Nellie Mayshak

Nellie Mayshak is the founder of Canaf Consulting Associates, an Ontario-based firm that works with government agencies and other organizations around the world to design and lead public administration reform initiatives.

Public administration reform is a core practice supported by the World Bank, the OECD, the United Nations Development Programme and all Western donor countries, in creating an efficient, responsive, transparent and accountable public administration, which is central to democratic governance.

Nellie Mayshak has spent over 30 years applying the principles of public administration reform and in working with governments in a variety of countries that are in transition and/or recovering from conflict. The complex, multi-faceted and multi-year programs she has led have taken her to assignments in Africa, Eastern and Central Europe and China, among other international regions.

In public sector management assignments in Canada and internationally, Nellie has honed her expertise in institutional strengthening of government structures and processes. She has also helped governments build their capacity for effective public policy management, reform management and coordination.

Among the projects that stand out in Nellie’s professional experience was the reconstruction of the Civil Service of Liberia, whose public service had collapsed after over a decade of civil wars. She worked closely with senior officials to create the first Civil Service Reform Strategy and also had the privilege of consulting with the first elected female President in Africa, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Nellie’s work also included leading a long-term institutional development project for Ghana, where she helped institute improvements in operational processes for Cabinet decision making and in senior officials’ policy management capacity.

In a project in Lithuania, she worked with the government to create and adopt a strategic planning and policy model that aligned with the 35-country Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). As a result of these reform successes, Lithuania was admitted more easily into the European Union.

Nellie Mayshak has also held a variety of senior management positions in the provincial government of Ontario that gave her a strong grounding for her expertise in public administration reform. During her years there, she held such positions as Senior Policy Advisor to the Cabinet Office, Policy Advisor to the Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services, and Director of Research for a Justice Commission of Inquiry, among others.

For a number of years, Nellie also served as the Deputy Director for International Programs at the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, IPAC.

Nellie is active in several professional organizations, including the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and the Canadian Association of International Development Consultants.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Ife in Nigeria and her master’s degree in sociology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She also completed all but the dissertation requirements for a doctorate in sociology from the University of Toronto.