Staff Directory

Sara Anderson comes from a mixed background of German Mennonite and Métis ancestry. Originally from Kitchener-Waterloo (Block 2 of the Haldimand Tract – an ongoing land claim by the Six Nations of the Grand River), as a teenager Sara was deeply involved in the broader Anabaptist community with a focus on social justice initiatives, with a particular focus on issues pertaining to refugees and newcomers to Canada. More recently, she has embarked upon a journey of reconnection with her Métis heritage, and is now involved with urban Indigenous community in Ottawa (unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin territory). Currently she serves as a Blanket Exercise Regional Coordinator – Central in the Ottawa office of KAIROS.

Sara holds honours degrees in Global Studies and French from Wilfrid Laurier University, and has recently completed a MA in Canadian & Indigenous Studies along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Policy & Administration from Carleton University.

Alfredo Barahona, originally from El Salvador moved to Canada as refugee in the mid-eighties. He has worked with refugee and migrant communities through Toronto-based settlement agencies and now with KAIROS.

Currently Alfredo is the KAIROS staff liaison for the KAIROS’ Regional Networks in Western Canada. Alfredo is working on behalf of Canadian churches, with partners from labour, grassroots organizations, academics and migrant workers themselves, to unite, coordinate and strengthen advocacy efforts in Canada. Alfredo is also working on Indigenous Rights issues focusing on the development of meaningful relationships and mutual support between Indigenous peoples and newcomers to Canada.

Facilitating the effective and meaningful participation of affected communities in advocacy and solidarity work is a key principle in Alfredo’s work. As a tool for social change, music, in particular within a faith ecumenical and solidarity context is an integral part of Alfredo’s life and social justice work.

Prior to becoming KAIROS’ Program Manager in 2012, Ed coordinated KAIROS’ Indigenous Rights Program. This involved working with Indigenous peoples and their allies on domestic and international public education and action initiatives towards the recognition and enforcement of Indigenous peoples’ rights.

KAIROS’ creation in 2001 brought together 10 social justice ecumenical coalitions, including the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), which brought together churches, religious organizations, Indigenous peoples and regional groups. Ed was ARC’s National Coordinator from 1995 to 2001.

Ed has a Bachelor of Journalism (Television) from Carleton University in Ottawa and is the first student at York University in Toronto to complete a combined-Masters Degree in Fine Arts (Film) and Environmental Studies. While in Toronto, Ed co-founded Friends of the Lubicon, a support group for the Lubicon Lake Cree First Nation in Alberta.

Ed’s a hockey and soccer dad who lives in rinks and on pitches in Ottawa with his partner, Nancy, and their children, Graham, Gabriella and Robertson.

Ginger Cote is Algonquin and Ojibway from the Kitigan Zibi Reserve just North of Ottawa. She is the KBE Promotions Associate (East) at KAIROS Canada. Currently studying Law at Carleton University, she holds a Law Clerk Diploma from Centennial College and a Business Development Attestation from Heritage College. She has experience working with organizations that focus on Indigenous law and community building.

Having grown up in downtown Los Angeles I made my way to Toronto in 1998 after living long term in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Chad, and both master’s and doctoral studies as well as professional work in international development and agricultural extension in the Washington, DC area. I coordinate support for KAIROS ecumenical partners in the DRC and South Sudan as well as African regional and sub-regional climate and mining justice partners. My passions also run to, among other things, a just transition to a fossil free economy and mining justice that does not externalize human rights and environmental costs, and honours the principle of free, prior and informed consent for all affected peoples embodied in the United National Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples in the global North and South.

Giselle barely has the time to push pencils behind the solid walls of finance and administration at KAIROS. She enjoys working in the background, behind the epic scenes of the KAIROS day to day. While she may not have a green thumb like many of her colleagues, she really likes trees and plants. She’s known to love watching films and does not mind losing an excellent game of scrabble to a good opponent.

Rick hails originally from the Maritimes where he received a B.A. from Mount Allison University and an M.Div from Atlantic School of Theology. Rick worked for the Student Christian Movement of Canada as General Secretary from 1995-2000. From there he moved to work at the general council office of the United Church of Canada, where he acted as program coordinator for youth and young adult ministries.

