Who We Are

Who We Are

Board

Maria Cristina Serje

Founding Member, President of the Board of Directors.

Maria Cristina holds a BA in Anthropology and an MA in Latin American History. She has been actively engaged with community based initiatives in Ottawa since 2003: she has worked in the fields of community development, diversity, social inclusion, and immigration, settlement and integration of new comers. For the past six years she was a member of the UNESCO-Canada Sectoral Commission on Culture, Communication and Information.

In her native Colombia she worked with aboriginals, afro-descendant communities, peasants and people displaced by the war implementing community-driven projects, facilitating inter-cultural dialogues, and promoting inclusive development. Maria Cristina worked also in the arts and culture sector, concentrating her efforts in the fields of inter-cultural dialogues, popular culture, cultural policies and cultural administration.

The main cross cutting themes in Maria Cristina's work over the years have been: cultural diversity, intercultural dialogues, gender equality, and social inclusion. Currently she works for the City of Ottawa.

Renaud Arnaud

Originally from the South of France, Renaud Arnaud holds an engineering degree from France and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Canada. He has worked as a commercial attach� for the French Embassy in the USA, and immigrated to Canada in 2001, where he taught French to government employees before joining the Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise of the Ottawa University. His interest in the problems related to the development of the collective intelligence, and his concerns about the integration of immigrants into the innovation and the value added services sector, Renaud started the . Groupe de R�flexion et d'Initiative des Immigrants Dipl�m�s � l'�tranger (GRIIDE) [think-tank and action group for immigrants with foreign degrees and credentials] in 2003. Renaud has also been a volunteer teacher at Smart Site Ottawa, an initiative that tries to bridge the "digital gap" that exists in the National Capital.

Alejandro Gomez

Alejandro's experience is related to the design and implementation of communication strategies at the local, national and international levels. He has strong interest and experience integrating new media and ICTs to the organizational practice, particularly with non profit organizations involved in social change. He has graduate studies in Educational Technologies, International Project Management and Environmental Studies for Sustainable Development. He has worked for Equitas International Center for Human Rights Education, Universalia Management Group, the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation, and Make Poverty History. He has ongoing experience managing small and large scale online projects.

Consultants

JP Melville

JP currently works as a community developer with the Ottawa Community Immigrant Service Organization (OCISO). He works with diverse groups across Ottawa to identify funding for community-based programs, such as recreation initiatives for immigrant seniors and programs for youth of Afro-Caribbean descent. JP serves on the Rural Issues Advisory Committee for the City of Ottawa.

Since 2004, he has also focused on international cultural projects, and has raised money to bring traditional musicians from Mali to music festivals across Canada. JP worked for 10 years in international development in Thailand, St-Lucia, Benin, Mali, Bhutan, Tibet and Azerbaijan.

His early work experience was farming and construction in southern Ontario, and he also found time for chorale music and theater. JP is passionate about the wealth of new Canadian talent in Ottawa, and works tirelessly to ensure that musicians, dancers, artists and other arts professionals coming to Canada find a new home for their talents.

Volunteers

Chiko Chazunguza

Chiko is a visual artist (and drummer) from Zimbabwe where he has been teaching art for more than 15 years at different Universities and Colleges. A winner of numerous awards, he has exhibited in several shows in Africa, Europe and North America. Chiko earned his MFA at the Institute of Pictorial Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria majoring in printmaking. His work is inspired by contemporary social issues and the richness of African traditional culture, improvisation and the idea of working with what is available, As such Chiko is a versatile artist working with numerous media. Chiko's engagement in community activities and the art scene has given him a vast range of experiences including organising and curating art exhibitions, art directing for movies and theatre. In Zimbabwe, Chiko established an artists resource centre, DAI, where artists and youth have the opportunity to learn about various techniques and approaches to art-making. Currently Chiko is establishing Multi-Cultural Art Workshops in Ottawa where he teaches the practical language of the visual Arts and guides participants through the exploration of the different elements of seeing in a way that allows each individual to tap into his/her own creativity and unique form of expression. In this exploration he uses drumming as a tool.

Marcia Mathoo

Marcia has a background that covers a long history and geography. Born in Guyana, I have roots in the United Kingdom, Africa, and elsewhere. Fate has brought me many experiences and I have travelled many roads. In short, I am now proudly here in Canada. I have been a member of The Black Canadian Scholarship Fund and the Caribbean Community Secretariat. My volunteer work includes supporting immigrants in many guises, as President of the Guyanese Ottawa Cultural Association, as administrative support to the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, and as technical coordinator for the CNCAC.

Miguel Angel Sanchez Navarro

Miguel Angel is a Chilean young new immigrant in Canada. He is working as a consultant with the Coalition of New Canadians for Art and Culture (CNCAC). He worked as a volunteer for several months with the Coalition and with Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO). Miguel has a Masters Degree in History from the University Paris Sorbonne IV. In 2007, he was working in Venezuela with the Ministry of Superior Education as a coordinator of the Educational Program of this country. As a researcher in the field of Social Science he has an extensive knowledge of inter-cultural and integration issues faced by immigrant newcomers.

Previous Board Members

Julie Hodgson

Julie Hodgson has worked in the cultural sector for many years with several cultural organizations in Ottawa including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Capital Commission, and the Inuit Art Section of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Julie also worked for the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal and had her own company, Crystal Productions, managing musicians. Julie has sat on a number of Boards including the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and now, the Coalition of New Canadians for Arts and Culture. Julie has a strong interest in the arts and in artists and enjoys using her experience and skills to make a meaningful contribution to the cultural life of Canada.

Devora Cascante

Previous Staff

Silvia Alfaro
Krystina Mierins
Roman Savka
Sabrina Mathews

Previous Volunteers

Leslie B. Wiskin
Miguel Sanchez Navarro
Jose L Badillo
Jacob McBane
Jackson Couse
Joanna Forbes
Xavier Gillet