Barbara Shenstone

Barbara joined IDRC in 2018 as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, based in Amman, Jordan. She brings more than 25 years of international development experience to her role, often in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. She started her career as a journalist before working for NGOs and in various senior leadership positions with the United Nations. As Director and Head of Office for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, she supported humanitarian aid efforts reaching Syria from Turkey and before that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She also managed operations for the UN Relief and Works Agency in the West Bank and Gaza. Barbara holds an MA in International Relations from the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.