Our People

The effort, commitment and skills of our people and partners drive everything we do.


Who we are     |     Staff    |     Board of Directors     |     Advisory Board Members 


People

WaterAid Canada has 15 full-time staff, who are supported by a team of dedicated volunteers. Globally, WaterAid employs more than 900 people in 37 countries. We are committed to being an inclusive organization and take pride in investing in our staff to maximize their potential.  See our valuable staff members

Partners

Our work is carried our in partnership with more than 400 local organizations in the countries where we work. These local partners; usually non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local government departments and sometimes private companies; undertake the direct day-to-day management of projects. In return we offer financial support, training and technical advice as well as assistance with planning, budgeting and institutional development.

WaterAid’s partners are recognized and respected locally. They have a wealth of essential skills and knowledge, ranging from speaking local dialects and knowing local customs to understanding how the government functions. By working through partner organizations we are able operate more cost effectively than we could alone.

As partners grow stronger they become less reliant on WaterAid’s technical and financial support and can seek funds from other sources. When this happens, we often start working with newer or less well-established partners and so the cycle of training and development continues.

In addition, we have partnerships with institutions and companies that fund our work.

Find out more about how and where we work using the following links:

Board of Directors

David McInnes, Chair
Principal, DMci Strategies; former CEO, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute

V.G. (Vic) Kariappa
Managing Director. RBC Royal Bank: Government, Crown Corporations, Insurance and Financial Markets.

Poya Kherghehpoush
Director, Movement Transformation, United Way Canada

Martin Munro
Vice-President, Strategy and Business Development, DRS Technologies Canada Ltd.

Susan Murray
Vice-President Public Relations, Forest Products Association of Canada, Ret.

Annette Nicholson
International Development Research Centre, Ret.

Wayne Wadley
President and Director of TEAJA Office Beverages North American Ltd. and Co-Founder, Virginia Stone.

 

Advisory Board Members

Chris Koski, Managing Director and Global Head of Investment Strategy, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure

Chris has more than 20 years of investment experience and has served on the Board of several infrastructure companies including Anglian Water Group, Gatwick Airport and Chicago Parking Meters.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Chris was Global Head of Infrastructure at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and previously was a senior member of the infrastructure team at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Chris received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Yann Robard, Managing Partner, Whitehorse Liquidity Partners

Yann Robard has over 15 years of private equity and investment banking experience. In 2015, he founded Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, a firm focused on making preferred equity investments in private equity portfolios.

Prior to founding Whitehorse, Yann spent 13 years at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”), most recently as Managing Director, Head of Secondaries and Co-Investments.  During his 13 years at CPPIB, Yann held several roles and positions, all focused on private equity, namely in its private equity funds, secondaries and co-investments activities, including roles on several investment committees of the firm. In 2007, Yann was provided the mandate to establish a principal secondary program within CPPIB, which was later expanded to include co-investments. Under Yann’s leadership, the Secondaries and Co-Investment program grew to a team of 15 professionals in Toronto and London that invested over C$7.5 billion in 49 transactions.

Yann holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and is a CFA charter holder.

Our Valuable Staff Members

Nicole Hurtubise
Nicole HurtubiseChief Executive Officer
Nicole joined WaterAid Canada in September 2015, bringing her senior leadership to the organization at a time of growth and opportunity. Nicole brings over 17 years’ experience in international development, having worked and lived in Africa, Central Asia, Central America and Canada. During this time, she led, managed and evaluated complex programs that focused on poverty alleviation, food security and gender inclusion. More recently, Nicole turned her passion for research, data and strategy to community building in Canada.

Nicole is a lifelong learner who has completed a Honors Bachelor in Languages, a Masters in Human Security and Peacebuilding, an executive leadership program in strategic change, and numerous training in evaluation and data analysis.

