Biographical note

Isabelle Valois (BA Specialist/Hons [International Development], University of Toronto, 1992) began her international career in Colombia and Malawi; in the latter, she was a program associate with UNICEF Malawi through the World University Service of Canada. She then worked in the non-governmental sector and served on various boards of directors. In 2004, she joined the Canadian International Development Agency, where she held several positions in the Middle East and North Africa bureaus, including chief of operations, Middle East, from 2006 to 2008. From 2009 to 2011, she served as counsellor (development cooperation) for Iraq at the Embassy to Jordan and Iraq. While there, she was also the director of the Regional Human Rights and Peacebuilding Fund (2008 to 2010). From 2011 to 2016, she served as counsellor (development cooperation) at the Embassy to Morocco. At Headquarters, she was director of the Global Citizens Division. Most recently, she served as ambassador to Uruguay (2021 to 2023).