Secrétariat general
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Secrétariat général


Équipe


Philip Lee
General Secretary


Sara Speicher
Deputy General Secretary


Joseph Patterson
Financial Controller


Sarah Macharia
Program Manager for Gender and Communication and for Monitoring Rural Poverty Reporting


Lorenzo Vargas
Program Manager for Communication for Social Change


Marites (Tess) Sison
Communications


Gisèle Langendries
Programmes and
Funding Officer


Shari McMaster
Administrative Coordinator and Board Liaison

Lisa Gu
Accounting Assistant

Keith Nunn
IT Consultant

Karri Whipple
WACC UN Liaison
(New York)

Saskia Rowley
Web Design and Communications


Simon Chambers
Director of Communications (ACT Alliance)


Joanna Patouris
Climate Change Communications Coordinator (ACT Alliance)

Khodeza Hossain
Research Coordination Consultant

Benevoles


Robert Gray
Volunteer

Équipe

Philip Lee
General Secretary
Philip Lee, a British national, joined WACC in 1975 and is currently General Secretary and editor of the international journal Media Development. Publications include Requiem: Here’s Another Fine Mass You’ve Gotten Me Into (2001); Many Voices, One Vision: The Right to Communicate in Practice (ed.) (2004); Communicating Peace: Entertaining Angels Unawares (ed.) (2008), and Public Memory, Public Media and the Politics of Justice (co-ed.) (2012). In January 2013 he was conferred Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) by the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration in Chennai, India. Staff Liaison for WACC-North America Region, he speaks English, French and Spanish.

Sara Speicher
Deputy General Secretary
Sara Speicher, originally from the USA, joined the World Council of Churches in 1997 as a program assistant in the WCC Programto Overcome Violence. In 1999, she became a WCC communication officer and then coordinator of WCC Public Information. At the end of 2003 she married and moved to the United Kingdom where she set up an independent media and communications consultancy, working with organizations such as the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, World AIDS Campaign, Cordaid and World YWCA.

Joseph Patterson
Financial Controller

Joseph Patterson joined WACC in 2015 as Finance Manager with responsibility for accounting, finance and reporting. A Jamaican-Canadian he holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree from the University of Calgary and is a Canadian designated Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and Certified General Accountant (CGA).

Sarah Macharia
Programme Manager for Gender and Communication and for Monitoring Rural Poverty Reporting
Sarah Macharia joined WACC in April 2007. Of Kenyan origin, she is a feminist political economist with a Ph.D. in Political Science from York University, Toronto, Canada. She has extensive work experience in the field of gender and human development having worked with various African civil society and international development organisations. She is also currently a contributing researcher at the International Secretariat for Human Development housed at the York University. Staff Liaison for the WACC-Africa region, she speaks English and French in addition to two East African languages.

Lorenzo Vargas
Program Manager
 for Communication for Social Change

Lorenzo Vargas is a communication for development specialist and researcher on citizens’ media and digital rights. Lorenzo coordinates WACC’s Communication for Social Change programme, which supports community media and citizen journalism initiatives in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Africa. Lorenzo holds a Hons. BA in Development Studies from York University, an MA in Communication from McGill University, an Advanced Diploma in Internet Governance from DiploFoundation (Switzerland) and has pursued further studies on media research and policy at the University of Brasilia and the University of Oxford. Prior to joining WACC, Lorenzo worked with the Mosaic Institute as a programme manager and strategic communication advisor. Lorenzo speaks English, Spanish, French (adv.), and Portuguese (int.).

Marites (Tess) Sison
Communications
Marites (Tess) Sison has more than three decades of experience in journalism. She has worn many hats –  editor, copy editor, staff writer, international correspondent, and editorial coordinator – for print and digital publications in Canada, the United States and the Philippines. She has reported on human rights, social justice, immigration, gender equality, politics, foreign affairs and religion. Her work has been published in the
Toronto Star, World Press Review, Inter Press Service, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Anglican Journal, among others.

Gisèle Langendries
Programmes and Funding Officer

Gisèle Landendries is a graduate in Latin American Studies from the University of Essex, United Kingdom. Born in Belgium, she joined WACC in 1999. Staff Liaison for the WACC-Caribbean Region, she speaks French, English and Spanish.

Shari McMaster
Administrative Coordinator and Board Liaison

Shari McMaster joined WACC as the Administrative Coordinator with a view to providing assistance and support to the Secretariat and the Board after working for many years as a law clerk. She is a graduate of the Non-Profit Management course at Ryerson University.

Lisa Gu
Accounting Assistant

Lisa Gu joined WACC in March, 2019 as the Finance and Administrative Assistant. In addition to accounting certificates from both Tianjin and Toronto, Lisa is a graduate of the Tianjin Foreign Studies University with a Bachelor of Arts, Japanese.

Keith Nunn
IT Consultant
Keith Nunn joined WACC on a part time basis to provide strategic IT advice, advance technology projects and to provide day to day support in matters relating to technology. He has provided strategic and security-based technology advice and support to both private companies and non-profits over a lengthy career.

Karri Whipple
WACC UN Liaison (New York)
Karri Whipple is a media specialist, writer, and intimate justice activist from the United States.  Her work focuses on the intersection of trauma, identity, and religion.  She is a doctoral candidate at Drew University and serves as a lecturer in Women’s and Gender Studies and Religion.  She also consults for several interfaith organizations in New York City.

Saskia Rowley
Web Design and Communications Consultant

Saskia Rowley joined WACC on a part-time basis as a web design and communications consultant. An accredited designer, she manages  the graphics and print department for the Anglican Church of Canada and is art director of Anglican Journal, the Anglican Church’s national newspaper. She served as vice-president on the board of the Canadian Church Press and is a member of the Associated Church Press and the Society of News Designers. 

Simon Chambers
Head of Communications (ACT Alliance)
Simon Chambers has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Toronto and over 20 years of work experience in the Anglican Church in Canada. He moved to the position of Head of Communications for ACT Alliance from The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, Canada,  where he served as a Communications Coordinator since 2010. From 2011 he served as the Chair of ACT Alliance’s Communications, Media and Brand Advisory Group and has considerable experience of print, web, photography, social and traditional media, fundraising and marketing.

Joanna Patouris
Climate Change Communications Coordinator
Joanna has joined the ACT Alliance as a climate change communications coordinator. Originally from Swaziland, Joanna holds an MA in Environmental Studies, with a focus on climate change governance and development from York University and a BA in Economics- Environmental Studies and Sociology from St. Lawrence University (USA). Prior to joining the ACT Alliance, Joanna has actively engaged in climate change advocacy and policy work over the years in various platforms including the UNFCCC and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Khodeza Hossain
Research Coordination Consultant
Khodeza Hossain joined WACC on a part-time basis as a research coordination consultant. She is a Results Measurement Specialist, with an expertise in designing and implementing M&E tools and techniques, advanced quantitative & qualitative research and diverse evaluation methods. She has worked in Women’s Economic Empowerment, Private Sector Development, Challenge funds, Skills & Employment, Poverty Reduction and climate change projects across Asia and Pacific. Khodeza has completed her MS and BS in Environmental Science and Management from North South University, Bangladesh. She speaks English, Bangla, Hindi and Urdu.

Benevoles et Stagiaires

Robert Gray
Volunteer

Robert Gray joined WACC in 2009 as a volunteer. He is from l’Arche Toronto Community and comes into WACC once a week to assist with various administrative tasks.


 

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