Board of Directors

Board Members

Robin McLay

Vice-Chair

Robin is a leading expert in the field of higher education working with many of the world’s leading universities, think tanks, and scholarship granting foundations. Robin currently serves as the Chair of the Fulbright Canada Advisory Board and Senior Advisor to the President and CEO of Fulbright, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious scholarship and research granting organizations with more than 160 offices in 52 countries.

Prior to Robin’s current roles, he was leading the Province of British Columbia’s work on social Innovation as it’s Executive Director of Social Innovation. Prior to that role, he served as the Head of Research and Strategy at The MasterCard Foundation – a private foundation with assets of more than USD 25B that supports some of the world’s leading universities through its University Scholars Program. Before joining the MasterCard Foundation, Robin was the Executive Director of McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development. He also worked for more than a decade at Canada’s International Development Agency as its Director of Research and Director of Democratic Institutions and Conflict. Before his work at CIDA, he served as the Executive Director of Harvard University’s Native American Program. He has held senior-level positions with the Federal Government and also served as the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the APEC 97 Organizing Committee overseeing the relationship with key trading partners. Robin also headed up the Government of Canada’s School of Public Service’s Pacific and Yukon Regional Office and directed the Canada School’s International Partnership Program.

Robin is a Founding Member of the Harvard School of Public Health’s Leadership Council, Senior Associate with the MIT-Tufts University Lean Research Initiative, Research Affiliate with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, Senior Advisor to the Boston based Consensus Building Institute (a Cambridge, MA-based non-profit that is affiliated to the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program), Advisory Board member for McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development, Chair of the US-Canada Fulbright Foundation’s Advisory Board and Board Director of the Fulbright Alumni Association, Board Director for the Walrus Foundation and member of the National Advisory Council for the Walrus Magazine, and Board Director for the Washington DC-based SEEP Financial Inclusion network that includes more than 100 organization members from more than 150 countries. Robin has also worked as a mentor and advisor to President Obama inspired Mandela Scholars program and volunteers to support global think tanks through his affiliation as a Senior Advisor to the Partnership for Economic Policy, a think tank that supports researchers in the global south. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Africa Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), one of Africa’s leading policy research think tanks based in Accra Ghana, and Washington DC.

Robin pursued his Masters in public administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as a Fulbright Scholar and as a Government of Canada SSHRC Science Policy Scholar. He also holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics where he graduated with Distinction. Robin earned his undergraduate degree in IR from McGill University where he graduated at the top of his class with High Distinction and as a McGill University Scholar.

John P. Ryan

KStG, C.GES, C.GIS, ICD.D, C.Dir, A.S.C., A.C.C. H.R.C.C.C.

Secretary

E-Mail: jryan@gces.org

John has enjoyed a diversified career that includes International experience as Corporate Director, Senior Manager, Public Servant, and Entrepreneur.

John served as the Chair and the CEO of the Regulator of Canadian Immigration Consultants, served as an Instructor with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants e-Academy, and now serves as the CEO of the Institute of Global Specialists.

As a public servant, John has had the privilege of serving Canada as Senior Immigration Officer, Customs Inspector, and a Commissioned Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Imran Qayyum

KStG, C.GES, C.GIS, ICD.D, C.Dir., ASC, A.C.C., RCIC,

Treasurer

E-Mail: Iqayyum@gces.org

Imran has been a practicing immigration consultant for over 26 years and specializes in family, skilled worker, and business class immigration. He has been a strong advocate for the promotion and enhancement of the Immigration Consulting profession. He participates regularly in consultative meetings with Citizenship and Immigration Canada on matters involving immigration policy and operational procedures and has been invited on several occasions to appear as a witness in front of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) to give testimony on issues pertaining to Canada’s immigration system being examined by the Committee. In addition, Imran contributes regularly on immigration matters for Canadian media.

Throughout his career, Imran has been closely involved with the progression of Canada’s Immigration Consulting profession and firmly believes that in order to provide competent service, all immigration professionals must undergo a formal education program of immigration studies in order to gain the core competencies needed to understand Canada’s complex immigration laws and policies. Imran currently serves on a number of not-for-profit boards where he’s actively involved. He also holds all of Canada’s professional designations in Corporate Governance.