Our Board of Directors

Co-founder of the Pendulum Group, Yaroslav Baran is an expert in political analysis and communications with an established reputation for excellence. A consultant for many years with a leading Ottawa-based government relations firm, his roles included that of managing principal, board chair, and national practice lead for communications.

He dedicates his energies to political and governmental analysis, strategic communications advice, crisis management, executive speechwriting and presentation coaching, and media relations training. He has also advised countless clients on government relations and political strategy and is a rare advisor in parliamentary procedure, building on his experience in leadership and procedural roles in the House of Commons. He served most recently in the federal government as Chief of Staff to the Government House Leader, and before that, as Chief of Staff to the Chief Government Whip. His parliamentary experience also included years as a proceduralist in Opposition, where he worked on reforms to House of Commons rules.

A senior advisor in political communication, he was the Communications chief for former prime minister Stephen Harper’s leadership campaign, and directed the Conservative Party’s communications and media relations through three national election campaigns – all of which saw the party’s electoral fortunes increase – as Senior Communications Advisor and Director of War Room Communications.

He first branched out to the private sector as a consultant in 2005 but was seconded three years later by the prime minister to serve as a ministerial chief of staff for two years, managing the parliamentary agenda and House of Commons operations for Cabinet. He returned to consulting work in 2010, where he has built a reputation as an advisor to leaders in Canadian business, academia, and politics.

In addition to his governmental and advisory work, Mr. Baran has also helped lead a number of democratic development projects, from North America to Eastern Europe to Africa to Southeast Asia. He is chair of the board of directors of the Parliamentary Centre. He is also a director with the charitable Canada-Ukraine Foundation which is involved in capacity building and humanitarian projects.

He was named a Fellow with the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University in 2019. He has taught courses in strategic communications and government relations in the MPM program and has given several guest talks to students in the Masters of Public Administration program at Queen’s University, focusing on the relationship between political staff and the public service as it pertains to communications. He has also been a guest speaker for the federal government in workshops for visiting dignitaries.

The Hamilton native is a frequent media commentator on crisis management, geopolitics, and federal political affairs.

Marci Surkes spent 15 years serving as a political aide on Parliament Hill, most recently in senior roles advising the Prime Minister and members of the federal cabinet. As Executive Director of Policy and Cabinet Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2019-2022, Ms. Surkes led a team that provided strategic advice to the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, on policy spanning the entirety of federal jurisdiction. She collaborated closely with officials in the Privy Council Office to implement the government’s mandate through setting the agenda for Cabinet. Ms. Surkes was centrally involved in the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the development of the new national system for Early Learning and Child Care, and the transition for the return to government following the 2021 general election. She acted as Chief of Staff in the PMO during the writ period.

Prior to her appointment in PMO, Ms. Surkes served from 2015 to 2019 as Chief of Staff to the Hon. Ralph Goodale, then Minister of Public Safety. She helped to develop legislation (Bill C-59) to establish a renewed framework promoting heightened transparency for federal security agencies and institutions. She also played a leadership role in coordinating the federal response to emergencies including the 2016 wildfires in Ft. McMurray.

From 2007 to 2015, Ms. Surkes held several senior positions serving the Liberal caucus and leadership in the House of Commons. She led the policy team for the federal Liberal campaign during the 2019 general election and was a key contributor to the electoral platforms in 2019, 2015 and 2011, spearheading the use of gender-based analysis tools for policy endorsed by those campaigns. 

Additionally, Ms. Surkes has been a fellow in the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University since 2017, where she regularly engages with students as a guest lecturer and mentor. 

Before her career in politics, Ms. Surkes worked as a student journalist with the Ottawa Citizen and the CBC.

Originally from Montreal, Ms. Surkes holds a B.C.L. and an L.L.B. from the Faculty of Law at McGill University and a BA (Hons) in Politics and Journalism from Brandeis University.

Jennifer Brooy is an accomplished international Financial Executive, with 30+ years of domestic and international financing experience, inclusive of complex project and structured financing, commercial and corporate lending, and private equity and venture capital investing.  She has executed and/or managed over $5 billion of transactions with a track-record of successful returns and has transacted in 20+ countries, including emerging markets.

