Anja Jeffrey - Director, Centre for the North

Anja is a Danish national and has for the past nine years been involved in circumpolar issues. Until 2009, she was a career diplomat with the Danish Foreign Service, and has held postings in the United States and in Canada at the Danish Embassy in Ottawa as the Deputy Ambassador. From 2007-2009, she was the Arctic Resources Manager at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen travelling in all circumpolar countries and connecting with governments, communities, businesses and NGOs. Anja also helped organize and negotiate the 2008 Ilulissat Conference in Greenland on the Arctic Ocean. Her last position was with the Standards Council of Canada where she negotiated the allocation of resources for the standards development system to begin risk assessments and implementation of codes, standards and related instruments in Canada's North in the light of climate change and related infrastructure challenges.

Siomonn Pulla - Senior Research Associate

Siomonn holds a PhD in sociology/anthropology, with an emphasis on traditional and contemporary Aboriginal land-use practices, and applied collaborative research methods. He has extensive experience conducting research for community-based organizations, government departments, private sector companies and Aboriginal communities. He has completed and published more than 30 professional and peer-reviewed reports and articles. Siomonn has spent considerable time working in and travelling to remote communities. For the past six years he has run his own consulting practice and has taught Indigenous Studies and applied research courses at Carleton University in Ottawa. Before that, he worked as a Research Associate with Public History Inc. Siomonn is currently working on research projects, as well as conducting outreach to the members of this group. He is also very excited to have the opportunity to manage the Council on Corporate-Aboriginal Relations.

In his free time, Siomonn likes to take part in wilderness traveling, including canoe-tripping and mountaineering. He is also an avid runner, cyclist and cross-country skier. In his spare time he writes fiction, and has published two novels and is currently working on a third.

Stefan Fournier - Research Associate

Stefan joined the Centre for the North in July of 2011, moving from his previous position with the Conference Board of Canada's Centre for National Security and Public Safety. He brings to the team a background and experience working with First Nations communities and organizations on a variety of issues, including Aboriginal rights and title, labour market and human resources development, health and social services, and constitutional law.  Stefan holds a Masters of Arts in International Affairs with a focus on conflict resolution and analysis from the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA). Stefan has had a life-long passion for climbing and mountaineering that has taken him to many areas around the world, including the Pakistani Himalayas, the Andes, the Arctic and Europe. 

Gilles Rhéaume - Strategic Advisor

Gilles is a Strategic Advisor for the Centre for the North which he founded in 2009. From 1992-2011 he was a Vice President at The Conference Board of Canada, and was responsible for various portfolios, including Public Policy. From 1990 to 1995 he was Director of the Board's Business and the Environment Research Program. In the 1980s he occupied various positions in the Board's Forecasting and Analysis Division, including Director of the Forecasting Group. Prior to joining the Conference Board, Gilles was an analyst and then a Manager in the Engineering Economics Department of Bell Canada. He has more than 30 years of work experience in economics and public policy analysis. He has written numerous articles and reports on various economic and public policy topics. He has a Masters in Economics and Bachelor degrees in Economics and in Philosophy.

Margaret Caron-Vuotari - Research Assistant

Margaret is the Centre for the North's Research Assistant. She has a Bachelors (Honours) in History with a Minor in Sociology from the University of Ottawa, and is fluently bilingual. She arrived at the Conference Board in June 2010, after working for several federal government departments as well as an Aboriginal not-for-profit organization. She currently lives in Ottawa with her husband and dog, and enjoys hiking and travelling in her spare time. 

Laura Gosson - Centre for the North Network Coordinator

Laura is British-Canadian and graduated from the University of Brighton in the U.K. with an honours degree in Applied Linguistics with Russian and French. She has worked in professional development for 14 years organizing conferences, meetings and training events for private and public sector executives. Laura worked for 10 years in Paris, France before coming to Canada in 2005 and joined the Conference Board in 2008. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and enjoys learning new languages and the great outdoors!