Biographical notes

Joya Donnelly (BA Hons [Political Science and History], McGill University, 2001; MPA, National School of Public Administration, 2007) joined the Government of Canada in 2006. In Ottawa, Ms. Donnelly has held various positions at Global Affairs Canada and served as the Asia analyst in the Foreign Policy and Defence Secretariat of the Privy Council Office. Abroad, she was posted to Colombia (2006) and Indonesia (2007–2009) and served as political counsellor in Vietnam (2010–2012) and China (2017–2021). She was subsequently minister-counsellor for political and cultural affairs in France, with concurrent accreditation to Monaco (2021–2023). Most recently, she served as director general of the Northeast Asia Bureau at Global Affairs Canada.

Amrita Ellen Paul (BSc [Microbiology and Immunology], McGill University, 1989; MHA [Community Health], University of Ottawa, 1992) worked at Health Canada before joining the Canadian International Development Agency in 2004. At Headquarters, she has served in the Americas Branch and as chief of staff for the Multilateral and Global Programs Branch. She has held a range of management positions in the Multilateral Health Programs Division, the South Sudan Development Program and the Nordic and Polar Relations Division and served as director for development programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso. Abroad, she was head of cooperation (counsellor) at the Embassy to Zimbabwe. In 2021, she was seconded to Health Canada’s COVID‑19 Task Force and, later, served as director, Bilateral Relations, Trade and Summits (G7/G20), in Health Canada’s Office of International Affairs. She rejoined Global Affairs Canada in 2023 and, most recently, served as director of the Global Education Division.