Eileen Alma

Executive Director

Eileen Alma is the Executive Director at Coady Institute, St. Francis Xavier University. She has been with Coady since 2013 and previously held the position of Director, International Centre for Women’s Leadership at Coady Institute, overseeing programming and partnerships on women’s leadership and gender equality nationally and internationally including initiatives for Indigenous women leaders and communities, and the development of the Circle of Abundance program initiative.

Eileen has 30 years of interdisciplinary experience in international program development, management, research and practice. Prior to joining Coady Institute, Eileen worked with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for twenty years, most recently as a Program Officer in the area of Social and Economic Policy.

Eileen is currently the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Cooperation Canada, a national organization representing more than 90 civil society organizations across Canada working in the international development and humanitarian sector. Locally in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, she is currently Board Chair for the Friends of the Antigonish Library (FoAL).

Eileen holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Management (ethno-political) from Royal Roads University, a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from Royal Roads University.

Selected Publications:

Buss, D., Katz-Lavigne, S., Otieno, A., & Alma, E. (2020). “Remember the women of Osiri”: Women and gender in artisanal and small-scale mining in Migori County, Kenya. Canadian Journal of African Studies, 54(1), 177-195. doi: 10.1080/00083968.2019.1677483 (StFX access)

Alma, E. (2019). Commentary: Women’s empowerment and addressing sexual and gender-based violence in the DRC. Allons-y, 3, 45-47. (3.70 Mb pdf)

Alma, E., Johnson, P., & Gibson, S. (2017). Leading for change: Canadian Women’s Foundation Leadership Institute pilot program: highlights report. Canadian Women’s Foundation. (5.62 Mb pdf)

Mathie, A., Alma, E., Lee, N., Peters, B., & von Lieres, B. (2017). Pathways towards political and economic agency: A synthesis of findings from five scoping studies (Innovation series no. 6). Coady International Institute. (606K pdf)

Alma, E., Miller, V., de Montis, M., & Basnet, J. (2016). Women’s Political and Economic Citizenship in Lombok, Indonesia. Coady International Institute.

Najjar, D., Abubakr, F., & Alma, E. (2016). Gender roles and relations in the wheat production of Nigeria: Strengthening the participation of women. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Najjar, D., Alma, E., & Abdalla, I. (2016). Gender roles in the wheat production of Sudan: Strengthening the participation of women. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Diochon, M., Mathie, A., Alma, E., & Isaac, S. (2014). Entrepreneurship among First Nations Women in the Atlantic Region. Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Secretariat, AAEDIRP. Final report (1.69 Mb pdf) & Fact sheet (689K pdf).

Budlender, D. & E. Alma (2011). Women and land: Securing rights for better lives. IDRC.