Date of publication: Monday 1 December 2025
Monday 27 October 2025
The Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Magdalene Cooman as its new Executive Director, effective Monday, October 27, 2025.
Magdalene brings over two decades of dedicated Canadian and international experience in the fields of labour force development and immigrant integration, making her an exceptional leader for our next chapter of collaborative work and community mobilization.
Magdalene is a strategic and accomplished leader whose inherently warm personality and deep love for people underpin her approach. As an immigrant herself, she possesses firsthand understanding of the barriers to integration, making her renowned for her ability to build broad coalitions, foster harmonious relations, and create a strong shared purpose across diverse stakeholders. Her professional history demonstrates a deep and proven track record in bringing everyone to the table – a core mandate of OLIP – by successfully convening partners across organizational and governmental divides. This includes government, academia, the private sector, health and educational institutions, and crucial organizations in our field, all working to advance a shared vision for Ottawa.
Her tenure as Senior Director at World Skills Employment Centre, the Interim Associate Director for Immigration at the Conference Board of Canada as well as being a Senior Research Associate, and her strategic oversight while managing the Canadian Immigration Summit in 2023 showcased her capacity to mobilize senior stakeholders and translate bold visions into collaborative, city-wide action. This commitment is underpinned by her Master’s degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies from Carleton University and her significant local achievements, including service as Chair of the Board for Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (2014-2016) and receiving two major community honours: the Ottawa Distinguished Women Community Pillar Award (2021) and the Community Leadership Award from Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (2009).
A defining characteristic of Magdalene’s approach is her rigorous focus on equity and inclusion and evidence-based decision-making. She is specialized in developing and executing initiatives that bridge educational and workforce outcomes for diverse and marginalized populations, having developed many successful programs toward solving economic integration challenges. This includes the Empowering Racialized Newcomer Women’s Program, which she founded complemented by her international experience working on the Blueprints for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion with Cuso International in Grenada. Complemented by her strong skills in data and knowledge mobilization, Ms. Magdalene is uniquely positioned to lead OLIP in implementing equity-informed strategies that are results-driven and executed through strengthened partnerships to address systemic barriers in the Ottawa community and create a welcoming community.
The Secretariat looks forward to supporting Magdalene Cooman as she begins her tenure and works collaboratively with the Executive Committee and all OLIP partners to strengthen Ottawa’s capacity as a welcoming and inclusive city for newcomers.
For more information on the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) visit: OLIP – Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership