Biographies of Commissioners

Mary M. Gusella

Mary Gusella was appointed Chief Commissioner on August 7, 2002. A member of the Bar of Ontario, she obtained her LBB from the University of Ottawa. She also holds a certificate from the Canadian Securities Institute and has completed courses in negotiation and mediation in the Professional Instruction for Lawyers Program at Harvard Law School. In her three decades in the Public Service of Canada, Ms. Gusella served in many senior level positions including that of Deputy Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship, President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Chairman and President of Enterprise Cape Breton, Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, Head of The Leadership Network, and the Canadian Chair of the International Joint Commission. Ms. Gusella’s major areas of expertise and professional interest are organizational change, people management and innovation. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the National Film Board of Canada, on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and as President of that institute in 1999–2000.

Anne Adams

Anne Adams of Montréal joined the Commission in 1999 and completed her mandate in February 2005. She holds a BA from the University of Montréal and a Masters in industrial relations from Queen’s University. She is a bilingual and bicultural Canadian who, during her career in the public service of Canada, worked to advance the cause of women’s rights and human rights at home and abroad. She developed the women’s employment policy for Canada and managed the implementation of the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program in the Quebec Region. As Executive Director of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, she went on to develop a very successful international human rights training program. In 1992, Ms. Adams received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation in recognition of these efforts. She has served on a number of boards of trade and boards of directors of community organizations, including la Fédération des femmes du Québec. Since 1998, she has served as president of FRAPPE (Femmes regroupées pour l’accessibilité au pouvoir politique et économique). In 1996, she launched AEA Strategies and Development Inc., specializing in employment equity and international development.

Robinson Koilpillai

Robinson Koilpillai, C.M., was a member of the Commission from 1995 until February 2004. An educator, school principal, and community volunteer, Mr. Koilpillai has served as Chairman of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council, President of the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, Executive Member of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, and President of the Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation. In 1980, Mr. Koilpillai received the federal Minister of Multiculturalism’s Man of the Year Award and, in 1988, the Canada Council’s National Award for Outstanding Educator. In 1998, Mr. Koilpillai was inducted into Edmonton’s Hall of Fame and won the Alberta Achievement Award and the Lewis Perinbam Award in International Development. A 1992 Governor General’s Commemorative Medal winner, he joined the Order of Canada in 1996.