Who we are
Volunteers!
With the exception of one member, who volunteers with us and "moonlights" as a paid consultant on one of our projects, PACT-Ottawa works entirely on the basis of volunteer effort! The strength of PACT-Ottawa lies in its volunteers. If working to prevent human trafficking and to protect its victims has captured your interest and your imagination, please contact Alanna Beitner, our Volunteer Coordinator. There are many opportunities to collaborate in this work.
Board of Directors 2011-2012
Christina Harrison Baird, Chairperson & Director of External Relations
Christina Harrison Baird is an international human rights lawyer. Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998, she graduated with Distinction from the Masters program in International Human Rights Law at the University of Essex (United Kingdom) in 2002. She became interested in the problems of human smuggling and human trafficking while working with refugees in India, and subsequently in Senegal and Gambia. From 2003-2007, she was the Canadian focal point for the UN Refugee Agency’s work on human trafficking. Christina was the Project Coordinator for the work of the Canadian Council for Refugees on human trafficking from 2010-2011. She has taught International Refugee Law, Public International Law and Human Rights at Carleton University. She is the author of a legislative utilization study of Canada’s laws on human trafficking and the Chairperson for Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans (PACT-Ottawa). In 2010, she led a workshop on legislating to combat human trafficking for parliamentarians in Vietnam.
Nikki Lewandowski, Vice Chair & Director of Communications
Nikki Lewandowski grew up in south-western Ontario and has lived in Ottawa since 2001. She graduated from Carleton University in 2005 with a BA (Hons.) in Criminology with a concentration in Psychology. Since graduating from Carleton, she has been very interested in the topics of the sex trade and human trafficking. Her continued interest in the fight against modern slavery has contributed to her strong interest in contributing her time and skills in a meaningful and productive way. In addition to joining PACT-Ottawa in 2010, she has been a member of the board of Ottawa Victims Services since 2009. She also volunteers her time as a big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa. She is currently completing the Victimology Graduate Certificate Program in Algonquin College.
Marlene Kelly, Treasurer
Marlene Kelly is a member of the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (gsic) and a founding member of PACT-Ottawa. She has been a Board Member since May 2007, serving as Treasurer. Marlene has served on many Boards in various capacities over the years - to name a few: Penetaguishene General Hospital, St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Family Life Centre and the Good Day Workshop. She is now a Board member of Carty House - a house for refugees. Concerned about the issue of Trafficking, Kairos Spirituality-for- Social Justice and the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) organized a Conference on Trafficking in 2004. Marlene was part of the organizing committee. Marlene is an active member of the CRC Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee and is responsible for Poverty issues, and she is on the Movement Building Committee for KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. In 1998 Anne Taylor, gsic, and Marlene founded Kairos Spirituality-for-Social Justice Centre and they continue to work there. Previous to coming to Kairos, Marlene's work experience had been in the High School area as teacher, principal and chaplain. Marlene is a founding member of Les Artisanes de Paix/Women for Peace, founded in 2002. Women for Peace is an inter-faith group who promote non-violent transformation of conflicts and of all forms of oppression, as well as valuing of all life in creation.
Cindy O’Neil, Secretary
Cindy O'Neil was involved in the organizing of Zonta Club of Ottawa's public forum on Human Trafficking in January 2008 and it was there that PACT-Ottawa participated and presented on stage the short play 'Personhood in Canadian History'. Zonta & PACT partnered on the next event on Human Trafficking, a Round Table Forum held on Parliament Hill with Senator Mobina Jaffer. Zonta Club of Ottawa paid for a membership and Cindy attended PACT Meetings. Since then Cindy has become a member in her personal capacity and later was invited to run for election to PACT-Ottawa's Board. Cindy is our Secretary; looking after the minutes at PACT-Ottawa Membership & Board Meetings, as well as redirecting and responding to the PACT - Ottawa e-mail. Cindy and Sheila Smith led the organization of the Ottawa Coalition Forum held in March 2010.
