APF Canada’s Vice-President Research & Strategy Vina Nadjibulla has decided to leave the Foundation to pursue new opportunities and will be departing at the end of July.
The Board and I are deeply grateful to Vina for her leadership and many important contributions since joining the Foundation in October 2023. Her arrival came at a time of unprecedented expansion, including significant new funding for APF Canada under the Government of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. Vina played a central role in translating that opportunity into impact — designing and standing up a major suite of programs, partnerships, and networks that have substantially expanded APF Canada’s reach, relevance, and presence across the Indo-Pacific region and strengthened Canadians’ exposure to leading voices and perspectives from Asia.
Vina has also been instrumental in transforming the Foundation’s research, policy, and convening work and strengthening APF Canada’s position as a trusted source of timely analysis and policy insight on Asia and Canada’s engagement in the region. Vina's strategic judgment, media presence, and her work in building the research and programs team have left a lasting mark on the organization.
We wish her every success and look forward to her continuing invaluable contributions to Canada’s engagement with the world.
Director of Programs Erin Williams will act as interim Vice-President of Research from July onward. An executive search process for a permanent appointment for this role will be launched shortly.
While we will all miss Vina’s unique contributions, and I will personally miss her energy, drive, and creativity, the experienced program managers and teams who have been working with Vina to deliver APFC initiatives will carry this work forward. At this critical time for Canada, and having just adopted a new long-term strategic framework, the Foundation is well positioned to execute on all our programming plans for this year, as we pursue our mission to enable Canadians to understand, connect with, and succeed in Asia.
– Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO, APF Canada
