Staff

Rupak Chattopadhyay has been President and CEO of the Forum of Federations since 2011. He was previously a member of the Consultative Group on the Study of Intergovernmental Relations and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms, Inter-State Council, Government of India. In 2004/5 he was Advisor to the Chairman of the Observer Research Foundation. He is on the editorial board or the Indian Journal of Public Administration and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Federal Studies at the University of Kent. Over the last two decades he has contributed as an expert in support of political and constitutional reforms in Ethiopia, Mexico, Myanmar, Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Yemen. He holds master’s degrees in economics and political science from the University of Ottawa and the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and did his doctoral work in political science at the University of Toronto. Rupak has authored, co-authored and edited a number of books and papers on federalism including Unity in Diversity: Learning from Each Other (Viva Books 2008), Finance and Governance of Capital Cities in Federal Systems (McGill Queens UP 2009) and Governance and Finance of Metropolitan Area in Federal Countries (Oxford UP 2013). Recently he co-authored a comparative study on Apex Level Intergovernmental relations (World Bank 2019) for submission to the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India.

Diana Chebenova oversees and manages Forum’s policy programs and partnerships relations with Forum’s partner countries and organizations. She is also in charge of Forum’s programs in South America and internships/young professionals programs. Diana has managed Forum’s project in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, India, Spain and Russia run in a variety of policy areas, including fiscal management, education, local governance, intergovernmental relations, health care and others. She was previously Director for Research and Publications and Director for South America Programs and Partnerships. Prior to joining the Forum she worked at the Inter-American Agency for Co-operation and Development of the Organization of American States in Washington D.C. Diana holds Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and MA in Commerce from the University of Economics of Bratislava. She speaks Slovak, English, Spanish, Russian, and has working knowledge of Portuguese and French.

Felix Knüpling joined the Forum in 2007 and worked at headquarters in Ottawa until 2013. He is currently based in Berlin, Germany, and oversees and manages the Forum projects. Also, Felix has provided expert advice on federal reform in various emerging federations, such as Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the Forum, Felix worked for the German parliament – the Bundestag – and at the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO in Brussels. Felix holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin and a BA in International Relations from University of Kent. He has co-edited several books on federalism, among them Federalism and the Response to COVID-19 (with Rupak Chattopadhyay and others, Routledge 2021) and Reformbaustelle Bundesstaat (“Reforming German Federalism”; with Sabine Kropp and others, Springer 2020).

Charles Cloutier has worked for various international/community development organizations such as the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, Oxfam Canada and CUSO over the past 25 years. He was also Regional Director in the Outaouais for Transcontinental Media where he was responsible for the publication of 7 weekly community newspapers. He was a founding member of the Franco Ontarian theatre La Nouvelle Scene and sits on the Board of a Credit Union. Charles is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and University of Laval where he earned his Chartered Accountant designation. He has run programs in Indonesia, Haiti and Tunisia.

Sheela Embounou brings to the Forum over 25 years experience in program and financial management.  She is currently the Forum’s gender focal point and oversees the Forum’s programs in Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. She formerly oversaw the Forum’s support to the Nepal Constituent Assembly. She was previously Senior Director for Finance and Operations at the Forum. Prior to joining the Forum, she worked for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Republic of Congo, Ghana and Kenya.  She graduated from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth majoring in Human Geography.

Shawn Houlihan has an MA in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a BA and Master of Development Economics from Dalhousie University. He spent five years in Ethiopia (1993-1998) in governance and civil service reform. He also has extensive experience in Sudan, for Canada and for the United National Development Programme. He worked as a consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency on matters of governance, capacity development and conflict management, including on the Middle East, Horn of Africa, Pan Africa and Southern Africa. Shawn is currently based in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Phillip Gonzalez has over 10 years’ experience and has contributed as a governance expert in support of constitutional and democratic reform in Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Phillip has worked extensively across Asia with political leaders and various stakeholders on issues of multilevel governance, providing technical training in devolved and federal governance; supporting efforts towards democratic devolution. Additionally, he has also worked on governance projects in Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Sri Lanka, Russia and Ukraine where he has provided technical advice and implemented projects with partners to provide options for complex policy issues and governance questions. Phillip has a Master’s degree in International Relations from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He received his Bachelor’s degree from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He has previously worked at the Canadian Foundation for the Americas as well as the Australian High Commission in Ottawa. He is fluent in English and Spanish.

Donna Duffett joined the Forum in 2015. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in History from Carleton University and has over 15 years of administrative experience. She has recently moved back to Ottawa from Qatar where she worked as an events administrator for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)  School of the Arts for seven years. Her other experiences include working as a project administrator on the TCCCS/Iris program and working as an office administration for various consulting firms.

Liam Whittington is a researcher and analyst who has held positions for policy research organizations in Washington DC, Vienna, and the UK. He has contributed to research and development projects in a range of countries operating in a variety of different policy areas, including education, security, local governance, international development, and civil service organization, and has experience in conducting public spending reviews. Liam is a Research Fellow of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (Washington DC) and has published a number of articles on a range of international policy issues. He holds a First Class Honours degree in Medieval and Modern History from the University of Birmingham (UK), and an MA in International Relations from the University of Nottingham (UK).

Driss Boutakhoust joined the Forum of Federations in November 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & a Master’s degree in Human resources. He has over 5 years of administration experience.

Olakunle Adeniran is an international development professional with more than seven years of experience advancing results-based management (RBM), gender equality and inclusive governance across multi-country programs. He designs and implements robust RBM and MEL systems while also serving as a Gender Equality Advisor, supporting program teams to fully integrate gender-responsive approaches into their work. His portfolio spans women’s leadership, youth political participation, inclusive governance and multilevel governance, with a strong emphasis on evidence-informed and inclusive policy design. Olakunle holds a master’s degree in Conflict Studies from the University of Ottawa and Saint Paul University and a bachelor’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy. Trained in arbitration and mediation, and an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution, he brings a multidisciplinary lens to advancing gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive and youth-inclusive governance reforms.

Elizabeth Lisa Nganwa joined the forum in 2016. She is the project officer for the Africa desk. She also handles the Human Resources desk, program administration, and financial reporting for HQ. She graduated with HONS. Psychology and minors in Criminology and Gender Equity.

Jamie Thomas has been with the Forum of Federations since November 2021. She holds a Master of Arts in Political Studies (International Relations) from Queen’s University and Bachelor of Arts (Honours), First Class in Political Science with a minor concentration in Security Studies from the University of Calgary. Jamie is an avid researcher and writer and currently serves on the executive committee of Women in International Security Canada (WIIS-C). She is interested in processes of global governance, conflict and fragility, gender equality, and youth engagement.