Executive Director

Liz Bernstein is the founding Director of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Previously, Liz served as Coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) from 1998 through 2004. Liz participated in the campaign since it began in the early 1990s. She lived in Thailand and Cambodia for 10 years (1986-1996), where she worked with local advocacy organizations on various peace, justice and policy issues. She co-founded the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation and helped found the Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines. She also coordinated Make Poverty History Canada in 2005. Liz currently lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Liz can be reached at lbernstein@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 111
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Director, Media and Communications

Rachel Vincent is the Director of Media and Communications for Nobel Women’s Initiative. She joined the team in April 2008. Rachel started her career as a radio journalist, working for six years in Canada, the US and Mexico, including hosting an afternoon radio program in Mexico City. She left journalism to be the head of communications for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, based in Montreal. For the last 16 years, Rachel has turned her in-depth understanding of media towards advising NGO’s and others on how to communicate their messages most effectively through media. She has worked as a senior communications advisor, speechwriter and media strategist for not-for-profit groups and governments on international and social justice issues, environment and health. Rachel also volunteers for the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), and is an active mother of three and stepmother of two.

Rachel can be reached at rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 113
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Manager, Policy and Advocacy
(on leave until September 2013)

Diana previously worked with Nonviolence International Southeast Asia promoting nonviolent action for social change and assisting human rights defenders in the region in developing their advocacy strategies. This led her to establish the Working Group on Justice for Peace promoting political rights and access to justice through international advocacy within the conflict area of Southern Thailand. As a passionate peace activist, she has been engaged in global initiatives to stop disappearances and campaigns to control arms; and has conducted extensive research on small arms proliferation in conflict areas, the impact of conflict on women’s security and nonviolence in Burma. Diana holds a MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford with a research focus on women, peace and security.

Diana can be reached at dsarosi@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 112
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Coordinator, Online Media and Outreach
(On leave until May 2014)

Kimberley MacKenzie is the Online Media and Outreach Coordinator for the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Prior to this she worked for five years at the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization. There she was the founding Coordinator of the Public Education Program, responsible for devising and implementing public education, cross cultural training, advocacy, and communications strategies and programming for the organization. She studied Political Science and has a passion for travel and learning languages.

Kim can be reached at kmackenzie@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 114
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Coordinator, Events and Operations

Lesley Hoyles is the Coordinator of Events and Operations with the Nobel Women’s Initiative. She holds a BA with a major in Women’s Studies from the University of British Columbia, and a Certificate in Event Management from Algonquin College. Prior to joining the Nobel Women’s Initiative team in June 2010, she worked for a number of non-profit organizations, including Planned Parenthood Toronto and Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa. Lesley is passionate about women’s rights and reproductive rights. She is also a musician and a cyclist.

Lesley can be reached at lhoyles@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 116
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Coordinator, Advocacy

Diane Beckett is the Advocacy Coordinator for the Nobel Women’s Initiative. She is passionate about sustainability, social justice, women’s equality and peace, and has worked in more than a dozen countries and across Canada on these issues. Her experience includes several decades of research, policy, planning, management and advocacy with civil society organizations, governments, universities and the United Nations. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Master’s of International Affairs. When not at work, she loves visiting farmer’s markets, urban biking and getting out into nature.

Diane can be reached at dbeckett@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 118
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Coordinator, Online Media and Outreach
Zuzia is a multimedia communications professional and researcher who previously worked for international media outlets, including reporting out of the Warsaw bureau of The Associated Press and National Geographic Poland, as well as working with a Canadian-based independent documentary filmmaker. Shifting focus at King’s College London, she turned to examining the impact security sector reform and demobilization have on gender-based violence. Zuzia has worked with a number of campaigns within the UK and Canada on communication efforts for local and international audiences, most recently during the launch of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict. She has worked closely with the Nobel Women’s Initiative, and in 2012 coordinated a pilot of the organizations newly developed Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program.

Zuzia can be reached at zdanielski@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 114
Fax: +1.613.691.1419

Coordinator, International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict
Kathryn Semogas was most recently a consultant for Human Rights Watch Canada (HRW), where she spearheaded the media and advocacy strategy to launch HRW’s report on RCMP abuses against Aboriginal women and girls in Northern British Columbia. She previously served as Manager of Public Advocacy and Outreach with HRW in New York, where she developed global outreach campaigns with donor committees in 18 cities worldwide. She also worked as a Press Officer for the organization. Prior to joining HRW, Kathryn worked with the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Washington, DC as a media and advocacy assistant.

Kathryn can be reached at ksemogas@stoprapeinconflict.org.

Tel: +1.613.569.8400 ext. 112
Fax: +1.613.691.1419