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Cooperation Canada expands and welcomes new team members

by | Mar 16, 2022 | News

2022 is a time of renewal and Cooperation Canada welcomes several new members to its team. Together, they bring a wealth of experience in the sector and will contribute significantly to our ability to bring our stakeholders together and improve communications, government relations and capacity-building efforts. 
Patrice Charpentier (he/il), HRN Coordinator Patrice has nearly 40 years of in-country experience in the humanitarian and development sector, including stints with several HRN member organizations. He has managed a range of food security, health, nutrition and WASH programs in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. He is fluent in French, English, Spanish and Indonesian, and has extensive experience in coordination, project management and stakeholder relationships and engagement. He has strong roots in rural Québec, and these rural roots have shaped his passion for agriculture and food security. 
Emre Eksi (he/il), Senior Manager, Operations & Finance Emre Eksi is a detail-oriented finance professional with more than 10 years of multinational experience in various industries. He worked in a couple of countries like the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Canada. Prior to joining Cooperation Canada, He worked at Farm Radio International as Senior Financial Analyst for two years. He specializes in budget, planning and analysis. He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Houston, and also holds a graduate certificate in Finance from Harvard University. He is a father of two boys and a cat. He enjoys solving jigsaw puzzles, and spending time gardening. 
Gabriel Karasz-Perriau (he/il), Communications Manager Working for almost a decade in the field of communications, Gabriel has been involved in several areas: governmental, non-governmental and journalistic. Committed to making a positive difference in the world, he decided to get involved in the international development and humanitarian sector since 2017. As Communications Officer for Humanity & Inclusion Canada, formerly Handicap International, Gabriel was able to work on defining the organization’s strategy, its fundraising campaigns, and the outreach of its projects across the country. Gabriel is proud to join the Cooperation Canada team, with whom he hopes to contribute to building a more just, secure and sustainable world for all. 
Carelle Mang-Benza (she/elle), Policy Lead Carelle Mang-Benza joined Cooperation Canada as Policy Lead with extensive project and policy experience. She worked several years in field offices of the US State Department covering cross-border environmental policy then humanitarian programs in West and Central Africa. She then worked on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the United Nations in Germany (UNFCCC and UNCCD). Carelle has a B.A.Sc. and M Sc.in chemical engineering from Université Laval, Quebec. She is finalizing a Ph.D. in geography, exploring the connections between the energy transition and relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. 

Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi (they/elle), Racial Justice Expert Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi is the new racial justice expert at the ARC Hub. Nigerian and Cameroonian by birth, they live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities that have influenced their studies in international development and their practice of community building and activism. They are excited to join Cooperation Canada and use the knowledge they have gained in their life to help and prepare the sector for groundbreaking transitions to truly sustainable, culturally competent and responsive work. They are here to ensure that we are equipped, but first and foremost they are here to listen, learn and grow directly with each of you. It is their honour and privilege to co-lead this project and to witness the necessary and innovative work that generations have called for. 

Barbara Nzigiye (she/elle), ARC Program Coordinator Barbara Nzigiye is the new co-leader and program coordinator for the ARC Hub. Originally from Rwanda, she grew up in East Africa before coming to Canada for her undergraduate studies in political science, specializing in international politics and management. Her experiences, in her communities, professionally and in education, have influenced and continue to influence her understandings, beliefs and practice, particularly when it comes to cooperation and especially international cooperation. It is with enthusiasm and humility that she teams up with the ARC team to work on this ambitious and forward-thinking program that will honor the work of those in the cooperative world who have advanced anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches. 

Kerolos Saleib (they/iel), Communications Assistant Kerolos Saleib joins us as our new Communications Assistant. They are a humanitarian, leader, public speaker, educator, marketing, and social media guru. They have extensive experience with communication and marketing tools, which they have demonstrated through the implementation of several projects across Eastern Africa, South Africa, the USA, and Canada. They proudly identify as non-binary, queer, and gender-fluid and use the pronouns they/them.  
Darron Seller-Peritz (he/il), Policy Analyst Darron recently joined Cooperation Canada as an analyst in the policy team. His responsibilities on the team centre around monitoring humanitarian developments and the implementation of the international assistance policy frameworks, including files on ODA trends both domestically and globally, triple nexus, and climate finance, among others. With undergraduate studies in business and a master’s degree in international cooperation, this is Darron’s first stint in the Canadian NGO sector. He has previously worked at a think tank focused on fiscal and monetary policy research and in the field of Social Economy. 
Ray Zhang (he/il), Finance Assistant Ray started his accounting career working as a staff accountant at a technology company. After that, he gained experience in accounting and financial reporting for public companies and private companies by working in an accounting firm in Vancouver. After moving to Ottawa, he spent over two years working at the federal government before joining Cooperation Canada. As an accounting officer, he handles the full-cycle accounting for the organization. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, travelling, and watching movies.