Kerry Buck is one of Canada’s most experienced diplomats who retired from the federal public service this year. Her previous positions included Canada's Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 2015 to 2018 and Political Director and Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Affairs from 2011 to 2015. Most recently she was Assistant Secretary, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
Masud Husain, a lawyer and expert on the Middle East, also recently retired from Canada’s diplomatic service this year, having served in several senior positions including Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Director General of the Middle East Bureau, and Deputy Legal Advisor to Global Affairs Canada.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston held several senior positions in the federal and Ontario governments during her public service career, often working on science and technology policy issues. Most recently, she was Executive Vice-President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
André Pratte, one of Canada’s most astute political analysts, is an author who worked as a journalist for four decades, including as chief columnist for La Presse. He represented Quebec in the Senate of Canada from 2016 to 2019.
Nada Semaan was, until recently, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), having previously served in leadership roles in the federal public service, including Associate Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Executive Vice President of the Canada Border Services Agency, and Associate Deputy Minister at Canadian Heritage.
Nadia Theodore is Senior Vice President, Global Government and Industry Relations with Maple Leaf Foods. She previously served over 20 years in the federal public service, including as Canada’s Consul General to the Southeast United States, based in Atlanta. She has also been a Global Advisor with G(irls)20 and sat on the Carter Center Advisory Board.
I thank all six of these exceptional individuals for offering their expertise and experience to the students and faculty of the School. We are lucky to host them – and twelve other current Senior Fellows: Ruth Archibald, Madelaine Drohan, Ward Elcock, Richard Fadden, Elaine Feldman, Patricia Fortier, Graham Fraser, Daniel Jean, John McNee, Alex Neve, Sandelle Scrimshaw and Lillian Thomsen.
Roland Paris
Director, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs