How we are governed and operate

Members of the Initiative are organized into three pillars: corporate, government, and NGO. We also have a category of Observers, which are admitted if they meet certain criteria such as demonstrating relevant expertise in human rights or in the industries that are the focus of the Voluntary Principles. A Steering Committee, formed by participants of all three pillars, is responsible for the Initiative’s executive decisions. The Annual Plenary meeting, attended by all members, is the main decision-making body of the Voluntary Principles Initiative. The day-to-day administration of the Initiative is conducted by a Secretariat based in Ottawa, Canada. The Voluntary Principles Association, domiciled in the Netherlands, is the entity that addresses the financial and administrative needs of the initiative.

Our Members

Steering Committee Members

Government representatives

​Government of Switzerland
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Frédéric Chenais

​Government of the United Kingdom
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Paul Smith
Joan Fontaine

Government of the United States
State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Alyson Finley
Megan Anderson

Corporate representatives

BHP
Ben Mace
Daniel Jones

BP
Sabuhi Maharram

Newmont
Shari Gittleman

Shell
Anaïs DeMeulder

Civil society representatives

Green Advocates
John Brownell
Francis Colee

LITE-Africa
Joel Bisina
Austen Bisina

New Nigeria Foundation
Prof. Obafemi Ajibola
Olayide Adesanya
Fred Nwogu

Pact
Dr. James McQuilken
Roger-Mark De Souza

 

The Secretariat

The Secretariat is responsible for the general administration of the Initiative and facilitates the work of all pillars and members. Our team also supports the Steering Committee and all Working Groups, assist with the admission of new applicants, develops outreach activities, supports the implementation process, and is responsible for communications, including this website.

Secretariat services are provided by Compass Consulting International Ltd. Learn more about our team below.

Mora Johnson

Head of Secretariat

Speaks English, French

+1 613 519-5684

Email

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As Head of Secretariat, Mora is responsible for the management of the team, and provides strategic advice and support to the Steering Committee and the Working Groups. She performs a liaison and support function with all Members of the VPI (Government, Corporate and NGO pillars).

Mora is an international human rights lawyer and a leading expert in responsible business practices. She currently serves as a Board member to the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Corporation. As a former Government of Canada official, she served as Chair, OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, participated in the VPI Steering Committee, and led Canada’s efforts on Business and Human Rights.

Patricia Jacopucci

Deputy Head of Secretariat

Speaks English, Portuguese

+1 613 519-5685

Email

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Patricia Jacopucci is the Deputy Head of the Voluntary Principles Initiative Secretariat. She supports the Head of Secretariat on strategic planning, and is responsible for leading the development and execution of outreach activities and events, and for overseeing implementation of communications activities. She also supports VPI In-Country Working Groups and other projects relating to VPs implementation.

Patricia possesses a strong track record on strategic planning, as well as longstanding experience in multi-stakeholder engagement, including working with governments, private sector, non-profit organizations, and communities affected by oil and gas projects. She has deep experience leading internal and external communications, public relations, and event management in the oil and gas sector, as well as communicating effectively with all categories of stakeholders.

Tristy Mallette

Finance & Administration Manager

+1 613-519-8369

Email

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Tristy supports the Secretariat and the members of the Voluntary Principles Initiative with finance & administrative matters and events activities.

Tristy is a former Professional Engineer. She has worked in the fields of mining and oil & gas, specifically in research. Tristy holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering & Management – Chemical from McMaster University.

Bann Tabbara

Grants Manager

Speaks English, French and Arabic.

+ 1 613-519-8370

Email

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Bann Tabbara is the Grants Manager of the Voluntary Principles Initiative Secretariat. She is responsible for managing the grants process with the VPI In-Country Working Groups. She also works on strengthening on-the-ground practices, coordinates technical and policy support to working groups and supports information sharing between the groups.

Bann has been working for more than 10 years with international NGOs on projects funded by different international donors like World Bank, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Global Affairs Canada, Sida Secure, and UN agencies. She has extensive experience in project implementation, project management, monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Kiki Zheng

Senior Communications Officer

Speaks English, Mandarin

+1 613 519 5686

Email

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As the Senior Communications Officer, Kiki is responsible for managing the VPI’s internal and external communications functions, including content development, social media management, and event coordination. She also supports the Deputy Head of Secretariat in strategic communications planning and the overall execution to advance the Initiative’s outreach and communications goals.  

Before joining the Secretariat, Kiki spent the last decade working in the public sector and not-for-profit organizations in Singapore, specializing in corporate communications, media relations, and event management.  

Advisors

Kaveh Shahrooz

Senior Advisor

Speaks English, Persian

+1 416 432-4191

Email

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As Senior Advisor to the Secretariat, Kaveh periodically assists the Secretariat on a variety of issues including governance, membership admissions, remedies and grievance mechanisms.

Kaveh is a lawyer and a former Senior Policy Advisor to the Human Rights Policy division of Global Affairs Canada. In that role, he served as a member of the Government of Canada delegation to the VPs. He also has corporate experience in human rights and corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining sector. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Jonathan Drimmer

Strategic Advisor

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Jonathan Drimmer is a Strategic Advisor for the Secretariat. He is a lawyer and partner in a leading international law firm. He is a recognized international expert in anti-corruption compliance, as well as business and human rights. He most recently was the Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at a leading gold mining company where he helped oversee the company’s anti-corruption and human rights programs, global investigations, and major disputes. Before, he was Deputy Director in the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations. For the past 19 years, he has taught courses related to international humanitarian law at Georgetown University Law Center.

Jonathan is an advisor to the ISR Committee of the Mining Association of Canada. He serves on the boards of directors of the UN Global Compact’s Canada Network, Transparency International Canada, Fund for Peace, and the TRACE Foundation. He is on the steering committee of the UN Global Compact Business for Peace Initiative, on the expert advisory board for the US OECD National Contact Point, a subject matter expert at Canada’s Centre for Excellence on Anti-Corruption, and on the faculty of Competent Boards. Among his awards and recognitions are the Charles Fahy Award for teaching at Georgetown, and the first U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Award for Human Rights Law Enforcement.

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