Executive Members of the Board
		Jo-Ann Davis M.A. President   Jo-Ann Davis is a Senior Associate with Leman Group, a Toronto-based management consulting firm, specializing in the delivery of critical initiatives and big one-time changes like M&A integrations, turnaround and organizational transformations for North America’s leading firms, as well as government ministries and agencies.   Jo-Ann holds a BA (Honours) in Political Science from the University of Toronto, a Masters in Chinese Government from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), and was a Government PhD candidate at the London School of Economics (LSE) until taking a leave from studies to pursue professional goals.   In addition to her academic pursuits, Jo-Ann’s long standing interest in public policy and international affairs is reflected in her memberships and active involvement with policy-focused organizations both in Canada and abroad, including the CIC, the Fabian Society, the European Movement, and Fair Vote Canada. In addition to her leadership of the CIC Toronto branch, Jo-Ann is a volunteer for advocacy, poverty and international development organizations in Toronto. Jo-Ann has lived in London and Hong Kong, and has traveled extensively.   email: joann.c.davis@gmail.com
		Renee van Kessel Vice-President   Renee van Kessel is a corporate/commercial lawyer in private practice in Toronto with Cohen LLP, a charter member of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms. Prior to beginning her own practice, Renee spent over 10 years as in-house counsel to some of Canada’s best known organizations, including the LCBO, the AIR MILES® Program, and OWL Magazine and Television. Renee received her Bachelor of Laws from Osgood Hall Law School at York University, and her B.A.(Honours) in Political Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston. Renee has a long-standing interest in international affairs and conflict resolution, sitting on the board of the CIC Toronto for the past 5 years, advising Proyecto Accesso (a democratization organization for Latin America), participating in the organization and facilitation of the Worldview Conflict Resolution Conference for students in 2005, providing Canadian counsel to the Centre for Peace Through Culture, and in 1993, was a founding member of the Canadian Chapter of the Canadian German Lawyers’ Association. Renee has travelled extensively and is working on maintaining her languages.
		Bonavie Tek Treasurer   Bonavie Tek is a senior associate in the Audit and Assurance Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP working in the Toronto office. She has worked across all market segments, primarily in the consumer and industrial products industries and has considerable experience with mining companies, with a focus on public companies and SEC registrants. She also provides audit services to clients reporting under both Canadian and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as well as under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Bonavie obtained a BCom (Major in Finance) degree from the University of McGill in 2003 and will complete her CA designation in late 2009.
		Dr. James Manicom Research Group Chair   James recently completed his PhD at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. His dissertation examined maritime territorial disputes between China and Japan and was funded by the Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at Flinders University and an Asian Institute Affiliate in the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto. His research interests include Asian international relations and strategic studies, energy security, nationalism and territorial disputes; the latter three in particular as they relate to the Canadian Arctic. His published works have appeared in The Pacific Review, The Australian Journal of International Affairs and Contemporary Southeast Asia.
Members-at-Large
		Alex Haque Member at Large   Alexander Haque is currently in his third year of his (honours) undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. He works tirelessly at the University of Toronto Hart House Debates Committee where he is a student event coordinator and liaison between the Committee and the CIC. His past work with the CIC, Toronto branch, has included the successful Dealing with Dictators and Trade and Foreign Aid events. He is also involved with University College's Residence Council, where he holds the speaker position.   Alexander's career ambition and dedication is in the legal field, with an emphasis on public policy and human rights. He has had his work published in the University's Pre-Law Society journal Voir Dire.
		Karen Lu Member at Large   Karen is currently a policy analyst with the Child Welfare Secretariat in the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, where she works on policies, legislation and programs supporting Ontario's child protection services.   Karen holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in international relations and ethics, society and law from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Legal Studies from Carleton University.   Prior to her current position, Karen worked at the CIC’s National Office in a number of capacities, most notably as a research associate funded by the Department of National Defence’s Security and Defence Forum (SDF) internship program. Karen’s research focused on the operational possibilities and outcomes of Canada’s 3D approach to post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan and its development as a key capability in meeting Canada’s responsibility to protect. Karen’s interests in international relations are broad and include international law and human rights, military humanitarian intervention, failed and fragile states, social movements and political theory.
