
When did you work at IDRC?
I worked at IDRC from September 1987 until the end of December 2019, a little over 32 years.
What was your role?
During my first 6.5 years, I was a Program Officer. I had the opportunity of spending 3 years in the Nairobi office, where I learned the value of cross-program and inter-divisional collaboration.
For the next 16 years, I was on the administrative side of the organization: 2 years as a Special Advisor to the President, 9 years as Director of Grant Administration and 5 years as Director of Finance and Administration. In all these positions, I modernized Centre processes.
In my final 10 years, I was on the executive team as Vice-President, Resources, and Chief Financial Officer, as well as the Treasurer appointed by the Board of Governors. In the executive role, I was responsible for all administrative divisions: Finance and Administration, Grant Administration, Information Management and Technology, and Human Resources (the latter until January 2019). I had to deal with a 14.5% cut to our base Parliamentary appropriation (in 2012) and a 12-year freeze of the said appropriation. I built on my previous experience to further streamline IDRC’s administration and reduce operating costs while maintaining program spending, setting IDRC up for the future. I had very competent people contributing to the task.
What is your fondest memory or proudest achievement at IDRC?
It is a tough question as there are so many to chose from! Given that we live in an era of heightened public accountability, I would say that I am proud to have helped the management team realize better cost efficiency and effectiveness, especially as it appears in the organization’s public quarterly financial statements, a statutory obligation since the late 2000s. Many government stakeholders (the functionaries who help the government determine IDRC’s appropriation level) keep an eye on those, and that allowed us to project a much better image.
What are you doing now?
I am enjoying retirement, including a grandchild and another one on the way. I pass the time doing historical research for original books and weekly history columns in a regional media. That took me to become a project advisor to the Charlevoix Regional Museum. I have become proficient in deciphering 17th and 18th century handwriting and old maps. Besides being active with the IDRC Alumni, I also sit on the boards of two international development NGOs (one in Ottawa and the other in Montreal) as well as on a statutory surveillance committee for the regional police’s pension fund (MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais).
I also have more time to go fishing. And now that the world has reopened, I enjoy traveling either to visit old IDRC friends or to see new things. Who said retirement is boring?
Bulletin 73
July 2024