By: Liz Do
16 Nov, 2023
CIFAR welcomes Paul Dhalla to the Board of Directors
November 16, 2023
CIFAR is pleased to welcome Paul Dhalla to our Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for the overall governance of the organization, and is composed of distinguished individuals drawn from the Canadian business, research and professional communities.
Dhalla is Director of Environment, Climate and Sustainability at the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), with global responsibility for AKDN’s environment and climate initiative. As Vice-Chair of AKDN’s Environment and Climate Committee (ECC), he facilitates the organization’s objective of making the environment and climate a cross-cutting theme and common priority across the AKDN’s agencies and institutions in all countries of operation.
Prior to his current role, Dhalla was AKDN’s Director of Research during which time he chaired the Portugal-AKDN Joint Research Assessment Committee (JRAC) and helped conceptualize and begin AKDN’s environment and climate initiative, which he now leads. Before that, he was the Coordinator of Diplomatic Affairs at the Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan in France from where he helped manage AKDN’s diplomatic representation offices and supported the development of relationships, partnerships and agreements with governments and international organizations.
Dhalla earned his PhD in social anthropology from Harvard University, law degree from Oxford University, and bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. His external board service includes being a member of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) European Council for Global Conservation. He has also done extensive fieldwork in parts of Africa and Asia with research fellowships from Harvard University, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) .
“I’m looking forward to help steer CIFAR’s mission and new Strategy. With CIFAR’s commitment to addressing climate change through interdisciplinary and global research collaboration, I’m especially thrilled to bring my insights in this area,” said Dhalla. “This organization is uniquely positioned to make a positive impact on our society in Canada and around the world. I’m truly looking forward to serving on its board.”
“We are fortunate to have Paul Dhalla join our Board of Directors at CIFAR,” said Stephen Toope, President & CEO of CIFAR. “As our organization embarks on a new Strategy, it is important to have community members who bring diverse perspectives, a wealth of leadership experience, and are profoundly motivated by our mission of bringing brilliant researchers together across disciplines to solve global challenges.”
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