		Fraser Mann Member at Large   Fraser Mann practices primarily in the areas of technology and intellectual property law. He provides advice to various companies in the private sector (including publicly traded companies), and various government ministries and agencies, municipalities, hospitals, colleges and other institutions in the public sector. Fraser was a co-founding partner of Mann & Gahtan LLP of Toronto, which established an exclusive association with a leading U.S. technology law firm and was a partner at other large Canadian law firms.   Fraser is the author of Computer Technology and the Law in Canada (Carswell), co-author of Internet Law: A Practical Guide for Legal and Business Professionals (Carswell), editor-in-chief of Information & Technology Law (Carswell), co-editor of Electronic Commerce – A Practitioner’s Guide (Carswell). Fraser Mann has served as Chairman of the International Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, Director of the York Technology Association and Director of the Canadian Information Technology Law Association. He is currently a member of ICT Advisory Committee of the Toronto Board of Trade. Mr. Mann has been named as one of the leading 25 IT lawyers in the world “The Best of the Best” published by Euromoney Legal Media Grou and one of the leading 500 lawyers in Canada in L’expert/American Lawyer Media 500 Guide.
		Marcin Mokrzewski Member at Large   Marcin Mokrzewski is currently a marketing consultant and working towards a minors degree in economics to compliment his degree in linguistics and has previously worked as a language instructor for the French Ministry of Education in Bordeaux, France. Having held long standing interest in international affairs, particularly in the area of security policy and global trade, Marcin has exemplified this through his past roles including; an editorial position with the Association of International Relations (AIR) at the University of Western Ontario, his recognized representation at various Model U.N events and participation in International Exchange programs throughout his studies.
		Shakir Rahim Member at Large   Shakir Rahim is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying political science at the University of Toronto (Trinity College). He has been involved with the Association of Political Science Students as Vice-President and International Relations Society at U of T. In these capacities he has organized a speaker series and two academic conferences, "The Path to Peace in Afghanistan" in 2009 and "Canada: Searching for Identity" in 2010. Shakir is a member of the editorial boards for the Attache Journal of International Affairs and the Undergraduate Journal of Political Science, and sits on the Academic Board of the U of T Governing Council. He is a debating and public speaking coach at Branksome Hall school.
Ex Efficio Members
		Keith Martin Former President   Keith Martin is Director of Client Services and Business Implementation at Centract, a real estate closing firm that is part of the Brookfield group of companies. He has taught at Ryerson University’s Business School, focusing on “Concepts of E-Business.” Keith is a member of the Board of Directors and a past president of the Club canadien, a French-language speakers club in Toronto, and he is active in numerous other volunteer and community activities. He holds a BA in Economics (Honours) from McGill University, a Masters of Politicial Science from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.
		Ron Clark Former President
		Larry Herman Former President   Lawrence L Herman B.A., LL.B., is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law Faculty (1969) and a member of the Saskatchewan and Ontario bars. He served in the Canadian Foreign Service in the 1970’s in a variety of posts, at the United Nations, representing Canada in numerous international conferences and meetings. Prior to leaving the External Affairs Department in 1980, Mr. Herman was the head of the Department’s Economic and Treaty Law Section in the Legal Bureau.   Mr. Herman concentrates on international trade and international business transactions. He has acted for private sector clients, governments and international agencies, dealing particularly with the GATT/WTO, FTA and NAFTA. Mr. Herman is currently chair of the Trade Policy Committee of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and a member of the Executive Board of the Canada-U.S. Law Institute; the International Affairs Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; the C.D. Howe Institute; and several other business and government trade policy organizations. Lawrence Herman is repeatedly listed in the L’expert/American Lawyer Guide to the 500 Leading Lawyers in Canada and in Chambers Global Leading International Lawyers. He was an op-ed columnist on international trade and business for the Financial Post (Toronto) from 1993 to 1998 and contributes frequently to the Globe & Mail and other newspapers as an op-ed columnist.   Together with numerous articles in legal and business journals, Mr. Herman has written two books, Canadian Trade Remedy Law & Practice (1997) and a new two-volume text, Canadian Trade Law (Thomson-Carswell, 2008). His third book, Export and Import Controls, Sanctions and Other Trade Restrictions, will be published by Thomson-Carswell in early 2010. In his charitable and community work, Mr. Herman has been on fund-raising committees of the Toronto Metro YMCA, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the University of Saskatchewan Centennial, among others. He is currently Vice-Chair of Jazz FM 91, a publicly-funded radio station based in Toronto.

Board of Directors (Toronto Branch)
 
The Board of Directors of the Toronto branch of the CIC is represented by a variety of public and private sector professionals with a background in international relations. Their primary responsibility is to provide governance, manage the financial affairs of the organization, and represent the interests of the membership. Specifically, they organize events, provide guidance to the branch, and manage the annual activities.