heart and mind” she explains.
Archives
Elaine was born and raised in Cork, Ireland, and studied at Alexandra College, Dublin, the Royal Conservatory of Scotland and the Royal School of Music in London, UK. Her parents met IofC when it was called the Oxford Group, and she was brought up knowing about its values and outreach. During her years studying music in the UK, she volunteered with MRA/IofC teams there. She spent the next 11 years working full-time with IofC, using her training in piano, voice and composition as part of the production teams of two MRA musicals, which toured Asia, Europe and the UK.
For thirty years, she worked as a music educator, mostly in Ireland on the staff of the CIT Cork School of Music . In 2011, she accepted an invitation from the Board of IofC Canada to base in Ottawa and work on the development of IofC archives, as a “Charitable Worker”.
Her motivation in cataloguing the 85 years of IofC Canada’s history was to make available as widely as possible this valuable resource, as a means of assisting the promoting of its mission, assisting governance and being available for the membership and for researchers.
The time she has spent in the Ottawa office has given her a familiarity with the national work of IofC, its programs and administration. She considers it a great privilege to have recorded face-to-face interviews and conversations with some of IofC’s “living archives” across the country. In addition, she has enlisted high school volunteers and Ottawa University’s Global and Community Service Learning Department placed students with her in the Ottawa office.
Canadian Initiatives Newsletter
Susan Korah
Susan Korah is the editor of Canadian Initiatives, the quarterly newsletterof IofC Canada. A graduate of Carleton University’s Master of Journalism program, She has worked in both journalism and communications, and has written several articles and reports for the website of IofC International. Her career has included working for several media organization including The Toronto Star, Belleville Intelligencer, Southam News Services, CKCU Radio--and also at the Representative Office (de facto embassy) of Taiwan in Ottawa and the Parliament of Canada.
She lives in Ottawa, where she is a member the Board of Directors of the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom. Her interests include human rights, especially women’s political rights, just governance, the media’s role in democracies, sustainable living, languages, and building bridges across the world’s cultural, religious and political divides.
Webmasters
Alessandro Anifowose
Alessandro Anifowose is webmaster for the English site, working alongside Joy Newman; Calgary, AB and Anne Hartnell; Surrey, BC.
He took on the role of webmaster for the English language site in June 2009, to update the web with current news, articles, photos, and upcoming events.
As a student at the University of Calgary, Alessandro met Alex Ramirez and Monica Lopez as they developed the IofC Club on the university campus. He became a member of the club and went with others from Calgary to Caux, spending part of a summer as a Caux Intern on the IT, Technical and Sound team. Alessandro is based in Calgary and works at Canadian Pacific Railway as a Business Improvement Specialist.
Alessandro volunteers as a webmaster because he enjoys helping IofC to reach more people with its message of hope.
Geneviève Dick
Aged 31, Geneviève has completed a B.A. Honours in Philosophy from Concordia University, in Montreal. For the past five years she has translated many documents for Initiatives of Change Geneviève’s main interests include intercultural dialogue and the struggle against social inequalities, which help to motivate her political commitments. Since October 2013, she is webmaster for IofC Canada’s French language website.
Web team
