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+255 773 263 449

+255 777 432 744

(506) 536-3738

(506) 536-3738

(506) 536-3738

+255 773 552 2327

Board of Directors
Deborah Bakker – President of the Board
Deborah joined the CFI board in 2010 and is based in Montreal. An environmental chemist by training, with a B.Sc(Hons) from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University, she worked in the international cooperation field for 9 years before returning to the environmental field in 2011. Former board member of NSPIRG in Halifax and the Eco-Design Resource Society in Vancouver, she has been active in environmental and social justice causes for 20 years. An avid traveller, she speaks 3 languages fluently and bits of another 4.
Kathleen Cooper- Board Secretary
Kathleen Cooper has been an educator in New Brunswick for the last 21 years. With a background in science, a love of travel and desire to work in social justice, Kathleen took the opportunity to volunteer with the Canadian Teacher’s Federation first in Guyana and then in Ghana.
These experiences brought her to CUSO where she spent 3 years in Solomon Islands and a year in Papua New Guinea. She worked with local indigenous groups, Provincial Agriculture departments and Rural Training Centers for young adults establishing apiaries and facilitating beekeeping in an attempt to build sustainability.
While Overseas, Kathleen was the Volunteer Representative on the CUSO Board of Directors. Upon returning to Canada she continues to volunteer on the CUSO Atlantic Alumni Ctte. Since 2010 has served as a board member for Community Forests International.
Glen Estill – Board Member
Glen Estill is a successful entrepreneur. After co-founding EMJ Data Systems, a computer wholesaler, Glen started Sky Generation, which built, owned and operated 13 wind turbines, generating enough electricity to supply 11,500 typical Ontario homes. Glen joins CFI with a strong understanding not only of the challenges of climate change, but also some of the solutions. Land use, a key focus for CFI, along with renewable energy, are crucial to our efforts to slow and eventually turn back climate change. Glen has a Bachelor of Economics and MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Olga Gladkikh – Board Member
Olga is an adult educator and development communications specialist with over 30 years of diversified experience working with governments and civil society Corporation as a journalist/producer, Olga joined the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University in 1987 and has served in various roles since then. Her teaching and research interests include social learning processes, participatory communication models, and the use of social media for social change. Olga’s overseas work includes training and consultancies with local, national and international non-governmental organizations in Asia (Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Philippines), Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi and Egypt), South Pacific (Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and New Caledonia), Caribbean (St. Lucia), and Canada. In the past 25 years Olga has taught a wide variety of courses including leadership skills for women and youth, strategies of change, communication for development, gender and power, as well as advocacy and citizen engagement. She has also conducted skills workshops in facilitation, presentation, and mobilizing local resources. In 2008, Olga received the Coady Institute’s first Excellence in Teaching Award. Olga holds a MA in Journalism and a BA in Psychology (Honors), both from the University of Western Ontario, and has completed course work towards a PhD in Adult Education from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. She has been a member of the Board of Directors at Community Forests International since 2010.
Stefan Kirkpatrick – Board Member
Stefan Kirkpatrick is a boatbuilder living on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. His understanding of forests comes from his use of local and exotic timber products in the boatbuilding industry, as well as a few seasons planting trees in Northern Ontario and British Columbia. Stefan’s interest in Community Forests come from a view that small-scale management of forests and quality, value-added wood products can work to build healthy communities