Andrea Helfer
Andrea HelferVice President - Fundraising
Andrea’s passion is building community – bringing people together, leveraging connections and talents, for the greater humanitarian good. Prior to joining the WaterAid team in 2008, Andrea worked with social service and advocacy NGOs in Belize and Guyana, and the Make Poverty History Campaign in Canada. Andrea holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University in Sociology, a Master of Social Work from Carleton University, and is working toward her Fundraising Management certificate at Algonquin College.
Laura Merrifield
Laura Merrifield Annual Fund Manager
After graduating from Carleton University with an Honour’s Degree in Political Science and a Minor in History, Laura worked for the government of Canada before joining the WaterAid team in 2012. She is responsible for managing WaterAid’s fundraising and stewardship activities, including major gifts reporting, direct mail coordination and donor relations. In her downtime, she enjoys walking her dog, travelling and reading, and is obsessed with news and current events.
Alan McRae
Alan McRaeDirector of Finance and Administration
Alan is a Certified General Accountant who over the past twenty five years has worked in various roles in finance and administration for organizations in the not for profit sector, most of which have been international NGOs. He has a considerable amount of experience working with the project teams who were responsible for implementing international projects, mainly in the health and education sectors. Alan has set up project offices in developing and transitional countries in South America and Central and Eastern Europe. More recently he was responsible for overseeing the finances in CARE Canada’s country offices in Africa and South East Asia.
Jessica Jabbour
Jessica Jabbour Foundations Coordinator
Jessica joined WaterAid Canada as the Fundraising Officer in the spring of 2015, transitioning from a career in the financial sector. Jessica’s passion for development is fueled by her experiences in east Africa where she spent time volunteering with children in Tanzania. The transition to WaterAid Canada has enabled Jessica to marry her professional objectives with her passion for international development. Jessica graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours degree in History and a minor in Criminology.

Emily Royal
Emily Royal Project Officer
Emily joined WaterAid Canada in April 2015 and brings with her programming experience from previous work with AMREF Ethiopia, the Aga Khan Foundation Mozambique and International Medical Corps. in Nigeria. Prior to this, she had worked with WaterAid Canada (then WaterCan) for 3 years in a fundraising capacity.

Emily holds a post-graduate certificate in International Project Management from Humber College and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies and Spanish from Dalhousie University.

Christina Masching
Christina Masching Project Officer
Christina joined WaterAid Canada in May 2015. She has worked for social service and international development organizations in Canada and Haiti and has supported development and humanitarian projects across Africa and Asia as a project coordinator for a Canadian INGO.

Christina brings with her experience in workshop facilitation, results-based management, proposal writing, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Prior to joining WaterAid, Christina worked for an organization developing an online M&E tool and provided training for organizations in using mobile phones for data collection in the field. Christina holds a Master of Social Work and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Studies and Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University.

David Marchesseault
David Marchesseault Director of International Programs
David joined WaterAid Canada in April 2016. In his role as Director of International Program he brings over 8 years of experience in program management; partner cooperation; policy analysis and evaluation; youth education and community consultation; report writing and research; as well as a keen interest in conflict resolution.

David recently graduated with a PhD from the University of Toronto. His research at the intersection of international development and the social sciences focused and the relationship between participants, organizations and the global development agenda. His professional and academic careers have focused on East and West Africa, and has yielded extensive fieldwork in countries such as Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. He also holds as MA from the University of Ottawa in International Conflict Studies and an Honours Bachelor of Political Science from the University of Western Ontario.

With a commitment to praxis, David has been working in northern Uganda since 2010 with Gainline Africa. He has consulted and researched for the United Nations, Search for Common Ground, and the International Development Research Centre on issues of inclusion, monitoring and evaluation, and good governance.

Julie Truelove
Julie Truelove Program Development Officer

Julie joined WaterAid Canada in May 2016. She brings over 15 years of experience in program management, fundraising and financial reporting with international development and not for profit organizations. Julie’s experience has focused primarily on WASH sustainability, community-based programs and building collaborative partnerships for rural water, sanitation and hygiene in Sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti.

Julie holds a Master of Science (with Merit) in Water and Environmental Management from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) at Loughborough University, UK where her research focused on sustainability of community managed rural water supply in post-conflict regions of northern Uganda. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography from Carleton University, Ottawa with research in limnology.

Christine LaRocque
Christine LaRocque Director of Communications
With more than 17 years professional communications experience, Christine is an adept communications project manager who is committed to engaging and mobilizing audiences with compelling and high quality content. Prior to joining the WaterAid Canada team, Christine worked for more than a decade in the non-profit health sector, managing media relations, public education and digital communications for a national child and youth health organization. Christine holds a Bachelor of Social Science with Concentration in Political Science from the University of Ottawa, a Diploma in Public Relations from Algonquin College and a Professional Certificate in Strategic Communications Management from Ithaca College.
Nefertiti Saleh
Nefertiti Saleh Corporate Partnerships Manager
Nefertiti joined WaterAid Canada as the Corporate Partnerships Manager and is responsible for overseeing the organization’s corporate engagement strategy and partner relations. With over ten years in the field of international development, she has played a key role in advancing her organization’s mission of eradicating poverty through equitable and sustainable development through inclusive partnerships. Prior to this, Nefertiti held numerous positions within Canada’s top volunteer cooperation agencies and focused on cultivating corporate partnerships for the advancement of shared value and development projects, while also assessing the role volunteers play in merging those cross sectoral relationships.

