What's New
To find out what's new at CESO, scroll down the page and click on the links for more information.
June 23, 2009
CESO welcomes Tabish Surani
It is with great pleasure we announce that Tabish Surani has accepted the position of Vice President, International Services. She will be reporting to Don Johnston President and CEO, effective Tuesday August 4th, 2009.
Tabish will provide leadership in our international program design and delivery. She will manage all aspects of CESO’s international services and lead the international team in the delivery of quality programs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas.
Tabish brings to CESO strong professional experiences in strategic planning and program delivery grounded in principles of partnership. Her work includes 7 years of program management, graduate level primary research in the area of volunteer sending, curriculum development and workshop delivery for Southern partners, Canadian community service providers, educators and volunteers. This coupled with her 14 years experience working with youth and adults in formal and non-formal education programs will certainly bring value to CESO and the international services team.
Tabish comes to us from Canada World Youth where she was the Senior Development Associate for the Youth Leaders in Action Program in Toronto. Tabish was part of a small Steering Committee that prepared this successful five year proposal to CIDA under the Volunteer Cooperation Program. Tabish also held the role of Director Research & Programming for Canada World Youth in Montreal. Prior to that she was the Manager of Diversity and Social Inclusion for the YMCA of Greater Toronto, where she designed both the strategic and implementation plans aimed at strengthening diversity and promoting social inclusion within the Association.
Tabish graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1993 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree focused in Political Studies & International Relations, following that she continued her education to receive a Masters of Arts from the University of Toronto, focused in Curriculum Studies -International and Development Education. Tabish also has her Bachelor of Education from York University.
Her first language is English and she has functional fluency in Spanish, Kutchi, and Gujarati with a basic understanding of French. Tabish will be taking French language training within the first 6 months of joining CESO in order to bring her French skills to the level of her other languages. Tabish has lived in India, Vietnam, Ecuador, Costa Rica and has traveled to Honduras, Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Peru and Nicaragua.
Tabish is committed to ensuring that the non-for-profit sector and its programs remain results focused, ethical, viable and accessible to a broad demographic of Canadians. She looks forward to joining CESO while promoting social change and reflective practice.
Please join us in welcoming Tabish!
June 2009
CESO | SACO Celebrates National Aboriginal Day
June 21 is National Aboriginal Day, a time to recognize all the many cultural contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Since 1996 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people from across the country have celebrated this important day by coming together to share traditional food, song, stories and dance. It is a day of fun and celebration.
At CESO, we recognize the value and dedication of our Aboriginal volunteers and staff who work all year long to strengthen communities, organizations and businesses by providing high quality programs and services to Aboriginal people from coast to coast.
CESO Aboriginal Services delivered 581capacity development assignments in the last year. We have also played an important role in assisting women in both on and off reserve communities by delivering our ‘Aboriginal Women for Tomorrow Program’. This program of culturally specific workshops empowers women by providing leadership training, teaching entrepreneurial skills and financial management. Over 900 women participated in the training last year alone. By building on the richness of Aboriginal cultures, CESO volunteers helped to improve governance practices and enhance their economic development.
Our strength as on organization comes from remarkable people who share their knowledge and cultural diversity and who work relentlessly to make Canada a better place for all.
CESO joins the many Aboriginal organizations that have planned celebrations to mark National Aboriginal Day by hosting its own event for staff and local volunteers.
I invite you to take part in the many cultural events hosted by Aboriginal organizations across Canada. A list of scheduled regional events may be found at: http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nad/index-eng.asp
Sincerely,
Bob Dickson
Vice-President National Services
Message from the President
March 26, 2009
CESO mourns the loss of a founding member
CESO is saddened by the passing of one of its founding members, John McLean Magwood. Dr. Magwood passed away on March 24, 2009 at the age of 97.
In 1966, Maurice Strong became head of External Aid. He sought to make more effective use of Canada’s aid dollars and to involve more ordinary Canadians in the worldwide struggle against poverty. Mr. Strong set up a non-governmental division in his office and asked his friend Dr. Magwood, a Toronto lawyer, to explore ways of encouraging companies to release managers and professionals for short-term assignments in developing nations.
The next year, CESO was founded to promote and assist the economic and social growth and well-being of the peoples of the world. In 1969, CESO Aboriginal Services was launched to match the volunteers with the needs of its clients and partners–Aboriginal people, businesses and communities seeking greater self-sufficiency and growth.
After helping to found the organization, Dr. Magwood served on the CESO Board as Chair from 1977 to 1986.
