Anoush Fraser Terjanian has a longstanding interest in how research can address public challenges,
particularly in the area of democracy. In 2015, she served as founding director of the U.S. Social Science
Research Council’s Anxieties of Democracy program while on secondment from her tenured university
post. In that role, she brought together and supported more than 75 researchers, practitioners, and
journalists to solve for issues of democratic capacity and legitimacy in the United States, while building
international partnerships. Since repatriating to Canada, she continues to convene and support cross-
sector initiatives promoting research and democracy, most recently as co-convener of the Dimensions
Coalition, the Coalition for Research Excellence (CORE-COEUR), and the Revitaliser notre/nos
démocratie/s | Revitalising our democracy/ies project.

Twice appointed by the Governor in Council to the Governing Council of SSHRC, where she also served
on the Executive Committee, Dr. Terjanian brings governance and public sector experience to her
academic pursuits. She is an alumna of the Parliamentary Internship Programme (PIP) and has worked at
the Privy Council Office and on Canada’s G7 Summit delegation. A Fellow of uOttawa’s Human Rights
Research and Education Centre, she also advises senior decision-makers, building connections across
academia, government, diplomacy, and civil society. Born on unceded Algonquin Anishnaabeg land to
grateful immigrant parents, she has lived and studied in Egypt, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and the
United States, and maintains family ties in Uganda, Argentina, Armenia, and Scotland. An enthusiastic
Francophile, she advocates for Indigenous rights and inclusive design, inspired to make real the promise
of Canada.