L to R: Patria Rivera (photo by Polina Teif), and Susanna Barnes
Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) announced today the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees: socio-cultural anthropologist Susanna Barnes, and award-winning writer and poet Patria Rivera.
Barnes currently teaches anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon. She is familiar with and committed to the work and the mission of the Jesuits, having worked at the Jesuit Refugee Service offices in Rome, in East Timor, and in Phnom Penh. Barnes has also worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization in East Timor, and the International Centre for Transitional Justice in Indonesia. She is a member of the Canadian Anthropological Society and the Association of Asian Studies among others.
From 1994 to 2016, Rivera served as editor of Catholic Missions in Canada Magazine, a multi-awarded publication which features Canadian missionary work in remote and isolated communities in the North. She was news editor of The Catholic Register 1987 to 1994. A member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, Rivera’s first poetry collection, Puti/White, was shortlisted for the 2006 Canadian Trillium Book Award for Poetry. She has also published three other books of poems, and her work has appeared in many publications, including the Literary Review of Canada, the Oxford University Press, and other international publications. This November, a book she co-edited, Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing, will be launched by Cormorant Books in Toronto.
“We are delighted and honoured that Susanna and Patria have accepted the invitation to serve on the Board of Trustees of CJI,“ said CJI Executive Director Jenny Cafiso.“Each brings years of experience and most of all, a personal commitment to justice and peace, which will contribute greatly to the work and mission of CJI. We look forward to working with them.”
The Board of Trustees, who are chosen for their broad expertise and connection with CJI’s work, runs the corporation on behalf of the Board of Directors. They meet three or more times a year.
