Board of Directors
Front row (from left to right): Dan Lamoureux; Linda Leith; Brian A. Garneau and Sylvia Martin-Laforge. Back row: Nigel Spencer; Jan Anderson Toupin; Irene Tschernomor; Cheryl Gosselin; Colleen Bronson; Marion Standish; Clara Ann Martin Labadie and Bradley Dottin. Missing on the picture are Noel Burke, Nicola Johnston and Mark McLaughlin.
Interim President Noel Burke, the founding Dean of the School of Extended Learning at Concordia University, combines a rich background in management, leadership positions, and teaching. He served at the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport as Assistant Deputy Minister for the English-Speaking Community, prior to which he was Assistant Director General and Educational Services Director for the New Frontiers School Board. His accomplishments include leadership in the implementation of Quebec’s current school reform and significant developments in Vocational Education. He is also responsible for the establishment of the Leading English Education Research Network (LEARN) as well as the Community Learning Centres (CLC) network. He has most recently established the Quebec English-speaking Research Network (QUESCREN) at Concordia. Burke, who joined the QCGN Board of Directors in October 2010, is also the Chair of QCGN’s Priority Setting Steering Committee.
Vice-President Brian A. Garneau, who sits on the Board of Voice of English-speaking Quebec, is a fluently bilingual lawyer who works in civil and commercial law as legal counsel and as a litigator. Garneau, whose mother was from Newfoundland and whose father was a Franco-Québécois, considers himself to be a living example of the cultural and linguistic duality of Quebec and Canada. Brian wants to work for a strong English community within a vibrant Québécois community and hopes his legal knowledge and experience will be put to good use on the Board.
Secretary Dan Lamoureux, a resident of the Montérégie Region, brings a wealth of experience from the education domain to the table. As a member of the Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative (GMCDI) Lamoureux learned to understand and appreciate the unique linguistic make-up of Montreal. Lamoureux wants to articulate, defend and advance the needs and concerns of English-speaking citizens, regardless of where they may reside. He also wants to engage in dialogue with the French-speaking majority and all government agencies.
Treasurer Mark McLaughlin is a Chartered Accountant with 25 years of experience in accounting, finance, human resources, IT, legal and facilities management, in both the private and public sectors. He was the Vice-Principal, Finance and Administration at Bishop’s University from 2001 to 2007 and is currently Chief Financial Officer at Greenroad Media. McLaughlin, who has lived in Quebec City, the Eastern Townships and Montreal, was elected as councilor for the Lennoxville Borough in Sherbrooke in 2009. He has been the Treasurer of the QCGN as well as a member of the Audit and Finance Committee for the past three years.
Jan Anderson-Toupin is a community organizer from Jeffery Hale Community Services in Quebec City and a board member of Voice of English-speaking Quebec. As a community organizer she is aware of the needs and challenge of English-speakers in Quebec and has a strong interest in promoting community development, fostering strong partnership and sharing information and resources. Anderson-Toupin is also familiar with the English-speaking community of Quebec having lived in Montreal, the Outaouais and Quebec City.
Colleen Bronson is the Director of Advancement and Communications for The Sacred Heart School of Montreal which hosted the ceremony for the QCGN’s Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award last fall. A sixth-generation anglo-Quebecer of Irish ancestry, she places a high value on preserving and nurturing English-speaking communities and their supporting organizations in Quebec. Bronson has worked in Human Resources at Concordia University and as a career counselor at both Concordia and McGill.
Bradley Dottin is president of a Montreal-based pharmaceutical company. He has served as president of the Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC) and Repercussion Theatre – two member organizations of the QCGN – and has been involved in economic, cultural, minority groups and social community organization from more than 20 years. Dottin contributes his expertise in business management and human resources to the QCGN as a member of the Audit and Finance and Human Resources committees.
Cheryl Gosselin is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and coordinator of the Gender, Diversity and Equity program at Bishop’s University. As an academic, a significant part of her research and teaching interests have focused on the English-speaking communities of Quebec. Gosselin has been involved in her English-speaking community for many years in a number of ways and has wide-ranging experience on the boards of many organizations including Townshippers’ Association. She currently sits on the advisory council of QCGN’s Institutional Vitality Project.
