Alia Hogben

Biography

The daughter of a diplomat, Alia Hogben was born in Rangoon, Burma in 1937 but spent her youth in India and in several other countries. Her family eventually moved to Canada, where she settled permanently. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, and a master's degree in social work at the University of Toronto. She went on to pursue a professional career in social work and worked in direct services as well as with the Ontario government supervising various social service agencies in South East Ontario. Hogben has also worked in services for children and women who have been abused, and services for adults with developmental disabilities. A year earlier, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, on the recommendation of the Queen's School of Religion.