Dr. Ruby Dagher (she/her), Keynote Speaker

Dr. Ruby Dagher is an International Development Professional, Researcher, Consultant, and an Assistant Professor (Replacement). She is also a co-founder of ADEV (Analyzing Development – think tank and advocacy group) and the lead content contributor and events organizer. Ruby’s work experience in international development and her research over the last decade have given her significant expertise in decolonization, donor-recipient relationships, power dynamics, public policy, state capacity, evaluations, and economic development. Ruby has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University, a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from McGill University. She has several publications in reputable journals and books with notable publishers related to decolonized approaches to understanding development, evaluation practices, state legitimacy, policy spaces for developing countries and small island states, post-conflict development, and donor-recipient relationships. She is also the sole author of Building Locally Recognized State Legitimacy in Post-conflict Countries (2021) and co-author of The Role of Monitoring and Evaluation in the UN 2030 SDGs Agenda (2021). Her research interests are focused on decolonization, foreign aid and donor programming, evaluation, post-conflict development, fragile states, post-conflict legitimacy, decentralization, the role of civil society in non-Western cultures, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.  

Rochelle Ignacio (she/her), Workshop Facilitator

Rochelle Ignacio (she/her) is an equity strategist, facilitator, public speaker and community builder who guides organizations and individuals through meaningful equity and anti-racism journeys. Grounded in an intentional, relational, and care-based framework, she fosters environments where belonging, reconciliation, and transformative change can take root.

Since 2021, she has led Tamarack Institute’s inaugural Equity & Reconciliation team, spearheading the Seeds of Transformation, a loving framework for equity, belonging and reconciliation. Rochelle embeds equity into organizational culture by shaping policies, leading training programs, and coaching teams. She is experienced in developing equity strategies and coaching teams on developing disaggregated employee engagement dashboards.

Beyond consulting, Rochelle advances Black mobility and belonging through developing economic opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.