Nicola Johnston, who sits on the Conseil de Jeunesse de Montréal, is halfway through a first two-year mandate on the Board. Johnston is the past Co-Chair and Chair of QCGN’s Youth Standing Committee and is currently the Youth representative on the Board of Directors. A graduate of the Masters of Public Policy and Administration program at Carleton University, she also has a B.A. Honours in Anthropology from St-Francis Xavier University. She is currently the Communication Officer and Web Editor for the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Clara Ann Martin Labadie hails from the tiny community of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon on the Lower North Shore where she developed a passion for politics involved in the health, business and education and other sectors implicated in improving services for the well-being and development of the English population. Martin Labadie sits on the board of Coasters and is a member of the Blanc-Sablon Chamber of Commerce. She has been a member the board of the CSSS Côte-Nord and was the president of her municipality’s leisure committee for five years.
Marion Standish is a retired nurse with many years of experience as a professional and as a volunteer especially on behalf of seniors. She is the past Vice-President and Chair of the Governance Committee of QCGN and a board member of Townshippers’ Association. Standish, who is also on the board of the Agence de santé et services sociaux de Montérégie, was the director of nursing service at Granby Hospital and has been worked with a number of other health care organizations including the CSSS La Pommeraie. She is a recipient of the 2008 Lieutenant Governor’s Seniors Medal and the 2005 Outstanding Townshipper Award.
Irene Tschernomor is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex where she works with community members to ensure the continuing success of the pioneer institution comprised of public and private health care services. She is an engaged community leader in Montreal, particularly in the health and social services field. Tschernomor, who has graduate degrees in health care and business from Concordia and the University of Montreal, has taught at the John Molson School of Business, and is an MBA mentor through the school’s Women in Business Club.
Ex-Officio Directors of the Board
Past President Linda Leith is an author and publisher who has been active in the English Montreal literary milieu for 30 years. In 1997 she created Blue Metropolis Foundation, the mission of which is to bring people of different cultures together to share the pleasures of reading and writing. It was her work with Blue Metropolis that earned her the first Award of Excellence – Linguistic Duality, presented by the Commissioner of Official Languages Graham Fraser in 2009. Leith was a member of the Arts, Culture and Heritage committee of the GMCDI and was elected to the Board in September 2009.
Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge, who joined the QCGN in January 2007, has vast public service experience at Queen’s Park and on Parliament Hill. She has been active with organizations dealing with Official Language Minority Communities, women’s issues, and First Nations and has been involved in policy and program development in a variety of files including employment equity and linguistic duality. At the Ontario Ministry of Education, Martin-Laforge managed a working group and developed key programs for French language education at primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. While working at the Privy Council Office (Canadian Heritage Department), she was responsible for policy, program management frameworks and led evaluation and risk management strategies. Since February 2008, she has sat on the Board of the Conseil supérieur de la langue française.
Vice-President Brian A. Garneau, who sits on the Board of Voice of English-speaking Quebec, is a fluently bilingual lawyer who works in civil and commercial law as legal counsel and as a litigator. Garneau, whose mother was from Newfoundland and whose father was a Franco-Québécois, considers himself to be a living example of the cultural and linguistic duality of Quebec and Canada. Brian wants to work for a strong English community within a vibrant Québécois community and hopes his legal knowledge and experience will be put to good use on the Board.
Secretary Dan Lamoureux, a resident of the Montérégie Region, brings a wealth of experience from the education domain to the table. As a member of the Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative (GMCDI) Lamoureux learned to understand and appreciate the unique linguistic make-up of Montreal. Lamoureux wants to articulate, defend and advance the needs and concerns of English-speaking citizens, regardless of where they may reside. He also wants to engage in dialogue with the French-speaking majority and all government agencies.
Treasurer Mark McLaughlin is a Chartered Accountant with 25 years of experience in accounting, finance, human resources, IT, legal and facilities management, in both the private and public sectors. He was the Vice-Principal, Finance and Administration at Bishop’s University from 2001 to 2007 and is currently Chief Financial Officer at Greenroad Media. McLaughlin, who has lived in Quebec City, the Eastern Townships and Montreal, was elected as councilor for the Lennoxville Borough in Sherbrooke in 2009. He has been the Treasurer of the QCGN as well as a member of the Audit and Finance Committee for the past three years.