Meghan Adams, Director of Support Services & Chair of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking
Meghan Adams is from rural south-western Ontario but came to Ottawa for schooling. She graduated with Honours from Carleton University with a double major in Political Science and Human Rights. During her time at Carleton, she was very active in residence life, student politics and social justice groups. Meghan’s passion for human rights led her to The Ottawa Mission as the Manager of Volunteer Services, where she has been since 2007. Previously Meghan worked front line in other shelters and non-profit housing organizations. Through her role at the Mission, she is chair of the Environmental Committee and holds the position of Membership Coordinator for OAVR (Ottawa Administrators of Volunteer Resources). She became a member of PACT in 2008, chair for the End Slavery Day event in 2010, and Director of Social Services in 2011. In this role, her main responsibility is as Chair of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking, which was formed in March 2010 after PACT-Ottawa and St. Joe’s Women’s Centre organized a forum to discuss human trafficking at the local level. Relevant organizations and service agencies were invited to network and share resources. The Ottawa Coalition represents a group of 45+ organizations that are dedicated to ensuring that resources are readily available to anyone who is dealing with the tragedy of human trafficking. Other initiatives include increasing public awareness on human trafficking and creating a protocol for supporting trafficked individuals.
Duncan Baird, Director of Development
Duncan Baird leads teams of people to meet challenging objectives. He has over 15 years engineering management experience in technology and product development companies. Duncan has held leadership and design roles in the telecommunications, industrial automation and professional audio industries. Most recently, he was Director of Software Development at BTI Systems Inc., a Canadian company that develops fiber-optic communications systems. Duncan holds B.Eng and M.Eng degrees from McGill University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. He is an active performing musician and supporter of the arts community in Ottawa, and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Impressions In Jazz Orchestra, a Canadian non-profit corporation.
Eileen Kerwin Jones, Director of Education
Eileen Kerwin Jones is a founding member and Director of Education of PACT-Ottawa. Eileen has a background in midwifery and public health and has worked as an outpost nurse with Inuit communities in northern Quebec. She has international work experience in the areas of health, development and higher education in the UK, Kenya, and India. Eileen has a doctorate in ethics from Saint Paul University; her thesis explored the economic injustice of maternal mortality and is published by Mellen Press. Her research interests are in the areas of women's studies, international health, ethics and economics. Eileen currently teaches in the Humanities Department at John Abbott College where she is co-Chair of Women’s Studies and Gender Relations.
Christina Harrison Baird is an international human rights lawyer. Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998, she graduated with Distinction from the Masters program in International Human Rights Law at the University of Essex (United Kingdom) in 2002. She became interested in the problems of human smuggling and human trafficking while working with refugees in India, and subsequently in Senegal and Gambia. From 2003-2007, she was the Canadian focal point for the UN Refugee Agency’s work on human trafficking. Christina was the Project Coordinator for the work of the Canadian Council for Refugees on human trafficking from 2010-2011. She has taught International Refugee Law, Public International Law and Human Rights at Carleton University. She is the author of a legislative utilization study of Canada’s laws on human trafficking and the Chairperson for Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans (PACT-Ottawa). In 2010, she led a workshop on legislating to combat human trafficking for parliamentarians in Vietnam.
Nikki Lewandowski, Vice Chair & Director of Communications
Nikki Lewandowski grew up in south-western Ontario and has lived in Ottawa since 2001. She graduated from Carleton University in 2005 with a BA (Hons.) in Criminology with a concentration in Psychology. Since graduating from Carleton, she has been very interested in the topics of the sex trade and human trafficking. Her continued interest in the fight against modern slavery has contributed to her strong interest in contributing her time and skills in a meaningful and productive way. In addition to joining PACT-Ottawa in 2010, she has been a member of the board of Ottawa Victims Services since 2009. She also volunteers her time as a big sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa. She is currently completing the Victimology Graduate Certificate Program in Algonquin College.
Marlene Kelly, Treasurer
Marlene Kelly is a member of the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (gsic) and a founding member of PACT-Ottawa. She has been a Board Member since May 2007, serving as Treasurer. Marlene has served on many Boards in various capacities over the years - to name a few: Penetaguishene General Hospital, St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Family Life Centre and the Good Day Workshop. She is now a Board member of Carty House - a house for refugees. Concerned about the issue of Trafficking, Kairos Spirituality-for- Social Justice and the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) organized a Conference on Trafficking in 2004. Marlene was part of the organizing committee. Marlene is an active member of the CRC Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee and is responsible for Poverty issues, and she is on the Movement Building Committee for KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives. In 1998 Anne Taylor, gsic, and Marlene founded Kairos Spirituality-for-Social Justice Centre and they continue to work there. Previous to coming to Kairos, Marlene's work experience had been in the High School area as teacher, principal and chaplain. Marlene is a founding member of Les Artisanes de Paix/Women for Peace, founded in 2002. Women for Peace is an inter-faith group who promote non-violent transformation of conflicts and of all forms of oppression, as well as valuing of all life in creation.