Before embarking on a career in international development, Nefertiti was an international volunteer in Tanzania and has lived and worked abroad in Africa and Asia. She is a graduate from Bishop’s University and has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.

Pam Medjesi
Pam MedjesiDigital Media Coordinator
Pam joined WaterAid in December 2016. She has worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors, and has experience in graphic design, creating websites and planning and executing online campaigns. Through her work, she strives to make someone else’s day better and brighter. She brings her knowledge of digital communications and her infectious upbeat attitude to the WaterAid Canada team. She holds a BA with Honours in German History from Wilfrid Laurier University. During her free time, Pam loves to garden, sing, camp and hike with her husband and two Labrador Retrievers.
Christina Benotto
Christina BenottoCommunity Engagement Coordinator
Christina graduated from Carleton University with a honors degree in International History. It was while studying at Carleton that she became interested in global issues and how we as Canadians can impact the world. As Community Engagement Coordinator Christina is able to support Canadians who share her desire to make a difference and provide them the tools to get involved.
Liwei Bai
Liwei Bai Finance Assistant
Liwei has a Bachelor’s Degree of Accounting from the University of Missouri. She finished her last semester as an exchange student at the University of Ottawa. Previous to joining WaterAid Canada, Liwei worked for three years as a Senior Accountant with an NGO in the United States. She has rich experience in project accounting and corporate budgeting. Liwei loves to travel in her leisure time.
Katelyn Ryan-Robichaud
Katelyn Ryan-RobichaudDonor & Data Services Coordinator
Katelyn has worked in the non-profit sector since 2006, primarily with international development organizations and local health care. She was a volunteer for WaterCan while she attended university and had a lot of respect for the organization, so when an opportunity came up to work at WaterAid, she jumped at the chance. Katelyn holds a BA in Political Science from Carleton University, a Certificate in International Development from UBC, and a Certificate of Volunteer Management from Humber College. A New Brunswick native, she spends her free time with family in Ottawa, including an active toddler and a crazy beagle. She loves to run and is a self-proclaimed board game geek.
Rachel Savard
Rachel SavardExecutive Assistant/Office Administrator
Rachel joined WaterAid in the spring of 2017. Over the course of her career, she has worked with international organizations in Canada and abroad, largely focused in the health and education sectors. Notably, she has worked in children’s shelters in Rwanda and South Africa, and as a policy analyst with the G8 Maternal, Newborn, Child Health initiative. Rachel also has experience in project management, communications, fundraising and event planning. She holds an Honours degree in International Development and Globalization.
Karlye Wong
Karlye WongProject Officer
Karlye holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering in the collaborative Environmental Health program at the University of Toronto and a Bachelors of Civil Engineering and a BSc in Life Science from Queen’s University.

Prior to working at WaterAid, she was a water quality researcher with the Drinking Water Research Group at the University of Toronto. She has had public sector experience in project management and supervision with large infrastructure and environmental projects in First Nations communities in the Canadian Arctic. She has also worked in international development in South Africa as a technical advisor, working in asset management, monitoring and evaluation, and workshop facilitation for social housing. In addition, she has also had experience working on the implementation of innovative WASH technologies in India and Pakistan.

Lori Lejeune
Lori LejeuneProject Accountant
Lori brings with her over 18 years of financial expertise from both the profit and non-profit sectors. She has considerable experience working with local and international project teams who are responsible for the implementation of international projects in the education, leadership training, psychosocial support and economic sectors. Internationally, Lori has worked in Afghanistan, East Timor, Haiti and Lesotho. She is responsible for working closely with the International Project team on budget preparation, monitoring and evaluation and donor funding reports.
Nadine Patel
Nadine PatelCampaign Development Associate
Based in Toronto, Nadine joined WaterAid Canada in 2015, working exclusively on the annual AVEDA Earth Month campaign. With both international work experience and education, she has a deep interest in environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility and globe-trotting.

Nadine holds a post-graduate certificate in Corporate Communications from Seneca College and Arteveldehogeschool in Belgium, a certificate in Publicity and Public Relations from the University of Toronto – School of Continuing Studies, and a Bachelor’s degree in Historical Studies and Political Science from the University of Toronto.