Biographical notes

Mark Berman (BA [Political Science and International Relations], University of Saskatchewan, 1982; LLB, University of Saskatchewan, 1986; LLM, London School of Economics, 1989) joined the Government of Canada in 1989 as adviser to the minister of the environment; he then served as executive assistant to the deputy minister of the environment. In 1993, he joined the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi as a legal officer. After 6 years in Nairobi and Geneva, he returned to Canada as a director in the Office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. He then joined the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2000 as deputy director for human security and peacebuilding. In 2005, he returned to Environment Canada as director for climate change negotiations. In 2008, he was seconded to CIDA’s Multilateral Branch as acting director general for environmental sustainability and economic growth. In 2009, Mr. Berman joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as executive director for Climate and Energy and Canada’s representative on the Compliance Committee of the Kyoto Protocol. He served as executive director for international crime and terrorism in 2012 and was appointed director general for consular policy in 2017. Most recently, he served as high commissioner in Guyana and ambassador to Suriname and the Caribbean Community.

Nicholas Brousseau (BA [History], Laval University, 1997; MA [History], University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 1999; Archivist-Paleographer Diploma, National School of Charters, 2003; PhD [History], University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 2005) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2004. At Headquarters, he has worked in the European Union Division and the Eastern Europe and Balkans Division. He has also served as deputy director in the Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Disarmament Policy Division and as senior departmental adviser to the minister of foreign affairs. Overseas, he has served at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Embassy to Russia, as well as at the Embassy to Romania, where he was the head of the political section. In 2017, he was appointed ambassador to Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Most recently, he served as the deputy head of mission of the Mission to the European Union in Brussels.

James Christoff (BA [Political Science], Concordia University, 1991; BPR, Mount Saint Vincent University, 1993; MPA, Royal Military College of Canada, 2017) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1999. At Headquarters, he has served as executive director, Southeast Asia; director of communications, Afghanistan Task Force; press secretary and spokesperson in the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and communications manager for Team Canada trade missions. Abroad, he has served in various positions in Kenya, the Philippines and Afghanistan and was ambassador to South Sudan from 2018 to 2019. Most recently, Mr. Christoff served as high commissioner in Nigeria and permanent representative of Canada to the Economic Community of West African States.

Olivier Jacques (BA Hons [Political Science], Laval University, 1998; Specialized Graduate Diploma, HEC Montréal, 2000) joined Citizenship and Immigration Canada in 2001. At its headquarters, he has worked as policy and program adviser to the associate assistant deputy minister, operations sector. More recently, he was senior director of international and centralized networks at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Abroad, Mr. Jacques has served in Manila, Miami and Beijing, as well as in Mexico City, where he worked as minister-counsellor and area director for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2015, he was briefly assigned to Amman as director of Operation Syrian Refugees. Since 2020, he has been posted in Paris as minister-counsellor and IRCC’s area director for Southern Europe and the Maghreb.

Jodi Robinson (BA Hons [Political Science], University of Ottawa, 1999; MA [East Asian Studies], Australian National University, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003. At Headquarters, she has worked in the Trade Policy and Negotiations Branch on market access barriers and supporting Canada’s free trade agenda, as well as on its North America team, managing the trade and investment relationship. Abroad, she has served as counsellor of trade policy at the Embassy to China and senior trade commissioner at the Consulate General in Hong Kong. Upon her return from China, she spent 2 years with the Privy Council Office, focussing on Canada’s response to the pandemic. She then returned to Global Affairs Canada as executive director of the Greater China Trade and Investment Division.