Jennifer is a business strategist and leader of innovative and enterprise-wide transformation.  She designed and built a major global investment practice with a unique value proposition for business-to-business connection.  She designed, championed, and led a corporate-wide multi-year, multi-million-dollar enterprise risk management (ERM) transformation, with input from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).

Jennifer is an accredited (ICD.D) and seasoned Board Director offering 20+ years of intimate engagement at the Board-level and is a graduate of the Director Education Program , Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Management, York University.  She has served on several corporate and not-for-profit boards, and as an advisor to fund investment boards.

Jennifer is an enthusiastic entrepreneurial thinker and business-builder with a passion for technological advancement, equal and fair opportunity, and sustainability, based on a foundation of good governance.

After a federal public service career spanning over 30 years in operations and corporate management in federal departments, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Canada Post Corporation, Camille retired to launch a human resources consulting practice and devote more time to volunteering in the community.

Camille holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hon) and a Certificate in Public Sector Leadership and Governance from the University of Ottawa, a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation and a certificate in not-for-profit governance from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Camille is currently serving as Chair of Ottawa Salus. She previously served on the boards of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, Big Sisters, Ashbury College and Rideau Rockcliffe Community Resource Center. From 2016-2019 Camille served as a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa Government School of Politics and International Affairs.

As Managing Principal and Vice Chair of the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation, Graham brings to the firm two decades of executive-level experience in the fields of politics, public policy, public affairs and government relations.

Prior to joining the firm, Graham spent ten years as President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), Canada’s leading multidisciplinary think tank. He was a strategic policy adviser at the law firm of Fraser Milner Casgrain (now Dentons LLP), where he assisted clients in managing their relationships with government.  Graham has also held senior positions in politics, including chief of staff to the leader of a federal political party, press secretary to a national leadership campaign and candidate in a provincial election.

A policy entrepreneur, Graham’s main research interests are federalism and intergovernmental affairs, democratic renewal and citizen engagement. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from Queen’s University, where he was a Loran Scholar, and a master’s degree in political science from the London School of Economics. In the community, he is a director of the Parliamentary Centre and of Le Gesù – Centre de créativité, a creative arts space in Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles. He is also a member of the School of Policy Studies board of advisors at Queen’s University.

A frequent media analyst in both English and French, he is the co-editor with Jennifer Ditchburn of The Harper Factor (2016), an analysis of the policy impact of Canada’s 22nd prime minister.

Dr. Lori Turnbull is the Director of the School of Public Administration at Dalhousie University. She is a fellow at the Public Policy Forum, a freelance writer with The Globe and Mail, and the deputy editor for Canadian Government Executive magazine. Her research and teaching focus on parliamentary politics and governance, democratic institutions, and public and political ethics.

She has published in Canadian Public Administration, Canadian Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, Canadian Parliamentary Review, How Ottawa Spends, the Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution, and has authored numerous book chapters.

Her book Democratizing the Constitution: Reforming Responsible Government, co-authored with Peter Aucoin and Mark Jarvis, won the Donner Prize in 2011 and the Donald Smiley Prize in 2012. With Oxford University Press, she has edited the forthcoming Politics: An Introduction (third edition) with George MacLean and Duncan Wood.

Farhaan Ladhani is the CEO of Digital Public Square. For over a decade, Mr. Ladhani has been leading efforts on the use of digital tools to connect people. From 2014-2015 he served as the Senior Advisor for Digital in the Office of the Prime Minister. Prior to this, Mr. Ladhani was the Deputy Director for Direct Diplomacy at Global Affairs Canada – an initiative focused on engaging with non-state political actors seeking to increase the openness, inclusiveness and responsiveness of their political systems. 

Mr. Ladhani’s foreign assignments include the Head of Section for Strategic Communications in Kandahar where he led a team of Afghan, US, Canadian, and international partners responsible for executing strategic communications and public engagement initiatives throughout Kandahar Province. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Ladhani was based in Washington, D.C. at the Embassy of Canada where he focused on the development of social and new media initiatives. 

In 2011, Mr. Ladhani was a Principal at Cloud to Street, a project to connect Egyptian democracy activists with technology expertise and to better understand the intersection between cyberspace and political space in the Egyptian revolution. 

