Who We Are

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Rana Atie has been the Executive Director of CFOS since December 2022. She is the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees forced to flee from Haifa in 1948 – a story she learned for the first time at age 14. She has a background in public relations, applied communications and project management which she has often used to promote the Palestinian cause. In addition to organizing and activism, she enjoys traveling, painting and reading. She lives with her husband, twin teenage sons and daughter in Montreal, QC.

BOARD CHAIR
Rula Odeh is of Palestinian Christian heritage, her father being a 1948 Nakba survivor from Jerusalem. She works as an organizational consultant and has played a leadership role with several charitable educational groups in Canada. She has been interviewed by or been published in the Canadian media on Palestinian human rights issues. In her spare time, she enjoys singing and playing guitar. She lives in Montreal with her husband; she has two adult children.

SECRETARY
Marjorie Ross is a longtime member of the CFOS board and its current secretary. In the 1960s, she and her family served with the Presbyterian Church in the region of Nigeria which became the breakaway Biafra, an experience that shaped much of her life. From the 1970s on, she was a senior staff person with the Presbyterian Church in Canada and was active in various ecumenical justice coalitions. She made the first of numerous visits to Palestine and Israel in 1986. She lives in Toronto where she is blessed to have her three children and nine grandchildren nearby.

TREASURER
Alan Herbert and his wife Dorothy live on their acreage outside the village of Gracefield, Quebec, on unceded Alqonquin territory, where grow their own food by practicing permaculture. Alan & Dorothy are retired camp directors from the nearby Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Centre in Gracefield. They are active members of Trinity United Church in Kazabazua where Alan is treasurer. A visit to Palestine and Israel in 2016 – a 50-year dream – had a life-changing impact that prompted Alan to volunteer on the CFOS board of directors, where he serves as treasurer.

BOARD MEMBER
Kathy Bergen has been working for Palestinian human rights and a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis since 1982. After living abroad for 35 years – Jerusalem and Ramallah for 17 years, then Geneva, and then Philadelphia – she moved back to Canada to continue this vocation. Currently living in Kitchener, ON, she is part of three solidarity organizations and local organizing. Kathy enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, traveling, and keeping up with the news.

BOARD MEMBER
Rev. Steve Berube is a recently retired United Church of Canada minister who has been involved in peace, anti-poverty and other justice issues since his ordination in 1991. In 2013, he served as a human rights observer in Bethlehem, Palestine with the World Council of Churches: Ecumenical Accompaniment Program. He has remained involved in peace work at the national and international level since that experience. Steve and his wife Sue live in Riverview, NB along with Annie, their Wheaten Terrier.

BOARD MEMBER
Esther Epp-Tiessen lives in Winnipeg, MB on Treaty One land and is a member of Home Street Mennonite Church. She is a researcher, writer and longtime justice and peace advocate with Mennonite Central Committee. She first visited Palestine as a 19-year-old and the experience changed her life. In retirement, she enjoys camping, canoeing, identifying wildflowers, and volunteering with a variety of organizations including Canadian Friends of Sabeel.

BOARD MEMBER
Dorcas Gordon lives in Newcastle, ON and is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Canada (PCC). An ordained minister and theological educator, she currently serves on a variety of international and national boards. She and her husband, Noel, have travelled often to Palestine and have led several study tours to the region. She is a member of an ad hoc group of Canadians working to encourage Canada to appoint a Special Envoy who will investigate the violent treatment of Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli military and settlers.

BOARD MEMBER
Colin Grimmond resides in Windsor, Ontario, traditional territories of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi. He has been a member of the eastern Orthodox Church since 2000. He currently works as a Senior Project Coordinator within the community economic development sector, assisting Black small business owners and entrepreneurs. Over a 20-year span, he as volunteered with numerous peace and justice organizations.

BOARD MEMBER
Monica Lambton is a co-founder of Canadian Friends of Sabeel and has been involved with CFOS from its beginning in 1998. Monica was an international volunteer with Sabeel in the early 1990's and has been committed to working for solidarity for justice and peace in the Holy Land ever since. Monica has been an educational consultant on issues of human rights, international development and ecological justice for over 20 years. She is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Married with two young adult children, Monica live in Vancouver, BC.

BOARD MEMBER
Jeff Nowers is an Anglican parish priest, Co-coordinator of Interfaith Ministry for the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, and a Companion of the Society of St. Francis. He also teaches theology in the Faculty of Divinity of Trinity College, University of Toronto. A longtime advocate of decoloniality, his commitment to Palestinian liberation was strengthened several years ago through his daughter’s close friendships with Palestinian classmates. Jeff is married to Alison Hari Singh (also an Anglican priest) who facilitates anti-racism education. They live in Toronto.

BOARD MEMBER
Liz T lives in the greater Vancouver on the unceded ancestral land of the Coast Salish People and is a member of Willoughby Church. She is a retired school teacher and children's pastor and a longtime advocate for justice and peace. Liz first visited Palestine in 2017 and the experience profoundly impacted her. She volunteers in a number of capacities in her community including coordinating a community garden, welcoming newcomers and serving on the CFOS Board.

BOARD MEMBER
Elham Zaher was born into a Catholic family in Nazareth, Israel and immigrated to Canada in 1978 at the age of 20. She pursued studies in Business Administration and was employed with the Ontario Government, in numerous diverse positions, from 1980 until 2013 when she retired. Currently, she is engaged in a variety of community outreach endeavors. While assimilating into Canadian culture, Elham has maintained and celebrated her Palestinian heritage and customs. Elham has two married sons and four granddaughters and lives in Mississauga, ON.