Business Administration alumnus Bryan Marshman paying it forward by helping non-profit organizations

Dec. 1, 2016

Most non-profit charitable organizations around the world are perpetually short of funds, but what they often need most is help with administering and establishing best business practices and financial systems.

This is where retired Georgian Business Administration alumnus Bryan Marshman steps in.

The former Government of Canada international tax specialist offers his counsel and strategic planning know-how through the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), a volunteer-based enterprise providing social and economic development expertise to Canadian Indigenous peoples and communities in need around the world.

“I’ve spent my life in public service and I plan to spend my retirement in public service by helping people in need,” says Bryan.

Bryan most recently worked with a non-profit organization in Honduras that provides assistance to the poorest of the poor. He says the organization is feeding the needy and giving them a brighter future. Bryan supported them by developing a new set of policies and procedures, drafting a strategic plan, and providing them with input into accounting issues and concerns.

Bryan’s other post-career highlights include a visit to a Ukrainian organization to aid in the preparation of professional development courses for staff and providing support to the Guyana Revenue Authority. He’s also set up training courses, delivered lectures on tax issues, and assisted a
charitable organization in implementing a brokerage.

Bryan not only stays busy with CESO and a number of other non-profit organizations, he also speaks to local councils on tax issues, which fits his “give of yourself until it hurts, then give a little more” values.

Helping other people is important to Bryan and it’s something he says he learned the value of early on in his college education. His instructors taught him that his vocation should help him take his place in society, and not just on the corporate hierarchy.

Even though Bryan has spent years globe-trotting around the world improving impoverished communities and bettering their business policies and processes, he has no plans to slow down and wants to continue contributing what he learned in his career and at Georgian to helping others, and helping Canadians see how fortunate they are to live here.

Bryan was nominated for a prestigious 2016 Colleges Ontario Premier’s Awards in the Community Services category.