Jan Anderson-Toupin is a community organizer from Jeffery Hale Community Services in Quebec City and a board member of Voice of English-speaking Quebec. As a community organizer she is aware of the needs and challenge of English-speakers in Quebec and has a strong interest in promoting community development, fostering strong partnership and sharing information and resources. Anderson-Toupin is also familiar with the English-speaking community of Quebec having lived in Montreal, the Outaouais and Quebec City.
Colleen Bronson is the Director of Advancement and Communications for The Sacred Heart School of Montreal which hosted the ceremony for the QCGN’s Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award last fall. A sixth-generation anglo-Quebecer of Irish ancestry, she places a high value on preserving and nurturing English-speaking communities and their supporting organizations in Quebec. Bronson has worked in Human Resources at Concordia University and as a career counselor at both Concordia and McGill.
Bradley Dottin is president of a Montreal-based pharmaceutical company. He has served as president of the Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC) and Repercussion Theatre – two member organizations of the QCGN – and has been involved in economic, cultural, minority groups and social community organization from more than 20 years. Dottin contributes his expertise in business management and human resources to the QCGN as a member of the Audit and Finance and Human Resources committees.
Cheryl Gosselin is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and coordinator of the Gender, Diversity and Equity program at Bishop’s University. As an academic, a significant part of her research and teaching interests have focused on the English-speaking communities of Quebec. Gosselin has been involved in her English-speaking community for many years in a number of ways and has wide-ranging experience on the boards of many organizations including Townshippers’ Association. She currently sits on the advisory council of QCGN’s Institutional Vitality Project.
Nicola Johnston, who sits on the Conseil de Jeunesse de Montréal, is halfway through a first two-year mandate on the Board. Johnston is the past Co-Chair and Chair of QCGN’s Youth Standing Committee and is currently the Youth representative on the Board of Directors. A graduate of the Masters of Public Policy and Administration program at Carleton University, she also has a B.A. Honours in Anthropology from St-Francis Xavier University. She is currently the Communication Officer and Web Editor for the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Clara Ann Martin Labadie hails from the tiny community of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon on the Lower North Shore where she developed a passion for politics involved in the health, business and education and other sectors implicated in improving services for the well-being and development of the English population. Martin Labadie sits on the board of Coasters and is a member of the Blanc-Sablon Chamber of Commerce. She has been a member the board of the CSSS Côte-Nord and was the president of her municipality’s leisure committee for five years.
Marion Standish is a retired nurse with many years of experience as a professional and as a volunteer especially on behalf of seniors. She is the past Vice-President and Chair of the Governance Committee of QCGN and a board member of Townshippers’ Association. Standish, who is also on the board of the Agence de santé et services sociaux de Montérégie, was the director of nursing service at Granby Hospital and has been worked with a number of other health care organizations including the CSSS La Pommeraie. She is a recipient of the 2008 Lieutenant Governor’s Seniors Medal and the 2005 Outstanding Townshipper Award.
Irene Tschernomor is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex where she works with community members to ensure the continuing success of the pioneer institution comprised of public and private health care services. She is an engaged community leader in Montreal, particularly in the health and social services field. Tschernomor, who has graduate degrees in health care and business from Concordia and the University of Montreal, has taught at the John Molson School of Business, and is an MBA mentor through the school’s Women in Business Club.
Ex-Officio Directors of the Board
Past President Linda Leith is an author and publisher who has been active in the English Montreal literary milieu for 30 years. In 1997 she created Blue Metropolis Foundation, the mission of which is to bring people of different cultures together to share the pleasures of reading and writing. It was her work with Blue Metropolis that earned her the first Award of Excellence – Linguistic Duality, presented by the Commissioner of Official Languages Graham Fraser in 2009. Leith was a member of the Arts, Culture and Heritage committee of the GMCDI and was elected to the Board in September 2009.
Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge, who joined the QCGN in January 2007, has vast public service experience at Queen’s Park and on Parliament Hill. She has been active with organizations dealing with Official Language Minority Communities, women’s issues, and First Nations and has been involved in policy and program development in a variety of files including employment equity and linguistic duality. At the Ontario Ministry of Education, Martin-Laforge managed a working group and developed key programs for French language education at primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. While working at the Privy Council Office (Canadian Heritage Department), she was responsible for policy, program management frameworks and led evaluation and risk management strategies. Since February 2008, she has sat on the Board of the Conseil supérieur de la langue française.
