Event Date: March 6, 2024 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location: DMS 12102, 55 Laurier Ave E, Ottawa

Registration: Google Forms

Presented by CIPS and the International Women’s Forum (IWF)

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) and the International Women’s Forum (IWF) invite you to a special roundtable discussion on women in international relations. Join us for an unforgettable evening as we showcase the stories and insights of extraordinary women shaping the landscape of international affairs.

Speakers:

Ambassador of Costa Rica to Canada

Ambassador Adriana SOLANO LACLÉ, was the Director-General of Foreign Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica and President of the Costa Rican Commission of Foreign Service. Throughout her 23-year diplomatic career, she has been appointed to important responsibilities such as Chief of staff to the Vice Minister for Bilateral Affairs and Cooperation and Head of departments at the Directorate-General of Foreign Policy, including Bilateral Affairs; International and Humanitarian Law; and Sustainable Development and Environment. Ambassador Solano Laclé has also been part of relevant regional processes. Member of the negotiating team of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union; Association Agreement between Central America and the United Kingdom; and Deputy National Coordinator of Costa Rican Pro-Tempore Presidency of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States). She served at the Missions of Costa Rica to the European Union, Luxembourg and Belgium as well as in Singapore. Previous to her diplomatic career she worked for the private sector as an industrial engineer. She has a MA in International Policy of the Université de Paris XI Sud- Faculté Jean Monnet, Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales & Stratégiques- CERIS-; a Post graduate Diploma of Specialized Studies in Development studies of the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a License degree in Industrial Engineering of the Universidad de Costa Rica. She is married, speaks Spanish, French, English and Dutch, with basic knowledge of German, Italian and Portuguese.

Ambassador of Argentina to Canada

Ambassador Martínez Gramuglia is a career diplomat with over 25 years of experience in the Argentine Diplomatic Corps. She is a lawyer specialized in international affairs who graduated from the foreign service academy with honors and was awarded the “Jose María Ruda” medal for excellence in international law. During her posting at the Mission of Argentina to the United Nations in New York, she represented her country at the Security Council, where she worked on the Darfur crisis; genocide prevention; and the women, peace and security agenda, among others. As the official in charge of Disarmament, Non Proliferation and International Security, she led negotiations of the landmark Arms Trade Treaty regulating the international trade in conventional arms. In 2013, she was appointed Head of Political Affairs at the Embassy of Argentina to the United States, where she coordinated the team responsible for bilateral political relations working to advance national positions and increase bilateral cooperation across a broad range of issues, such as foreign policy, military cooperation, peace and security, science and technology, human rights, climate change, and education. The Ambassador’s most recent experience includes her work as Head of the Digital Economy Task Force during Argentina’s G20 Presidency, in charge of the emerging technologies agenda of the major global forum for economic, financial and political cooperation. Before starting her duties in Ottawa, she was the General Coordinator of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.  Ambassador Martínez Gramuglia is passionate about women and girl’s empowerment, and devoted to supporting future female leaders and championing women’s causes. In recognition of her commitment to gender equality and the influence of women in diplomacy, she was appointed Chair of the Women Head of Diplomatic Missions in Ottawa (WHDMO) on November 2023. The Ambassador speaks English, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish (native). She is married, and the proud mother of two girls.

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)

Sheri Meyerhoffer was appointed as Canada’s first Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise on April 8, 2019 by the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification. Ms. Meyerhoffer established the office of the Ombudsperson at the beginning of May 2019. Ms. Meyerhoffer is a Canadian lawyer with seventeen years experience in the upstream oil and gas industry, and thirteen years experience in international governance, rule of law and human rights. She has worked in Bhutan, Bolivia, Cuba, China, India, Jamaica, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia and the USA. Ms. Meyerhoffer has a Juris Doctor from the University of Saskatchewan and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School with a Master in Public Administration and Certificate in Management, Leadership and Decision Sciences.

Lillian Thomsen retired from Canada’s public service in 2016 as Director General and Dean of the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. She served abroad in Warsaw (Poland), in Moscow and as Consul General of Canada in Saint Petersburg (Russia), at the Canadian delegation to the United Nations, and at the Canadian High Commission in London. In Ottawa, at Global Affairs Canada, she held a number of positions, including Director of Media Relations, Corporate Secretary and Director General of Executive Services. Lillian has been actively engaged in the community with a focus on education and health, including mental health issues, serving on various boards and as an active volunteer. She completed a maximum nine years on the Board of Governors of The Ottawa Hospital in 2019, including two terms as Vice-Chair. She is the Editor-in-Chief of “bout de papier”, the Canadian Foreign Service’s magazine. She provides consulting and coaching services in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Lillian graduated from the University of Toronto with a double honours B.A. in History and Economics.

Patricia Fortier is a retired Canadian diplomat. Her postings included Zambia (Lusaka), Kenya, India, Costa Rica, Chile, USA (New York, Washington, D.C., Boston), the Dominican Republic, Peru.  She was Canadian Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Peru and Bolivia.  In 2016, she retired from Global Affairs Canada in the role of Assistant Deputy Minister for Consular, Emergency Management and Security. In addition to her work on volunteer and corporate boards, she is Honorary Fellow at University of Ottawa, advisor to Greenlane Renewables, and is working with Global Affairs Canada on training and international mediation. She lives in Ottawa.

Dr. Christina Romulus initially started her health care career as a physiotherapist, graduated from the University of Ottawa and worked at the Ottawa General Hospital. She then made the jump to medicine and completed her residency and fellowship in Hospital Medicine at the University of British Colombia. She worked in Vancouver for a few years in General Medicine and Medical Aesthetics and moved to Ottawa in 2016. She is now working at the Queensway-Carleton hospital as a hospitalist. She also proudly opened her Medical Aesthetic clinic in 2021. With her impressive medical career spanning over 20 years, Dr. Romulus has held key roles in rural medicine. She has worked in many Canadian northern rural communities including Nunavut and northern British Columbia. She also plays an active role at the International level. She has done medical work in Haiti where she continues to be involved in primary care. Her latest projects are now in Peru, focusing in supporting remote villages to have access to potable water. Currently, she serves as a mentor of Black Med Collective, a mentorship program for black students in the Ottawa community to support and encourage medical education. In addition, she holds an academic appointment with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa where she teaches medical students. She is devoted to advancing social justice and addressing issues such as gender discrimination and Anti-Black racism in health care.

Moderator:

Madelaine Drohan is a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. During her 40-year career as a journalist, she covered economics and politics in Canada, Europe and Africa. She was Canada correspondent for The Economist from 2006 to 2020. Her book, Making a Killing: How and why corporations use armed force to do business, won the Ottawa Book Award and was short-­‐listed for the National Business Book of the Year Award. She has held research fellowships with the Public Policy Forum (2015-­‐2016), the Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership (2004-­‐2005) and the Reuters Foundation at Oxford University (1998-­‐1999). They led to a series of reports on Canadian public policy, including Does Serious Journalism Have a Future in Canada? (2016); The 9 Habits of Effective Resource Economies (2012); and Scandals and Their Aftermath (2005). She is a former director of The North-­‐South Institute, Partnership Africa Canada, and Transparency International Canada. She has conducted journalism workshops for media in Africa and Southeast Asia and writing workshops for graduate students in Canada. She was the first woman to win the Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism in 2001. She lives in Ottawa and is currently writing a book on Benjamin Franklin’s attempts to annex Canada.

Introductory Remarks:

Dr. Alexandra Gheciu, the Director of CIPS and a Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

Jill Bobula, Chair of the Ottawa Chapter of International Women Forum (IWF)