The Delegation
Adela Torchia – PWRDF Board member
Jasper, AB
Born and raised as a Roman Catholic in Winnipeg, the daughter of Italian immigrants, I am now an Anglican parish priest in Jasper, Alberta. As an RC, I worked on many Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace projects at the local level, and have also volunteered with UNICEF on various occasions. I am also a tutor/instructor with Athabasca University with about 80 students in six courses. And I am a mother of two and grandmother of one. This trip to Mexico, is my first visit to Latin America, will be an opportunity I have long sought, to experience first-hand the lives of people who offer an amazing example of overcoming challenges and maximizing potential. And I look forward to meeting the fine people in this PWRDF delegation. I live with my dog Sandy, and enjoy reading, knitting and hiking, in my spare time.
Basil Pogue – PWRDF Diocesan Representative
Regina, SK
Born and raised in Northern Ireland and Scotland, I have lived in Canada since 1967. I spent 25 years as a librarian and later held senior management positions in SaskTel’s corporate communications and customer services departments before retiring in 2004. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland but married an Anglican (and the rest is history!). I am active in my local parish and am also a member of several diocesan boards and committees. Very interested in trying to make a difference, I help out with a local breakfast program for people living on the margins. In 1987, I co-invented a successful fundraising initiative to help our Food Bank provide Christmas hampers for its clients. Nineteen years later, it’s still going! In my spare time I enjoy reading, walking, curling, camping,
gardening, woodworking, and Tai Chi.
Beth Baskin – PWRDF Staff
Toronto, ON
I am the Public Engagement Team Leader at The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund this is a position I have held since July 2005. Previous to this I spent fifteen years in parish ministry with youth, children, and outreach foci.
Originally from British Columbia I carry both The Anglican Church and justice in my bones from the early formation of local and national youth opportunities that included lots of Bruce Cockburn music and discussion of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.
I live in downtown Toronto with my partner Keith, 11 year old daughter Morgan and 6-year old son Liam. My life includes commuting by bicycle, reading and all the canoeing/camping we can fit in.
Cynthia Haines-Turner – PWRDF Diocesan representative
Pasadena, NL
I am from Pasadena, Newfoundland and I am 51 years of age. I have spent most of my life here with the exception of the time I spent in university and a few years following graduation. I am a cradle Anglican and have been active in my parish for most of my life with a variety of responsibilities at the local and national level. In the community, I teach a computer course for beginners at the local library. During the summer, I direct the Intermediate Girls’ Camp at our Anglican Church Camp, Killdevil Lodge.
Derrick Lovell – PWRDF Youth Council member
Sop’s Arm, NL
I live in Sop’s Arm, a small community of 250 people in Western Newfoundland and am a 16-year-old grade 11 student at Main River Academy, a K-12 school with 132 students. I pride myself on academic achievement and extra-curricular involvement and last year was awarded the Senior Overall Excellence Award for outstanding academic achievement and school and community involvement. Within my school, community, and church, I have taken on leadership roles to help make a difference at the local level.
Rob Shearer- PWRDF Staff
Toronto, ON
I am currently working as the Youth Initiative Staff for PWRDF and am the music director at an early-morning Anglican Eucharist at the University of Toronto. For the past 5 years, I have lived and worked in the Toronto Catholic Worker Community, where I engaged in open-door hospitality, communal prayer and non-violent direct action for social change. I have worked as a youth worker and campus minister in United Church contexts, a worship leader in Anglican, CRC, United and Baptist Churches and grew up Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and serve as an elder in an inner city Baptist Church comprised mostly of street-involved people in Parkdale. I also bake bread and love long bike trips!
Suzanne Rumsey – PWRDF Staff
Toronto ON
I am the Latin America and Caribbean Program Coordinator at the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF – Anglican Church of Canada). I joined the Primate’s Fund in 2001 after ten years as a human rights advocate with the former Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA – now part of KAIROS).
I was involved in Latin American solidarity activities during my university studies, which led to a year living and working in Nicaragua in 1989. Originally from British Columbia, I grew up in the Anglican Diocese of Kootenay where I participated in the BCAYM (Anglican Youth Ministry). Over the years I have been involved in a number of national committees of the Anglican Church. I also served on the World Council of Churches’ Commission on the Churches’ Participation in Development from 1984 to 1991.
I live in Kensington Market, Toronto with my partner, David, and two-year-old son, Robin. I am an avid runner, swimmer and cyclist that has watched every program on the children’s television channel, Treehouse.
Tania Willard
I am a Secwepemc ( Shuswap) indigenous woman from the Interior of BC, an organizer and artist. I have worked with Aboriginal youth in media and arts for over 7 years, organizing the International Indigenous Youth conference, Redwire Magazine a national native youth publication and numerous arts and culture events. I currently am a self employed artist working in art and design with clients from the aboriginal, health and social justice sectors. I am also a board member of the Access to Media Education Society and Redwire Magazine both organizations work with marginalized people to empower them to tell their stories. I bring years of organizing and a lifetime of understanding indigenous issues in Canada and in my travels internationally.
Victoria Garrett
I have been a member of the Anglican Church my entire life and have become increasingly involved with PWRDF in the last 5 years. I hold the position of Youth Representative on my diocesan PWRDF committee, as well as a Province of Canada delegate to the National Youth Council. In my spare time I enjoy music, laughter and being surrounded by friends.
