Hazel Postma, Chair

Hazel Postma spent the first half of her career as a journalist and editor and the second half in the philanthropic world, where she was the Associate Vice President Advancement & Alumni Relations at Douglas College, British Columbia. Prior to that she was Executive Director at Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.

She currently volunteers for CESO/SACO, completing assignments as a Volunteer Advisor in Honduras, as well as virtual assignments in the Northwest Territories and Vietnam.

She has a lifelong interest in human rights and has been a member and volunteer with Amnesty International Canada for more than 30 years. She brings a passion for freedom of speech to HRI as well as an extensive background in communications. She sits on a number of community committees and boards and has received awards for her efforts, including the 2013 Queen’s Jubilee Medal for community service.

Hazel brought Living Library to Canada, extending the concept of libraries to include borrowing people in place of a book. Living Library began in Denmark as a way of breaking down stereotypes and can now be found in scores of countries, as well as across Canada at public and post-secondary libraries.

Joshua Perrott, Treasurer

Josh Perrott has over 5 years investment banking experience with various independent investment banking groups including Pope & Company, Ascendant Securities and currently with Manulife Capital Markets. He has significant experience in working with client’s senior management, evaluating investments, conducting due diligence, creating confidential selling materials, reviewing contracts, structuring transaction terms, and valuing businesses.

Josh holds an Honors Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree with First Class Distinction from the Queen’s School of Business. He has also earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
 
Josh is passionate about human rights, and he seeks to use his financial background to assist organizations that are engaged in human rights activities. He enjoys working with community organizations, and looks forward to working with them on local and global scales. Josh’s other interests include hockey, basketball and travelling.

Corinne Packer, Director

Corinne Packer has worked as a consultant for, inter alia: The Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (evaluating the Technical Cooperation Branch of the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights); the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (notably on the matter of reproductive health in refugee situations); the Council of Europe (on women‘s reproductive health equality and on Romani women‘s reproductive health in general); and for The Netherlands’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs (with regard to the successful Dutch campaign for membership on the UN Security Council) and of Social Affairs and Employment (regarding Dutch policy on the human rights of women).

In 2003-2004, she was a Research Fellow at the Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University’s School of Public Health. Since 2004, she has assisted on projects at HRI and was its Executive Director from 2007 to 2009, after which she joined HRI’s Board of Directors. For the last decade has been a researcher at the University of Ottawa, working in the area of globalization and health equity.

Lathika Laguwaran, Director

Lathika Laguwaran is a Research Manager at the Global Strategy Lab where she oversees the day to day operations of the lab. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. Lathika has spent the last 6 years volunteering with community organizations such as the Tamil Health Association where she is the Director of Community Health Research and with the Human Rights internet. She is passionate about community health, human rights and chronic disease research.

Vivien Runnels, Director

Vivien Runnels has worked for many years as a researcher on issues that concern social justice and health equity. She is currently a research adviser at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She holds a PhD in Population Health from the University of Ottawa, and a Master‘s degree in Disability Management in Work and Rehabilitation from City University, London, U.K. She has worked as a secondary school teacher, an adult education program coordinator, and a research coordinator, and in the health sector she has worked as a vocational rehabilitation counsellor in a provincial psychiatric institution. She has made a number of contributions and presentations to academic and professional journals and conferences. Vivien has been a community volunteer serving in different capacities for over 40 years.

Kajanth Nithiyananthan

Kajanth Nithiyananthan is currently serving as a Product Director at SkipTheDishes and is responsible for the strategy and direction of technology solutions that services restaurant partners. He has a Bachelors of Commerce degree from Ryerson University, with specialization in Information Technology Management. Kajanth is interested in leveraging his expertise in commerce and technology to add value to community organizations with a focus on health and human rights.

Ciara Shattuck

Ciara Shattuck is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Province of Manitoba. She is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg/University of Manitoba Joint Master’s Program in History. Ciara has always been interested in social justice, health equity, and the right to health. She has volunteered at a local correctional facility to support women with friends or families who are alcoholics. In her spare time, she is an avid cyclist.