Cindy O’Neil, Secretary
Cindy O'Neil was involved in the organizing of Zonta Club of Ottawa's public forum on Human Trafficking in January 2008 and it was there that PACT-Ottawa participated and presented on stage the short play 'Personhood in Canadian History'. Zonta & PACT partnered on the next event on Human Trafficking, a Round Table Forum held on Parliament Hill with Senator Mobina Jaffer. Zonta Club of Ottawa paid for a membership and Cindy attended PACT Meetings. Since then Cindy has become a member in her personal capacity and later was invited to run for election to PACT-Ottawa's Board. Cindy is our Secretary; looking after the minutes at PACT-Ottawa Membership & Board Meetings, as well as redirecting and responding to the PACT - Ottawa e-mail. Cindy and Sheila Smith led the organization of the Ottawa Coalition Forum held in March 2010.
Meghan Adams, Director of Support Services & Chair of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking
Meghan Adams is from rural south-western Ontario but came to Ottawa for schooling. She graduated with Honours from Carleton University with a double major in Political Science and Human Rights. During her time at Carleton, she was very active in residence life, student politics and social justice groups. Meghan’s passion for human rights led her to The Ottawa Mission as the Manager of Volunteer Services, where she has been since 2007. Previously Meghan worked front line in other shelters and non-profit housing organizations. Through her role at the Mission, she is chair of the Environmental Committee and holds the position of Membership Coordinator for OAVR (Ottawa Administrators of Volunteer Resources). She became a member of PACT in 2008, chair for the End Slavery Day event in 2010, and Director of Social Services in 2011. In this role, her main responsibility is as Chair of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking, which was formed in March 2010 after PACT-Ottawa and St. Joe’s Women’s Centre organized a forum to discuss human trafficking at the local level. Relevant organizations and service agencies were invited to network and share resources. The Ottawa Coalition represents a group of 45+ organizations that are dedicated to ensuring that resources are readily available to anyone who is dealing with the tragedy of human trafficking. Other initiatives include increasing public awareness on human trafficking and creating a protocol for supporting trafficked individuals.
Duncan Baird, Director of Development
Duncan Baird leads teams of people to meet challenging objectives. He has over 15 years engineering management experience in technology and product development companies. Duncan has held leadership and design roles in the telecommunications, industrial automation and professional audio industries. Most recently, he was Director of Software Development at BTI Systems Inc., a Canadian company that develops fiber-optic communications systems. Duncan holds B.Eng and M.Eng degrees from McGill University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. He is an active performing musician and supporter of the arts community in Ottawa, and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Impressions In Jazz Orchestra, a Canadian non-profit corporation.
Eileen Kerwin Jones, Director of Education
Eileen Kerwin Jones is a founding member and Director of Education of PACT-Ottawa. Eileen has a background in midwifery and public health and has worked as an outpost nurse with Inuit communities in northern Quebec. She has international work experience in the areas of health, development and higher education in the UK, Kenya, and India. Eileen has a doctorate in ethics from Saint Paul University; her thesis explored the economic injustice of maternal mortality and is published by Mellen Press. Her research interests are in the areas of women's studies, international health, ethics and economics. Eileen currently teaches in the Humanities Department at John Abbott College where she is co-Chair of Women’s Studies and Gender Relations.
Coordinators
Alanna Beitner, Volunteer Coordinator
Kim Howson, Event Coordinator and Coordinator of the TruckSTOP Campaign
Now recruiting! Freedom Relay Coordinator
Now recruiting! Development Coordinator
Kim Howson, Event Coordinator and Coordinator of the TruckSTOP Campaign
Now recruiting! Freedom Relay Coordinator
Now recruiting! Development Coordinator
