Senator Mobina Jaffer, QC.

Born to an Indian family living in Kampala, Uganda, Ms. Jaffer arrived in Vancouver in 1972 after she and her family were exiled from Uganda with “nothing but the clothes on our backs.” Today, she represents British Columbia in the Senate of Canada, having been appointed on June 13, 2001 on the advice of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. She was the first Muslim senator, the first African-born senator and the first senator of South Asian descent. Ms. Jaffer was educated in England and Canada; earned her law degree from the University of London in 1972, and has practised law in British Columbia since 1978. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998. In 2002 she was appointed the Special Envoy to the Peace Process in Sudan by the Government of Canada. The same year, she was Chair of the Canadian Committee on Women Peace & Security.

Ms. Jaffer served as a Vice-President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1994 to 1998 and as President of the National Women’s Liberal Commission from 1998 to 2003. Since 1997, Ms. Jaffer has been vice-chair of the Canadian membership committee for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and, since 1993, a member of the board of governors of the Trial Lawyers of British Columbia. She has also been active with the Immigrant and Refugee Board and is a great champion for newcomers’ rights.

Ms. Jaffer has made the celebration of diversity and the defence of human rights her life’s work. She has worked tirelessly to advocate measures to advance the use of English and French in communities across the country and to engage communities in celebrating Canada’s diversity. A proud mother and grandmother, she is also committed to providing Canadian youth with an outlet to express themselves, so that their ideas and opinions can be developed further.

Ms. Jaffer works hard in the Senate and its committees to do her part to make Canada a better place for all.

She lives in Vancouver, B C

Cecilia Maroño

Cecilia Maroño is country manager for Oikocredit in Uruguay and has worked in micro credit in South America since 2005. She will be talking to us about her work and how microcredit has grown and changed and how its future fits in with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Michael Simpson

Michael Simpson is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC). Prior to working for BCCIC, Michael was the Executive Director of One Sky – The Canadian Institute for Sustainable Living. His work with One Sky varied from leading major bilateral projects in West Africa including Nigeria and Sierra Leone to working in Latin America on projects ranging from forest conservation to leadership development. Simpson was an active voice for Canadian civil society at international forums ranging from the World Summit on Sustainable Development to UN meetings on renewable energy.

With a keen interest in integral theory, Simpson has been active in exploring the nexus between developmental psychology and social change. Prior to his work with civil society groups, Simpson was an award winning documentary producer who ran a video production company for fifteen years specializing in programming on environment, development and human rights. He spent many years working in conflict and post conflict areas of the world with a special focus on Latin America.

His most recent focus has been on leadership development within the context of social movements, including both the private sector and civil society. An avid networker, Simpson is a current director of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) and currently manages through BCCIC the Inter-Council Network (ICN) of eight Provincial and Regional Councils.

Murray Rankin

A nationally-recognized expert in environmental and public law, Murray Rankin was first elected as Victoria’s Member of Parliament in 2012. In Parliament, Murray is a champion for better health care, higher pension benefits, and stronger environmental protections. He brought national attention to the auditing of environment and anti-poverty groups under the Conservative government, introduced a bill to crack down on offshore tax evasion, and helped bring all parties together for a unanimous vote to compensate survivors of thalidomide poisoning.

Daphne Goode

Daphne’s career in television production spans 35+ years. Her communications career began in radio, then tourism promotions, which led her to the technical side of television, where she thoroughly enjoyed working as a camera operator, editor and producer. Daphne is a graduate of the Banff School of Fine Arts Electronic and Film Media program. She started her on air work in the 1970’s and has worked in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Victoria. She is impressed by the people who shape positive change in Greater Victoria and The Cowichan Valley and is proud to tell their stories. A constant is giving a voice to local issues, particularly the arts and cultural community. Daphne has long represented Shaw as our Outreach and Community Relations coordinator, while also appearing on air. Daphne has been recognized in our industry with the Canadian Cable Television Association Promotions Award.

Her vast commitment to volunteerism has earned her many awards including the YM/YWCA Women of Distinction Award, Honorary Citizen of Victoria, Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria Outstanding Leadership Award and the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities Long Service Award. Among Daphne’s television highlights-hosting interviews with notable politicians at our BC Legislative Bureau, hosting the BC Lions Society’s Timmy’s Telethon in Victoria for 25 years,

Travelling below the Strait of Georgia on an underwater training mission aboard the submarine HMCS Rainbow, and hosting a LIVE 6 hour transmission from the Royal BC Museum. Community is at the heart of Daphne’s work and she is more than proud to represent our community to Shaw TV viewers!