Our Board of Directors

Amitava Sanyal has been engaged in community activities in Kolkata, India, since 1965. In 1966, he came in close touch with Nobel Laureate Mother (now Saint) Teresa. He volunteered in Mother Teresa’s activities till 1997. He completed a master’s degree in social work in 1975 from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. In 1976, he joined the Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad as a program officer. He trained rural youth leaders and helped them initiate sustainable rural community development programs. In 1979, he represented India in a Commonwealth training workshop held in Papua New Guinea. During 2005-2012, he was a founder director of Bandhan Financial Services Private Ltd (an equity holder of multi-billion-dollar Bandhan Bank) dealing with microcredit programs for the victims of structural disparities and gender inequalities. Nobel Laureates Dr. Abhijit Banerjee and Dr. Esther Duflo carried out a research study in 2006 on a Bandhan project—Targeting the Hardcore Poor—scaffolding poor people to be entrepreneurs. In Canada, he is actively involved with the Good Companions Senior Centre, Ottawa; The Great India Festival, Ottawa; the Rotary Club of Ottawa Metro; and many community-based organizations.    

Mamata Dutta is a founder Director and Vice President of CGDRC. She has completed her Master’s in International Relations and International Law from Kiev State University, Ukraine. Her administrative attributes brought her to senior administrative positions with the government of Bangladesh and renowned companies of Canada . Her multi-lingual fluency in Bengali, English, French, and Russian has manifested her inherent talents through multicultural expression in the city of Ottawa. She was the cultural coordinator of Tulip Festival for South Asian communities. Her leadership and community involvement was recognized when she was elected as President of Deshantari of Ottawa-Carleton; Director of The Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council and Coordinator for workshops of The Great India Festival, Ottawa. 

Mohsin Ali is a founder director and secretary of CGDRC. He attained master’s degrees in Education, and Globalization and International Development at the University of Ottawa. He attended the University of Dhaka where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in English literature. He received another master’s degree in English Language Teaching (ELT) at Eastern University. Mohsin taught English at a college for fifteen years. His research interests include international development, education for social transformation, critical pedagogy, refugee integration issues, identity politics, marginalized youths, and fragile state issues. Conversant with cultural and literary theories, Mohsin has published books and articles and presented research papers at conferences. 

Md Nizam Uddin is a founder director of CGDRC. Self-employed in Ottawa, Nizam owns a flourishing business in Sylhet, Bangladesh. He joins the Rotary Club of Beanibazar as a public relations director, and by dint of devotion and dedication to the club, he rises to the position of the general secretary in 2009-10. As a Rotarian, Nizam attends several Rotary International Conventions across the globe. He is presently a member of the Rotary Club of Ottawa Metro. He volunteers services for the Ottawa Food Bank and the Meals on Wheels Program in Ottawa. He is involved in various community organizations in Ottawa. 

Doreen Stevens is a Director of CGDRC. Formally trained in theatre arts, media relations, multimedia, stage production, cultural workshops, dance, and performance project, Doreen was an assistant festival coordinator during the Canadian Aboriginal Festival Toronto in 1997. She was also a promotional representative at the Canadian Aboriginal Tourism Commission in 1997. She worked for Canadian History Project in 1998. She was associated with Native Friendship Center of Montreal and Algonquin Council of Western Quebec. She worked as a native liaison correctional service officer at Native Para Judicial Services of Quebec, and as a student affairs technician at Cree School Board. She was an Assistant Director of Turtle Island Tourism during 2001-2006. She was an Administrative Assistant for the Aboriginal peoples’ Television Network during 1999-2000. She is bilingual in English and French. Active inhabit, respectful in spirit, courteous in behavior, and rich in the cultural realm, Doreen is often associated with film and television programs where she takes a lead role in singing, dancing, and narrating.