He currently holds the position of Administrative Associate at Kairos, dealing with financial reconciliation for staff and operations of the organization. He also manages resources and other office duties. In his spare time, Rick spends time volunteering for Save My Tail dog rescue, playing Rock Band with his partner Darren, and generally pining for the East coast.

Fahira has served in many roles within KAIROS since joining in 2002. She currently holds the position of Donor Relations Coordinator. She enjoys the challenges of fundraising and believes in social justice. Fahira currently lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters.

Jennifer Henry currently serves as the Executive Director of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, a role she took on in 2012. She has worked in ecumenical social justice for over 20 years, beginning in 1993 when she joined the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice (ECEJ) as a popular education coordinator.

Her time with ECEJ included coordinating a cross-country economic literacy program called “Building a Moral Economy,” and contributing leadership to the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative. Within KAIROS, she has served in many roles from network and campaigns coordinator to the manager of teams focused on education and animation, organizational development, and human rights (Indigenous rights, gender and migrant justice). As manager of the global partnerships program, she played a significant role in coordinating KAIROS’ grassroots response to the CIDA defunding. She currently serves on the Good Jobs Roundtable spearheaded by Unifor, the Primate’s Commission on the Doctrine of Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice, and the Board of the Centre and Library of the Bible and Social Justice.

Raised in Winnipeg, Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Toronto. She is currently enrolled in a Masters in Theological Studies at Emmanuel College in Toronto. She worships at the Church of the Holy Trinity, an Anglican Church in downtown Toronto.

Susan serves as Board Relations Associate—working with KAIROS board chair and executive, maintaining board policy manual, correspondence and corporate records, coordinating the “Spirited Reflections” project and other special projects.

Previously she managed development projects in Africa with Presbyterian World Service and Development (PWS&D), and prior to that coordinated global health education and awareness programming at the University of South Florida.  She has focussed on global health, gender, HIV and AIDS and human rights in her work with international development organizations, including faith-based, non-government, universities, colleges in Canada and abroad.

Susan plays piano jazz and enjoys international music.  In her personal time, she has supported gender, human rights and climate change actions and attends Royal York Road United Church in Toronto (actively supporting KAIROS).

Beth is a social and ecological justice advocate with more than 10 years experience in sustainable development. She has worked with academia, civil society and government, including and most recently Status of Women Canada. Her work has focused primarily on freshwater management, climate justice, gender, and urban issues. Beth was a Youth Council member of PWRDF and supported the work of justgeneration.ca and the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY) National Youth Project Working Group. She has worked in social justice, camping, and youth ministry at the parish and diocesan level for the Anglican Church in Ottawa, Kingston, and Toronto.

Beth has a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University and a BA from Queen’s University in Global Development Studies and Economics. When not at work, you can find Beth enjoying live music in the city, running along the waterfront, or trying new food. On weekends, you can find her sailing with her partner Sebastian on Georgian Bay, swimming at her family cottage on Sharbot Lake, or, in the winter months, downhill skiing.

Dawn is Mohawk from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Southern Ontario. For close to 25 years she has worked with Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations and communities in Canada and internationally on issues related to Indigenous education, activism, women’s rights, health and governance. Some of these organizations include Native Child & Family Services Toronto, the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Ryerson University, the National Aboriginal Heath Organization, the National Centre for First Nations Governance, and the Assembly of First Nations. Dawn is a researcher, writer and lecturer and has experience with curriculum development, public speaking, facilitation, and training. She has been facilitating the KBE since 2015 and more recently began helping to grow the KBE network by training facilitators.

Diem is “Crewish HorizonDancer” – Plains Cree (Treaty 6) and Jewish (Łódź, Poland) and a member of the KBE team. She is a survivor-thriver of the 50s scoop. She is an anthropologist, traditional councillor, philosopher-at-large, lawyer (University of Toronto), certified Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist(ADR-PON, University of- Windsor), and an activist-justice seeker since childhood. She is an award winning singer-songwriter, as well as a published poet, essayist, filmmaker and photographer. She is as happy as a ‘puppy in a room full of balls’ to be working with KAIROS.