Mr. Ladhani is a Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Phedely Ariste is a lawyer at Gowling WLG in Ottawa. Fully bilingual, Phedely represents individuals, professionals, public entities, not-for-profit organizations and private companies in both English and French. His legal practice focuses on civil litigation, medical malpractice, professional liability and administrative law. Phedely’s practice experience also includes general commercial disputes and sports law matters.

Phedely received his law degree from the University of Ottawa, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He completed his degree in the dual Juris Doctor and Political Science program. He was a member of the Dean’s Honour List for academic excellence and he was the graduating recipient of the Common Law Section Dean’s Award in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the law school community. During his articles, he completed a secondment term in the Legal and Regulatory Affairs group of Canada’s largest telecommunications company.

Phedely has proven experience in the political and public policy arena. As a part of his practice, he advises and assists clients with government relations matters and regulatory issues. His background also includes working on Parliament Hill for the Independent Senators Group where he regularly performed strategic review of various bills and reports tabled before Parliament and provided counsel to senators on a wide range of issues.

Throughout his studies, Phedely held a number of positions, including working as a senior editor of the
Ottawa Law Review, a teaching assistant in both Constitutional Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and a research assistant to the vice-dean. He was also selected to complete a legal internship at a full-service community legal clinic in Cape Town, South Africa.

Phedely is an active member of the Ottawa community and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. He has founded student mentorship programs and remains highly involved in various community mentorship initiatives. He regularly volunteers with several local not-for-profit organizations.

Phedely is a member of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario, the County of Carleton Law Association, the Ontario Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association.

Kerry Buck was most recently Assistant Secretary to the Treasury Board, Economic Sector, from 2018 to 2021. Prior to that, she was  Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO from 2015 to 2018.  Ms. Buck is a career diplomat who was Political Director and Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Affairs, and served in  Assistant Deputy Minister positions on Afghanistan,  Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Director General for the Middle East and Maghreb.   Earlier in her career she was posted to the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. 

Ms Buck led Canadian government Task Forces for Afghanistan, Russia/Ukraine, Syria, Mali, the Haiti earthquake and other foreign policy and humanitarian crises. Throughout her diplomatic career, she supported Prime Ministers and Foreign. Ministers at the G7 and NATO Summits and represented Canada at the UN, G7, NATO, OAS and OSCE on issues of human rights, security, disarmament, terrorism and humanitarian affairs.  She represented Canada on international negotiation of Women, Peace and Security issues from 1992 to 2018, helping build international law and practice on combatting gender-based violence.      

Ms. Buck also served in the Privy Council Office, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the International Development Research Centre, the Constitutional Law Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario and the Ontario Native Affairs Directorate.  

She is currently a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto, Senior Mentor at the Canadian Forces College and member of the Boards for the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and the Réseau d’Analyse Stratégique.

Anne McGrath is the National Director of the New Democratic Party.

Anne has been actively involved in all levels of the NDP, federally and provincially.  She has been Chief of Staff to several NDP Leaders including federal NDP Leader Jack Layton and was a key strategist in all his campaigns.  

As Chief of Staff she is credited with professionalizing caucus operations and with helping organize the party’s historic breakthrough to Official Opposition status.  Following Layton’s untimely death she served as the National Director of the federal NDP and Campaign Manager in the 2015 election campaign.  

She was portrayed by Wendy Crewson in the 2013 CBC film “Jack”.  McGrath was a key member of Rachel Notley’s transition team when the Alberta NDP formed government in 2015 and was a trusted advisor to Premier Notley in a variety of roles including Deputy Chief of Staff, Principal Secretary, and Executive Director for southern Alberta.  

She has been a frequent commentator in the national media and has been identified as one of the 100 most influential people in government and politics in Ottawa.  

She was the NDP candidate in Calgary-Varsity in the May 2019 Alberta election.  

Grant Kippen has spent the past 35 years involved in electoral politics and democracy strengthening activities internationally as well as in Canada. In August 2021 he completed three and one-half years as Chief Electoral Advisor for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) based in Kabul. Prior to this position he was working in Mogadishu, Somalia as Senior Electoral Management Advisor to the National Independent Electoral Commission, and from November 2015 to June 2016 as Senior Elections Advisor to the British Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia. From December 2011 to June 2015 he was the Chief of Party for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) based in Sana’a, Yemen.

