Board of Directors

Ms. Tremblay has worked in the field of communications and brand strategies for over 25 years. She began her career with a Fortune Global 500 company in the Ottawa area where, for several years, she served major brands such as Bell Canada, GlaxoSmithKline, Ernst & Young, McCain, CN, Hudson’s Bay, Disney, to name a few.

Passionate and enterprising, in 2007 she founded her company JT&Co, which offers services in brand strategy, business development and communication. A dream come true by moving to Northern Ontario, her home region, to help business owners, municipalities, school boards, hospitals and non-profit organizations define and create their business vision and ensure their success.

Having a background in creative thinking and problem solving, her love for humanity motivates her to give her time for the betterment of local, regional, provincial, and national Francophone communities.

As a member of the Chamber of Commerce, she worked to increase the number of memberships of this organization for several years and doubled the participation of people in business in the region.

As a result of the pandemic, a community need became apparent and she co-founded the Warm Belly Kitchen, a soup kitchen, in partnership with the Kapuskasing Food Bank, to ensure that the citizens of Kapuskasing and area have access to hot meals on a regular basis.

Motivated by the need to ensure the vitality of the Francophone community, she connects and mentors young leaders in their entrepreneurial journey. In partnership with Collège Boréal, her company developed a masterclass in marketing to support owner-driven marketing. This training offers solutions allowing SMEs to be independent and well informed.

Dr. Surette has been the President and Vice-Chancellor of Université Sainte-Anne since July 1, 2011. A native of West Pubnico, Nova Scotia, Mr. Surette was elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature as the Member of Parliament for Argyle in 1993. He held numerous political offices until 1998. From 1998 to 2003, he was President and CEO of Collège de l’Acadie, the only French-language community college in Nova Scotia. Beginning in April 2000, Mr. Surette played a key role in the creation and development of today’s Université Sainte-Anne, a French-language post-secondary institution and the result of the merger of the former Université Sainte-Anne and Collège de l’Acadie. Mr. Surette is currently co-chair of the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC), chair of the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, chair of the Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse, and president of the Association of Atlantic Universities.

Christian Lacroix is a full professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). He has been studying the development of plant morphologies and anatomies for over 30 years. He is a research associate at the Plant Biology Research Institute (PBRI) in Montreal and an assistant professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax. During his career at UPEI, he completed a two-year term as Advisor to the President on Academic Matters (2016-2018), a four-year term as Vice-Rector Academic (2012-2016), and a six-year term as Dean (2006-2012). Christian has been a professor at UPEI since 1990. He is a graduate of McGill University (BSc 1984; MSc 1986) and Guelph University (PhD 1990) in plant biology. He is editor-in-chief of the scientific journal “Botanique”, a publication of Canadian Science Publishing.

Over the course of his career, Christian has served on and chaired several boards of directors at the provincial (Island Nature Trust – IST; Fonds de recherche du Québec, Nature et technologies – FRQNT), regional (Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission – MPHEC; Science Atlantic), and national (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada – NSERC; Canadian Botanical Association) levels.

After more than 25 years in the federal government in leadership positions, Ms. Sauvage is now a real estate agent with Sutton West Coast Realty. Celine has been involved in the Francophone community since she arrived in British Columbia over 20 years ago. She is the President of the Board of Directors of the SDECB and also sits on the Board of Directors of the Société Maison for the redevelopment of the building that houses several francophone organizations in British Columbia. She is a past president of the Réseau-Femmes and is very proud to still support this group.

Denis is a bilingual senior executive with over 40 years of experience in the cooperative movement. After 30 years with the Caisses populaires de l’Ontario, he became President and CEO of Your Credit Union in Ottawa in 2008, a position he held until his retirement in December 2013. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Economics Corporation.

He brings with him a strong background in leadership, strategic planning, business development, governance, member services and other assets that will contribute to the growth and development of Francophone minority communities.

His social and volunteer commitment, by serving on several committees and boards of directors at the regional, provincial, national and international levels, has greatly contributed to the well-being and enrichment of individuals and communities with which we all share a common sense of belonging.

Originally from the North Shore, in the province of Quebec, Stéphan moved to the Yukon in 2004 after spending 7 years in British Columbia. Since his arrival in the North, he has been involved in the Francophonie and more particularly with the Association franco-yukonnaise (AFY). For the past 8 years, he has been a member of the organization’s board of directors.

Stephan owns two businesses based in Whitehorse. He is also a member of Médecins Sans Frontières, an organization for which he worked as a volunteer logistician in 1993.

Frédéric Boulanger is a visionary leader who is recognized for his ability to develop strategies to address systemic and socio-economic issues.

His vision is the common denominator of his approach, which is mainly based on his deep desire to develop the human potential of individuals who benefit from the programs and services under his responsibility.

His passion for the immigration sector has allowed him to implement new efficient and innovative solutions to overcome the educational and employment barriers that hinder the success of the socio-economic integration of newcomers.