Kate Humpage was a social development and gender specialist with over 20 years of experience in public policy, specializing in social and human resource development, employment policy, and partnership and consultation. In her work, Ms. Humpage focussed in particular on social development, gender equality, human resource development, poverty alleviation, and strengthening institutional partnership machinery and capacity for NGOs, governments, and community groups.

She had extensive experience in participatory decision-making, policy development and implementation, and consensus and partnership development. Ms. Humpage also had sound research and analytical skills, project management, and cross-cultural and interdisciplinary operational experience. In addition, Ms. Humpage was a sessional lecturer for the School of Public Administration and Management at Carleton University, primarily in public policy and gender, employment policy, and organizational behaviour.

Ms. Humpage had extensive experience in the Canadian context and has worked with NGOs, the private sector, unions, and all levels of government, especially in the areas of consensus and partnership. In the international sector, she was Project Manager for the Canadian Advisory Agency for the Social Policy and Development Centre Project in Pakistan (1996-98) and was the gender and poverty alleviation specialist for the Canadian monitor for a public expenditure reform project in Ghana (1997-2000). She was also the principal researcher on the impacts of economic reforms on women in China (1993-95) and is an experienced trainer on gender, employment, and organizational development. Ms. Humpage was a gender equality monitor for a CIDA project linking Canadian and Chinese universities (1999-2000). Her last work was focused on the relationship between the voluntary sector and government in Canada.