Internationally, Grant has worked in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan (in support of the 2005 Iraq elections), Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Libya, Moldova, Nepal, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Timor Leste, Ukraine and Yemen. During this time he has been employed by the United Nations, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Creative Associates International, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Elections Canada and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) in Afghanistan for the 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council elections and the 2005 Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Council elections, as well as Country Director for NDI in Afghanistan from 2003-2004.

In Canada, Mr. Kippen worked as an Officer within the Prime Minister’s Office (Rt. Hon. P.E. Trudeau), as an Advisor to a federal Cabinet Minister, a Special Assistant to a Member of Parliament, as well as Director of Organization for the Liberal Party of Canada (Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien). He has written a number of published articles on such issues as e-democracy, electoral dispute resolution, electoral financing within post-conflict countries, the impact of information technology on electoral campaigns as well as on elections and democracy in Afghanistan.

Mr. Kippen has a B.A. from The University of Western Ontario and an M.B.A. from the University of Ottawa.

From 1993 to 2022, Heather Bradley worked for Speakers of the House of Commons Gilbert Parent, Peter Milliken, Andrew Scheer, Geoff Regan and Anthony Rota. Her tenure as Director of Communications to the Speaker spanned 10 Parliaments, five Clerks, and three sergeants-at-arms across 29 years. Through this role, Bradley has had a unique vantage point of almost three decades of history on Parliament Hill. This included the horrific 2014 shootings, the historic move from Centre Block to West Block to allow for restoration and most recently the creation of a hybrid parliament during COVID-19.

Bradley is originally from Navan, a community on the eastern reaches of Ottawa. She studied Communications and Canadian Studies at Carleton University. From there, she worked for the National Capital Commission (NCC), supporting events like Winterlude, the Tulip Festival and Canada Day. In 1986 Bradley worked for Expo in Vancouver and was responsible for Visitor Services at the Canada Pavilion. She returned to the NCC working in various roles eventually becoming Chief of Media Relations reporting directly to the Chair and CEO. In 1993, Bradley was recruited to work as a manager with the House of Commons’ Public Information Office; this opportunity coincided with the October 1993 federal election, which saw a significant influx of new MPs. Bradley was soon hired into the Director of Communications position, in the Office of the Speaker.
Heather and her husband have lived for almost 30 years in Ottawa. She is proud of her boys and the family she and her husband have created.

Rebecca Murray is an accomplished fundraising executive with more than 25 years of experience working with the private, public and nonprofit sectors. She’s currently a Senior Development Officer with Carleton University and was on the major gifts team that raised more than $300 million for the largest campaign in Carleton’s history. Rebecca also recently completed a Master’s degree in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

Rebecca’s path to a career in philanthropy was inspired by community work. It began at the University of St. Thomas, in Houston, and extended to volunteering in Ottawa and on multiple political campaigns. After 10 years in government, Rebecca moved to the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser at the National Arts Centre and joined Carleton in 2003.

She’s active in the community as a volunteer and serves on the boards of local, provincial, and national charities, including the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Beechwood National Cemetery.

Rebecca lives in Ottawa with her husband and four children. She’s an expert skier, a cautious mountain biker and loves to cook all year round.

Peter Oberle was a member of Canada’s Federal Public Service for 25 years. In that time, he served at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Citizenship and Immigration, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and National Defence. The son of a Federal Cabinet Minister and the brother of a Provincial Cabinet Minister, one might say that Peter has government service in his blood.

In various management and senior management positions, Peter’s tenure in the Public Service focused on strengthening management accountability, citizen service quality, integrating business and technology (Chief Information Officer, SSHRC & NSERC) and strategic business planning. His work has always been guided by his belief that having a strong democracy requires a world-class Public Service that exists to serve citizens. For his leadership at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat on government-wide citizen service transformation, Peter received the Clerk of the Privy Council Award – the Public Service’s highest award.

Peter’s home province is British Columbia and he has left Ottawa to return home. From the West Coast, Peter now works as a management consultant. Recently, his engagements have been in the Yukon, again, focusing on strengthening management accountability. He has also spent significant time in Guatemala working to support those without adequate shelter.