The Media Coordinator for KAIROS Canada, Cheryl has 20 years experience in communications management. She has worked for national and grassroots organizations that include the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Easter Seals Canada, and the Toronto Arts Council Foundation. She is also a climate activist. Cheryl founded and leads the Toronto chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and has lobbied Parliamentarians, US lawmakers and the World Bank to put a price on carbon. Once upon a time, Cheryl was a professional actor. In her wee spare time, she writes plays and hangs around with trees. ​

One half of my role at KAIROS is to support the work of the grassroots network in the Atlantic and the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Regions, that’s all the English speaking groups and individuals east of Thunderbay. The other half is to encourage young adult engagement across Canada in all aspects of the KAIROS structures and networks from actions to events to volunteering. When I’m not at work I enjoy exploring the city with my partner and young children from ravines and beaches to science centres and museums.

Katy has been with KAIROS Canada since 2012 as Indigenous Rights Coordinator and now, Blanket Exercise Coordinator – East. She has also worked with the Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee. Her current and previous work has focused on fostering reconciliation based on decolonization and justice for Indigenous peoples. Katy has been training and mentoring Blanket Exercise Facilitators of all ages and from a diversity of sectors for four years. She has a BA in Anthropology from Concordia University and an MA in Conflict Studies from Saint Paul University. Katy is a settler on unceded Algonquin territory in Ottawa.

Siobhan started out as a teacher and taught elementary, secondary and adult students everything from Spanish to Biology to Phys Ed in schools in Ontario, Grenada and Kiribati. Along the way, her participation in a variety of social movements gave her the opportunity to become involved in amazing work with amazing people. Eventually, her work in education changed focus and she became immersed in the work of Development and Peace, first as a member/volunteer and then as Regional Animator and later, Education Programs Coordinator. Siobhan has worked with KAIROS’ fundraising and communications staff as Organizational Development team manager since January 2014.

Connie was born in the Philippines and moved to Canada in 1989.

As Ecological Justice Partnerships Coordinator, Connie is responsible for establishing new and nurturing existing relationships with like-minded church groups and civil society organizations in the region (Asia-Pacific) on social justice issues. She also provides oversight to grants provided to partners in support of their work and ensures that partners’ voices and positions are brought to bear on critical issues during roundtable discussions and campaigns here in Canada when physical participation is not possible. She has helped organized speaking tours, delegations and visits of Southern partners in Canada on human rights and the negative impacts of mining/resource extraction on communities and their food sources and livelihoods.

In her spare time, Connie Sorio is a community activist, a seasoned organizer and advocate for the rights and welfare of temporary foreign workers in Canada, particularly those under the Live-in Caregiver Program. She is a member of the Executive Committee of Migrante Canada and the International Coordinating Body of the International Migrants Alliance.

Jane is originally from Kenya and is passionate about work that supports social justice, equality, non-discrimination and respect for human rights. She has worked within Kenya’s civil society, in the U.S.A. and Canada, combining her passion, understanding and experience in social justice initiatives with connecting donors to causes they care about. Jane has coordinated and fundraised for human rights and advocacy programs, as well as partnerships with a wide social justice stakeholder movement. She is an Atlas Corps and Human Rights Campaign Fellow (2014).

In her spare time, Jane enjoys volunteering, amateur photography and exploring green spaces.

Rachel is the program coordinator for the Gender Justice and Women of Courage Programs, and Latin American Partnerships. She has been involved in the human rights and social justice work of the churches for over 20 years and in solidarity and social justice movements for much longer, starting with the anti apartheid and divestment movement and the Nicaraguan solidarity movement in high school and university.

She holds an honours degree in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto, and a graduate certificate Gender and Peacebuilding from the University of Peace of the United Nations in Costa Rica.

Rachel is an experienced Popular and Adult Educator and fearless flute player and member of the Fallen Angles musical group. Finally, but most importantly to her, she is the mother of two beautiful, wise, compassionate and independent young women.

Bonnie’s specific matrilineal ancestry is Secwepemc from St’uxwtews First Nation, located in what is now known as Interior BC. She has worked in Indigenous Education for the past 10 years with the Langley School District. Currently she facilitates reconciliation dialogue with a strong emphasis on shared history, stereotypes/biases, responsible ally-ship & advocacy for direct calls to action within her company Skelep Reconciliation. Bonnie holds an Indigenous Cultural Safety Facilitator Certificate from UBC Health and is a Building Bridges Collaborator with the Raven Institute. Bonnie is currently pursuing her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction at Simon Fraser University.