McGill Alumni Association Board of Directors

The MAA Board of Directors is the parent organization for our global network of regional alumni branches. Members serve as advisors and work closely with the professional staff of McGill University Advancement, and the Alumni Relations Office in particular.

Joey Odman, BEng’11, President
As a former captain of several undergraduate design teams as well as being a student athlete, Joey has been a part of the McGill University community fabric since stepping foot on campus. He is now the Vice President of Construction & Development at Group RMC. His involvement with McGill University has ranged from hosting career panel discussions, judging design presentations, volunteer speaking and helping mentor new students as well as recent alumni as they transition into and out of their university careers. His involvements extend to the greater Montreal community where he also volunteers his time as a guest speaker for high school students trying to define their future as well as volunteering with the Order of Engineers of Quebec in promoting higher education and engineering.

Nicole Wilson, BSc’09, Cert.Prof French’13, Vice-President
Nicole Wilson is a Principal, Sustainable Investing at KKR, and is responsible for implementing the firm's environmental, social, and governance work across its portfolio. Previously she worked with the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation and PSP Investments. Nicole received her Bachelor of Science from McGill University in 2009 and her Masters of Applied Science and Management from Ryerson University in 2013. As a member of the TEDxMontrealWomen organizing team and the past President of the Board of the McGill Women’s Alumnae Association, Nicole is dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Beyond this, her passion lies in using the power of business and finance to address sustainability challenges and opportunities.

Thomas Assimes, BEng’90, Treasurer
Born and raised in Montreal, Tom is an experienced infrastructure executive and member of the leadership team at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Since graduating from McGill in 1990, he has taken leadership roles in the development, financing, and construction for some of Canada and Europe’s largest infrastructure projects.  His community involvement has included being a Board member at Lower Canada College, the Vancouver Chapter of Financial Executives International, and the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (MEQ). Tom and his wife, Dr. Christine Florakas, BSc’92, have two daughters and live on the island of Montreal.

 Jonathan “JC” Collin, BEd’14, Secretary
Jonathan is the Coordinator of the bursary program at the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence, a charitable organization whose objective is to provide elite-level athletes with academic and financial support. A former student athlete at McGill, Jonathan is a Past-President of the McGill Varsity Council and a member of the Friends of McGill Football Committee. He also sat on the McGill Sports Hall of Fame Committee and served on the Athletics and Recreation Advisory Board.

 Luciano D’Iorio, BA’99, Immediate Past-President, Alumni Governor
Luciano is the Regional President & Managing Partner of CDNGLOBAL Québec, a Canadian-based real estate brokerage agency. His engagement as a volunteer with McGill started within several years of graduation, beginning with the Board of the McGill Young Alumni in 2004. His service continued through his role as Chair of Homecoming in 2012 and as a speaker at a variety of events, many in support of student success. Luciano joined the Board of the MAA as a Director in 2012, and joined the Executive in 2014, where he served as Secretary and Vice-President until his Presidency in 2020. His community involvement includes having served on the Board of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. He is a founding member of the Tiny Survivors Fundraiser for the MUHC Neonatal Unit and served on the Board of the Caisse Desjardins Mercier-Est-Anjou for over 24 years.

Gawaher Atif, BA'81, Director
Gawaher (Gawa) Atif is a senior international development and humanitarian affairs professional with 40 years of experience. Having served in over a dozen countries with the United Nations system agencies, across Africa, the Middle East, and at UN headquarters she held leadership roles managing teams to develop innovative approaches to fight hunger, educational and economic opportunities for the most vulnerable, directly supporting global peace and security.  Gawaher is specialized in complex negotiations and building strong alliances with all stakeholders to achieve sustainable solutions. Since returning to Montreal, Gawaher has held several Board positions in the not-for-profit sector and currently serves as Director at the McGill Women’s Alumni Association and Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Committee for the UN World Food Programme Alumni Network. Gawaher was born in Cairo, Egypt and grew up in Montreal. BA’81 McGill, MA’87 American University in Cairo ’87. Executive Programmes at Harvard Kennedy School, Columbia University and Hertie School of Governance.

Wanda Bedard, BCom'82, Director
Wanda Bedard is the founder and owner, since 1991, of a business based in Montreal in the sheet metal manufacturing sector. She holds a B.Com from McGill and an MBA from HEC Montréal. After several years as a deeply engaged volunteer with UNICEF Canada, Wanda established the 60 million girls Foundation in 2006 to focus specifically on supporting girls’ education in the developing world.  60 million girls’ unique all volunteer organizational model and grassroots approach to innovation and sustainability in education have enabled the foundation to become a strong voice in supporting girls’ education programming around the world. Wanda was a member of the International Advisory Board of McGill’s Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID) from 2013 to 2019. In 2019, Wanda was named to the John Abbott College Hall of Distinction. A proud McGillian and lifelong Montrealer, she is honoured to be part of the MAA Board of Directors supporting McGill alumni around the world.

Pina Marra, BCom’06, DPA’06, Director
With approximately 20 years in the financial sector, Pina is currently Senior Director in the Regulatory Affairs Department at Desjardins Group. Prior to this position, she worked in Accounting Standards, Capital Management and Treasury Department at Desjardins Group and held other roles such as financial controller and external auditor. Pina holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and completed her Bachelor of Commerce and Diploma In Public Accountancy at McGill University. She is a member of several committees such as, the McGill Alumni Association Honors and Awards, the McGill Women Alumnae Association. She is the Treasurer and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Information and Communications Technology Council and Vice-President of the University Club of Montreal.

