PPCII - Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration

PPCII Members

Over 60 local organisations and more than 140 community individuals are represented on the membership of the PPCII. Members participate at PPCII meetings, and may sit on any of the five committees of the PPCII.

Committee Chairs

The PPCII manages five main committees and the Newcomer Advisory Group. Committee chairs volunteer to oversee the logistics of the committee’s operations and represent the committee at Executive Committee meetings. They are elected every November and start their one-year term in January of the following year.

Committee Chairs for 2011:

Chair - Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration
Chair - Executive Committee

Vice-Chair - Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration
Vice-Chair - Executive Committee

John Hucks was born and raised in Peterborough. He attended Trent in its first year 1964 and served two years in 50th field Artillery Regiment (Militia) while in school here. John graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry 1969 with DDS degree and practiced here in Peterborough for 35 years. Along with his wife Cynthia, he has travelled extensively through Europe, South America, Japan and Korea. On three visits to Haiti, he practiced short term at a dental clinic. John and Cynthia have a passion for introducing international guests in our community to area families and forming relationships to help newcomers network and potentially settle here. They coordinate the Trent Valley International Coffee House and enjoy serving with others in our community on the PPCII.

Chair - Integration Strategy Committee

Dawn Berry Merriam has over 30 years experience in community planning. She was the City of Peterborough’s first Manager of Social Planning. After leaving City Hall, she worked for 13 years with the local District Health Council, where she was the Associate Executive Director. Dawn’s experience in the Peterborough community also includes working in the long-term care sector, as Manager of Support Services for St. Joseph’s At Fleming.

In 2006, Dawn returned to her roots of social planning and community development and assumed the position of Research & Policy Analyst with the Peterborough Social Planning Council.

Chair - Marketing Committee

Jean Giroux relocated to Peterborough over 20 years ago to raise a family. Her post-secondary studies focus on humanities and therapeutic recreation. Through her work, as a long term employee of Employment Planning & Counselling, she provides job search and career planning support to newcomers. She is very excited to share the vision of the PPCII and work with so many passionate community members.

Chair: Resource Development Committee 

Carmela Valles is an experienced settlement worker with over eight years of senior  management experience in integration programs to immigrant and  refugee families  in the Peterborough region. She is the leader of Carmela Valles Immigration  Consulting, the first private immigration consulting  business in Peterborough. She  holds an Honours degree in Sociology and International Development Studies  from Trent University. Carmela is a  member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council and a fellow of the Canadian Migration Institute. She is also a former member  of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Carmela serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Trent  Centre for Community Based Education and is an appointed member to the Arts Culture Heritage Advisory Committee of the City of Peterborough. She has been involved with the New Canadians Centre in Peterborough on various capacities since 1997, and served as the NCC Executive Director from 2000-2009.

Chair: Training & Capacity Building Committee - Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested in this leadership position.

PPCII Staff

Partnership Council Coordinator - Jason Stabler

Jason is responsible for coordinating the various committees of the PPCII and for facilitating the Newcomer Advisory Group.

Jason was born and grew up in Peterborough. He has a B.Sc. from the University of Guelph, a law degree from the University of Manitoba and is currently completing the research requirements for an M.A. from the University of Victoria. He has also worked as a Policy Analyst for the BC government and as a Research Assistant on two university research projects. Jason is excited to return and contribute to his home community after living and working elsewhere for several years.

 Outreach Coordinator - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Yvonne moved to Canada from Singapore in 1998 to attend university. She graduated with a BA(Honours) in Psychology and English from Trent University, and with an MA and PhD in Psychology from York University. Her graduate work was based on assessing immigrant needs in small urban communities and patterns of community engagment.

Yvonne has worked with various community agencies which include the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid Society, YWCA of Peterborough, Victoria and Haliburton and the Canadian Mental Health Association. She feels very fortunate to be able to work with such a dedicated team in a great community and looks forward to engaging with individuals and community partners to further the mission of the New Canadians Centre and Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration.

Project Implementation Specialist - Safo Musta

The role of the Project Implementation Specialist for the Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration is to facilitate the establishment of an English as a Second Language (ESL) steering committee. Safo is also responsible for delivering training in the Newcomer Integration Toolkit to the community and developing the skills of our Speakers Bureau members.

Safo is originally from Albania and has a law degree from the University of Tirana. She earned an LL.M. from Temple Law School in  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in US and a second LL.M. from Riga Graduate School of Law in Riga, Latvia. Before moving to Canada she served as Policy and Advocacy Specialist and Project Manager on several development projects in Kosovo. Safo shares a passion for traveling and writing. She is very excited to join the PPCII team.