Born on August 26th 1912, Dr. Magwood lived a long and full life as a student, lawyer, skier, sailor, rider, and leader. He was a founding partner of Magwood Frith and Pocock and its successor firms, practicing law with various partners for 45 years. In addition to CESO, Dr. Magwood served on the Board of The Toronto Symphony, Board of Trustees and Chairman of Stewards of Lawrence Park Community Church.
CESO Board members, staff and volunteers remember Dr. Magwood’s important contribution to the organization and extend heartfelt condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
Donald Johnston
CESO President & CEO
Money Smarts for Aboriginal Families Community Trainer Program
Thank you to all participants of CESO's Money Smarts for Aboriginal Families Community Trainer Program. The program was a great success, with 58 Community Trainers trained in four different regions across BC and the Yukon.
For organizations wanting to partcipate in another Community Trainer session, please note that our funding for this program ended on March 31st. We will know by June if we have secured the funding to conduct additional Community Trainer workshops in 2009/2010. Please refer back to this page in June for updates.
For Community Trainers looking for workshop materials, additional information and resources, please go to the BC Asset Building Collaborative's Financial Literacy Forum website at: http://groups.google.com/group/bcabc-financial-literacy-forum. You will need to join the Financial Literacy Forum (which is hosted by Google Groups) if you want to take part in a discussion group, post comments, access the archive of the discussion threads, create new posts, or post relevant web pages and documents.
To join the forum, please follow these procedures:
- Click on the "Apply for Group Membership" button on the right hand side of the page.
- It will take you to a page that asks for your email and password.
- The first time you are at this page you will need to create an account.
- Click on the option "Create an account now" on the right hand side and follow the instructions.
- IMPORTANT: Please register using the email address that you provided to the organizers of the Money Smarts Train the Trainer session so that google recognizes you are a BCABC Financial Literacy Forum member.
If you have difficulty accessing the online version of the forum please e-mail Melanie Buffel at melanie@bcassetbuilding.ca and she will walk you through the process.
Global Citizens for Change
(November 4, 2008) - Visit the Global Citizens for Change website at www.globalcitizensforchange.org.
The Global Citizens for Change is a joint outreach and public engagement initiative of a coalition of Canada’s nine leading volunteer cooperation agencies. Together, CESO and the other agencies, have created a virtual community, where you may create a profile and provide a voice for the people with whom you have served as a volunteer, here or abroad. As well, on the site, you’ll be able to meet other volunteers and share your stories.
For more information, please contact Public Engagement Officer Alex Gillis at agillis@ceso-saco.com.
July 30, 2008
CESO welcomes Don Johnston
It is with great pleasure that CESO's Board announces that Don Johnston has accepted the position of CESO President and CEO, effective October 1, 2008.
Mr. Johnston comes to CESO from Montreal-based Canada World Youth where he served as President and CEO for the last two years. In 2005, Mr. Johnston opened his own consultancy firm, Donald L. Johnston and Associates, located in Nelson, British Columbia (BC), that provided services in strategic planning, organizational leadership, and program and policy development and evaluation to numerous community-based organizations.
Before that, Mr. Johnston served for six years as CEO of the Columbia Basin Trust in Castlegar, BC. The Trust is a unique community-based organization which works with the people of the Canadian Columbia River Basin area to bring social, economic and environmental benefits to the region most affected by dam construction under the Columbia River Treaty between the governments of Canada and the United States. The organization managed assets in excess of $300 million.
Mr. Johnston was also the Senior Program Director of the Vancouver Foundation; the Director, Transition Secretariat of the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs in the BC Region; and Director of African Programs for the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief based in Ethiopia with its head office in Toronto. He originally joined Canada World Youth in 1980 and held increasingly senior positions during the next 10 years from Regional Director, Program Director and finally Associate Director General. He began his career as Manager in the Job Creation Branch in the Vancouver office of the Canadian Employment and Immigration Commission of the federal government.
"Don is well-positioned to become CESO's President and CEO with his varied experience in both government and non-government sectors and his knowledge of Aboriginal and International issues," said Keith MacDonald, Past Chair of CESO's
Board.
Mr. Johnston attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and has a Certificate in Managing the Non-profit Organization from the Manitoba Institute of Management in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He also holds a Masters of Arts in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.
Mr. Johnston's first language is English and he also speaks French.
He is looking forward to working with CESO's senior management team. Reporting directly to him will be the CFO, the Vice-President International, the Vice-President National, and the Director of Human Resources and Volunteer Services and Development and Communications.
Wanda Wuttunee
Interim Chair of the Board
CESO | SACO
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