Sonia Mata, MSc’93, Director
Sonia, a trained medical doctor, has held various research positions at McGill and is a former President and long-serving board member of McGill’s Women’s Alumnae Association. She is a senior consultant in the non-profit sector, and she has founded and manages leadership programs and social projects for high school and university students in five Canadian cities. She has also served on the Board of Directors for University Students' Residences in Montreal and Ottawa and for an independent school for girls in Toronto. In 2022, she moved to Vancouver to be the Director of Operations at Headford Cultural Group, a registered charity that fosters the education of women of all ages and backgrounds to promote their unique influence in shaping society, through their family life, professional work, and community involvement. She also oversees the Human Resources for a small university center in Vancouver.

Ryan Tomicic, BEng’04, BCL’10, LLB’10, Director
Ryan Tomicic is a partner in the Montréal office of Borden Ladner Gervais. He was admitted to the Québec Bar in 2011 after having successfully completed the National Program at the Faculty of Law of McGill University, which permitted him to obtain a diploma in both civil law and common law. Ryan also has technical training, which he acquired in his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering studies at McGill University and in various jobs as a researcher and designer in the engineering field. Ryan also did studies in finance and passed the CFA program Level II examination. His areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, general corporate law, finance, securities and financial markets, as well as areas related to engineering, including alternative energy. 

Darren Begley, BSc’97, Regional Director
Darren W Begley is Principal Scientist in the Gene Therapy Franchise of Resilience, Inc. where he is helping bring new cures to patients by developing and characterizing virus-based delivery vehicles for novel gene therapies. Darren graduated from McGill University with a Joint Honours (B.Sc.) degree in Chemistry and English Literature. He then relocated to California to learn more about drug discovery at several small biotech and pharma companies before pursuing a chemistry PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle. Darren started volunteering with the Boston branch of the McGill Alumni Association when he moved to the Somerville-Cambridge area in 2014. As part of the local branch (first Board member, later Branch President), Darren helped organize many events, including speaking events, pub trivia gatherings, and local festivities for #McGill24, the annual day of giving. Darren enjoys returning to Montréal when he can, now that he's closer to where it all started.

Dawn Longshaw, BSc’81, Regional Director
Based in British Columbia; Dawn has been active in the McGill Alumni Association since the early 90’s when she served as Branch President for Vancouver, and is currently on the McGill Alumni Leaders Advisory Council.  A human resources consultant and professional recruiter for over 25 years, Dawn provides tactical and strategic HR consulting services to a wide variety of organizations.  Active in many professional associations and with not-for-profits, Dawn is Past-President of the University Women’s Club of Vancouver where she led strategic and operational changes which resulted in a positive turnaround in member recruitment and financial outcomes. She has chaired committees for NPA – The Worldwide Recruiting Network, is Past Chair of the Sales Program Advisory Committee at BCIT, and has been a Mentor and workshop leader with The Minerva Foundation for BC Women and YWCA InFocus.

Bob Babinski, BA’86, Alumni Governor
Bob is before past President of the McGill Alumni Association, and is currently a member of McGill’s Board of Governors. He was a long-serving Chair of the McGill News Advisory Board, and, in 2018 celebrated 20 years of being the Master of Ceremonies for the McGill Sports Hall of Fame Luncheon. Bob is a broadcast performance trainer, coaching media personnel and corporate executives. He has been a part-time professor in Concordia University’s Journalism Department since 2000 and is also past President of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Oral School for the Deaf.

Inez Jabalpurwala, BA’89, MA’91, MBA’01, Alumni Governor
Inez has extensive experience building and leading organizations and cross-sector collaborations in health research, academia, and international development. She is currently Executive Leader of the Brain Health Nexus, a global collaboration to unleash science and technology to optimize brain health and prevent brain disease; she also serves as Chief Transformation Officer for One Tree Planted. She is Global Director of VINEx, a non-profit corporation that was established early in the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how viruses and other infectious agents may affect the central nervous system. 

Inez currently serves on the Board and Executive Committee of Equitas—International Centre for Human Rights Education; serves on the Board of Governors of McGill University, co-Chairs the joint Board-Senate Committee on EDI and is a member of the Human Resources Committee; is past President of the McGill Alumni Association; is a member of McGill University’s Campaign Cabinet for its $2B capital campaign and is Chair of the McGill Fund Leadership Circle; and is a Desautels Global Expert in McGill University’s Faculty of Management. 

Gabrielle Korn, Executive Director (Ex-Officio Member)
Gabrielle Korn was named Managing Director, Alumni Relations & Annual Giving at McGill University, and ex-officio Executive Director of the McGill Alumni Association in July 2014. She leads a team of 36 in efforts to engage McGill’s 300,000 alumni around the world. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Communications for the non-profit environmental and heritage preservation group, Les amis de la montagne, where she made significant contributions in community and media relations, web and social media presence, fundraising and special event initiatives. She began her advancement career at Concordia University, working her way from a support role during the institution’s first capital campaign to Director, Alumni Relations. Perfectly bilingual, she holds a BA in Journalism and a Certificate in Public Relations from Concordia University, and a Graduate Certificate in Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector Management from Toronto Metropolitan University/Imagine Canada.