CSW/71 Coordinator 
Gisèle Yasmeen

Gisèle Yasmeen is the JW McConnell Professor of Practice at Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill. Until recently, she was Global Fellow of the Wilson Center and was previously Associate Vice-President, International at the University of Ottawa and Senior Fellow at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research — part of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Her expertise is on food-systems in Asia, on which she has published, taught, and consulted since the early 1990s. Dr. Yasmeen also serves on scholarly editorial boards.

Dr. Yasmeen is also a former senior federal government executive, most notably Vice-President of Research and Partnerships at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, where she served for seven years. She is also the former Executive Director of Food Secure Canada—a pan-Canadian bilingual organization. She has advised numerous Canadian and international clients including the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Bank, among others. Dr. Yasmeen has served on several boards and, in addition to CCA, is currently on the International Advisory Council of the Centre for Open Societal Systems. She is also on the advisory board of the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security at McGill University and Women in Science Diplomacy - Canada. She was also a member of the Canada-US Innovation Committee created by former US Ambassador, David Jacobson and as one of two Canadian representatives to the EU NA Women's Caucus.

Dr. Yasmeen provides regular media commentary in English and French and is a former radio columnist for CBC and Radio-Canada. She has worked on the ground in many regions of the world and has studied Spanish, Thai, Urdu, and Mandarin. She has a PhD from UBC, a master’s from McGill and a BA Honours from the University of Ottawa.