Peter has a Bachelor’s Degree (Honors) in Psychology from Queen’s University and a Master’s Degree from York University.

Jaime Pitfield served as a public servant with the Government of Canada for 32 years and then joined the Yukon government as Deputy Minister for three years. In Whitehorse, he was Deputy Minister for highways and airports, procurement and public works, IM/IT, buildings and office infrastructure, and Yukon’s Capital Plan.

As Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment) at the Department of National Defence, he led the transition and consolidation of responsibility for all Defence infrastructure from the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force under his responsibility and accountability. This included 3,500 people and $26 billion of assets. He was also responsible for First Nation and environment services to and from DND. As CFO and Vice President, Natural Sciences Research and Engineering Council (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) he delivered seamless internal and external corporate services to the organizations and their clients. As ADM Corporate and Technology Services at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, he led Human Resources, IM/IT, Communications, Risk Management, Access to Information and Privacy.

He served in 12 departments and agencies including Treasury Board Secretariat, Industry Canada, Public Works and Natural Resources.

He is married, lives in Ottawa and is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

Audrey O’Brien is Clerk Emeritus of the House of Commons. She served from 2005 to 2015 as the first woman and the eleventh clerk of the House since Confederation. In 2015, she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions in the administration of the House of Commons. Her career as a parliamentary public servant spanned more than 30 years, serving seven speakers and members of 10 Parliaments. She worked with Commonwealth parliaments, notably as secretary to the Conference of Commonwealth Speakers.

During her tenure, Ms. O’Brien was the senior adviser on parliamentary procedure and practice to the speaker of the House of Commons, the House and its committees. She was the secretary to the Board of Internal Economy, the all-party body responsible for setting policy and budgets for the support of members in their parliamentary functions. She chaired the Clerk’s Management Group, a committee of the six senior managers; together they provided the range of expertise required to support the institution in procedure, law, security, facilities and service management, finance, human resources and technology.

Ms. O’Brien is co-editor of the second edition of House of Commons Procedure and Practice.

Ms. O’Brien is a member of the Order of Canada.

Fen Osler Hampson is a former Director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) (2000-2012). He is currently Chancellor’s Professor and Professor of International Affairs in the School.

Professor Hampson served as Director of the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) and is the President of the World Refugee & Migration Council.

Professor Hampson holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University where he also received his A.M. degree (both with distinction). He also holds an MSc. (Econ.) degree (with distinction) from the London School of Economics and a B.A. (Hon.) from the University of Toronto. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he is the author or co-author of 14 books and editor or co-editor of 30 other volumes. In addition, he has written more than 100 articles and book chapters on international affairs. His most recent books are Braver Canada: Shaping Our Destiny in a Precarious World (co-author), the Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security and Development (co-editor), Diplomacy and the Future of World Order (co-author), and Master of Persuasion: Brian Mulroney’s Global Legacy.

He is the recipient of several major awards, including a Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association, a research and writing award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and a Jennings Randolph Peace Fellowship from the United States Institute of Peace. He was recognized as one of the top 50 people influencing Canada’s foreign policy by Embassy Magazine in 2009 and one of the top 80 in 2012 in a list that includes Cabinet ministers, senior public officials, lobbyists and members of the media; and one of the top 8 “thinkers” category in the Hill Times list of the top 100 people influencing Canadian foreign policy in 2014.

He is a frequent commentator and contributor in the national and international media. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, Foreign Policy Magazine, Foreign Affairs, the National Post, iPolitics and elsewhere. He is a frequent commentator on the BBC, CBC, CTV, and Global news networks.

The Right Honourable David Johnston was Canada’s 28th governor general. During his mandate, he established the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), a registered charity that supports and amplifies the Office of the Governor General in its work to connect, honour and inspire Canadians.

Today, he is actively involved as Chair of the RHF Board of Directors, and serves as an Executive Advisor at Deloitte. Prior to his installation as governor general, Mr. Johnston was a professor of law for over 30 years, and served as President of the University of Waterloo from 1999 to 2010. He was president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and of the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec (CRÉPUQ).

He was the founding chair of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and chaired the federal government’s Information Highway Advisory Council. He has served on many provincial and federal task forces and committees, and has served on the boards of a number of public companies.