Careers for Globetrotters Networking Cafe - Bios

Jeff Minthorn

A co-founder of Verge Magazine, the Go Global Expo, and Careers for Globetrotters, Jeff is a well-known voice in the area of international working, studying and volunteering. Having worked, studied and travelled on six continents, Jeff is passionate about the important role international experience plays in developing responsible, caring global citizens. He has spoken to audiences across Canada and the United States on subjects ranging from how to plan an international volunteer experience, to developing effective media skills and literacy. Before co-founding Verge, he worked in the field of experiential education, including several years training experiential educators. Through Verge and the Go Global Expos, Jeff has been helping to connect international organizations and global citizens for nearly two decades.

Diane Tisdall

Diane has recently returned to Canada to work on human rights and governance programming in South Sudan for Global Affairs Canada. Previously, she worked in Mongolia for World Vision building partnerships with the private sector to support children's success. Diane is considerably thankful for Canada's internship programs that led her to work barefoot on community development in responsible tourism in the jungles of Argentina and support the Trade Commissioner Service at the Embassy of Canada in Chile. Diane has an M.A in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson school at Carleton.

We recently interviewed Diane as part of our Careers for Globetrotters project, where she talked to us about misconceptions about Mongolia, bundling up for winter, and how to take advantage of Canada’s youth internship programs.

Ola Mirzoeva

Ola Mirzoeva is an international relations professional, who has lived, worked and studied overseas, and has travelled to over 25 countries. Ola launched her career in Ukraine, through the Canadian International Development Agency Youth Internship Program, is a former Fellow of the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada, and has worked with various international organizations including the High Commission of Canada to Tanzania. Now Toronto-based, her current projects include a work with a global digital education platform for youth, directing a virtual reality documentary about urban life in Tanzania, and supporting arts initiatives in Jamaica.

Mitch Hermansen

Mitch Hermansen is a chartered accountant, and currently Development Director at the Movember Foundation.  After attending an information session for prospective employees at Doctors Without Borders, he applied to work as a Financial Manager with the international NGO. At the end of a four-month process, Mitch found himself on a plane to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  He had travelled to Kenya and Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, visited Australia and New Zealand, and had hopped through Europe, but Central Asia was an entirely new beast and a huge change from his life in Ottawa, Ontario.

We interviewed Mitch for our new online resource Careers for Globetrotters, and he told us about networking, building a life in Tashkent, and why he's the man to call if you need to move suitcases full of money.

Suneet Grewal

Suneet Grewal is an experienced producer, writer and researcher, with a serious travel bug. She's been to 29 countries, and recently returned from a year-long solo backpacking trip through South America, Vietnam and Japan. With a degree in journalism from Carleton University, Suneet cut her teeth working at Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet. There, she developed entire one-hour specials, researched and coordinated shoots in foreign countries, and produced interviews with the likes of Richard Branson and Jane Goodall. Suneet embraces the digital nomad lifestyle, relocating wherever there is a good story to be told, or ambitious project to bring to life. Sunny was responsible for conducting more than 60 interviews for the Careers for Globetrotters  project, and has acquired a wealth of knowledge about how to take your passion internationally.

Dan Naughton

Dan Naughton went from playing semi-professional sports in Australia, to completing a Master’s degree in the UK. Since then, Dan has worked as a Graduate Structural Engineer in England, Qatar and now Canada. Dan is looking forward to offering advice to future Globetrotters on networking, cold-calling, and creating international opportunities for yourself.

Luis Caceres

Luis is a trilingual (English, French, and Spanish) Project Management and Health Policy Consultant and an accomplished researcher, writer, and communicator of global health and tobacco control policy. Over the past 10 years, he has held various senior programming and policy roles with numerous leading health sector organizations including the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Luis has lived and worked overseas in Paraguay and Mexico and has worked as a consultant with the Canadian Public Health Association on governance and capacity building projects in Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nicaragua and the Balkans.

Luis was interviewed for our Careers for Globetrotters project.