GS11 Organizing Committee
• Nathalie Podeszfinski – NSERC
• Julia Chehaiber – Engineers Canada
• Fanny Eugène - FRQ
• Pélagie Lefebvre – IDRC
• Krystle van Hoof - CIHR
• Natalie Ward – Genome Canada
• Natalie Weiskopf – NSERC
Nathalie Podeszfinski
Nathalie Podeszfinski is the Project Manager of the Gender Summit 2017 at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Previously, Ms. Podeszfinski worked for 13 years in federal politics in different ministerial offices. She has extensive experience in providing strategic advice to senior officials, the development of policies, and writing communications strategies. Ms. Podeszfinski also has experience in the development and implementation of numerous complex projects, such as the Quebec 400th Celebrations in 2008, many Francophonie Summits, and the place of French during the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010. Ms. Podeszfinski has an MA in project management as well as a BA in business administration from the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Julia Chehaiber
Julia Chehaiber is the Practice Lead, Community Engagement with Engineers Canada, the national organization of the 12 engineering regulators that license Canada’s close to 290,000 engineers. Julia is responsible for building strong relationships with key stakeholders in the engineering community, including leading Engineers Canada’s efforts on its Women in Engineering file. Julia has a professional background in relationship management and business development. She has served on the Financial Management Institute’s Professional Development Week Planning Committee and was recently appointed to the Board of the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades, and Technology (CCWESTT). Fluent in three languages, Julia holds a bachelor of commerce degree in management and electronic business, as well as an interdisciplinary master’s degree in electronic business technologies from the Telfer School of Management and the School of Engineering at the University of Ottawa. She is currently pursuing Cornell’s CCDP/AP Certification to link diversity & inclusion strategies to increased organizational effectiveness and business performance.
Fanny Eugène
Fanny Eugène is a Strategic Planning and Management Analyst at Fonds de recherche du Québec, where she works on issues related to research in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. She has a background in research and teaching in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. She holds an MSc in biomedical sciences from the Université de Montréal and a PhD in psychology from Stanford University.
Pélagie Lefebvre
Pélagie Lefebvre is a Program Officer with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She oversees programs that enable women and men to enter, excel, and become leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Principally, Ms. Lefebvre manages the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) program, which provides training in advanced mathematical sciences to graduate students from across Africa. Ms. Lefebvre previously worked as a Program Management Officer with IDRC’s Science and Innovation program, where she coordinated joint initiatives with Canada’s science granting councils. Ms. Lefebvre holds an MSc in rural planning and development from the University of Guelph and a BA in sociology from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Krystle van Hoof
Krystle van Hoof is the Assistant Director of the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH). Krystle holds a BA (Hons) in cultural studies from York University and an MA in communication for development from the University of Malmö, Sweden. Her 15 years of professional experience span marketing and branding, non-profit communications, advocacy, policy and knowledge translation. She has previously headed up communications departments for two Canadian associations—work that has been recognized with three national awards. Prior to joining the IGH, Van Hoof was the head of communications at the United Nations World Food Programme’s Country Office in Bamako, Mali. In her current role, Van Hoof works to ensure research findings get into the hands of those who can use them to address pressing health challenges facing women, men, boys, girls and gender-diverse people.
Natalie Ward
Prior to joining Genome Canada in April 2016, Dr. Ward was an Associate at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, Clinical Research Unit from 2013-15 with a focus on the design of research and evaluation methodologies, grant writing, and ensuring the reliability and validity of research and evaluation tools. Dr. Ward specialized in linking teams to funding opportunities, developing collaborative relationships between teams at the hospital, locally, and nationally. She was also a lecturer at the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa (2011-15), with a focus on course design and teaching advanced research methodology and project design, in addition to introductory courses in anthropology and sociology. From 2007-15, she was a Senior Research Associate with the C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre, Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa where she worked in primary health care and health systems research.
Dr. Ward obtained her PhD in Sociology at the University of Ottawa in 2014. Her research focus includes social representations, equity issues in motherhood, food safety, and patient safety.
Natalie Weiskopf
Natalie Weiskopf is a Team Leader in the Scholarships and Fellowships (S&F) Division at NSERC. She holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Nipissing University and a Master’s of Public Administration with a concentration in policy analysis from Carleton University. Natalie has been employed at NSERC since 2006 where her primary responsibilities have included managing the S&F Selection Committee for Psychology and the Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering program. Natalie currently manages S&F’s Life Sciences team as well as the Women in Science and Engineering portfolio. Natalie is proud to serve as a member of the organizing committee for Gender Summit 11 North America.