Gila Cotler is CEO of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), based in Montreal. Prior to joining the RWCHR, she practiced as a human rights attorney with a focus on discrimination and refugee law. She pioneered a program for young lawyers from underprivileged and marginalized communities to overcome systemic barriers in entering the work force. Gila was also formerly a law clerk for the International Law Department of the Israeli Ministry of Justice, as well as pro-bono counsel for asylum seekers seeking refugee status.
Board of Directors
Gila Cotler
Prof. John Packer
Professor John Packer is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa. Prof. Packer previously held academic positions at the University of Essex where he was the Director of the world-renowned Human Rights Centre and at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He is a Member of the Expert Advisory Panel for the Shared Societies Project of the Club de Madrid comprising almost 100 former Heads of State or Government of democracies. He has decades of experience working for inter-governmental organizations, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Organisation, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Daniel Eisen
Daniel Eisen is a Toronto-based consultant who works with legislatures, NGOs, and other bodies on legislative and policy initiatives related to counter-terrorism. He is co-founder of Secure Canada (formerly the Canadian Coalition Against Terror), a non-profit organization established by victims of terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. In recognition of his work for victims of terrorism, Daniel received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Speaker of the Canadian Senate in 2012, and the Senate Sesquicentennial Medal in 2017.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston is a Board Member of the China Strategic Risks Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa, a member of the Canada Committee of Human Rights Watch, and a Policy Advisor to the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project. Her research includes China’s human rights violations, surveillance technologies, and security risks of academic and industry collaborations with China. Margaret worked in the Canadian government for 37 years in science and technology policy, programs and funding. She holds an MA in International Relations focused on China, and an Honours BA in Political Economy.