Speakers
Catherine Légaré
Co-founder and PresidentElo MentoratBiography
Présidente et co-fondatrice d’Elo Mentorat, une entreprise spécialisée dans les solutions de mentorat en entreprise, Catherine Légaré a également fondé Academos il y a 25 ans, une solution de mentorat numérique pour l’orientation de carrière. Elle détient un doctorat en psychologie et a enseigné la conception de programmes de mentorat à l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Reconnue comme une experte de premier plan en mentorat, Catherine a mené des projets transformateurs à travers le Canada et en Europe.
Sarahi Nava Marquina
Policy ResearcherProvincial Employment Roundtable (PERT)Biography
Sarahí is an economist from Mérida, Venezuela, who recently moved to Canada to complete a master’s degree from McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. She first immigrated to Mexico in 2016 to work as an International Economy Analyst in a Mexican brokerage house, where she also worked in Corporate Finance. Later on, she shifted her career focus and became an ESG Project Manager, developing initiatives on education and gender equality. With more than 7 years of work experience, Sarahí brings to PERT her positive energy and advanced skills in leadership, data analysis and critical thinking to improve the collective understanding of the challenges that English-speaking Quebecers face in accessing and thriving in the labour market.
Alistair Price
President and CEOInicioBiography
Alistair Price is the President and C.E.O. of Centre Inicio, a community-based employability and skills training centre in Montréal serving participants from across the island. He leads a dynamic team dedicated to teaching real-life skills and practical tools that empower individuals of diverse backgrounds and ages to build confidence and thrive in the workforce—in both English and French.
A passionate advocate for lifelong learning and career development, Alistair draws on his own professional journey to inspire others to embrace change with curiosity, courage, and purpose. With a focus on autonomy, mastery, and meaning at work, he helps job seekers and career changers develop the confidence and resilience needed to achieve sustainable success.
Ayanna Alleyne
Executive ChairCôte-des-Neiges Black Community Association (CDNBCA)Biography
Ayanna Alleyne, is a dedicated bilingual professional specializing in management, operations and finance, studying at John Molson School of Business and acquiring Project Management Certification at McGill University.
Ayanna serves as a public servant, holding the position of Senior Financial Policy Analyst at Health Canada, working within the Chief Financial Officer Branch.
She assumes the role of co-chair of the Black Employees Matter Network for both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, where she champions equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives for Black employees there and within the Government of Canada. Ayanna is also a departmental union representative for the Association of Canadian Financial Officers (ACFO), sitting on their finance, collective bargaining and EDI committees.
Heather Ancliffe
Responsable du mentorat en milieu de travailMentor CanadaBiography
L'esprit de collaboration d'Heather, ainsi que son engagement communautaire, lui ont permis de nouer des relations solides dans le secteur à but non lucratif. Son enfance à Montréal et ses voyages à travers le monde ont développé chez elle une passion pour les arts et la culture, ainsi qu'un engagement profond envers l'égalité et les droits humains, qu'elle a mis en pratique au sein de la Fondation pour l'étude des génocides, la Fondation des Townshippers, et aujourd'hui, chez Mentor Canada.
Heather travaille dans le domaine du mentorat depuis 2019, et chez Mentor Canada elle collabore étroitement avec des organisations, des leaders locaux, des acteurs du changement et divers partenaires pour développer et améliorer les programmes de mentorat. Son objectif est de réduire les obstacles à l'emploi et de combler le manque de mentorat pour les jeunes et les populations en quête d'équité à travers le Canada.
Rachel Hunting
Senior Manager of Regional DevelopmentRegional Development Network (RDN)Biography
Rachel, a graduate of Bishop’s University in sociology, has been active in community development since 2008, focusing on the vitality of Québec’s English-speaking minority language community, health and social services, and youth. Before joining RDN in 2021, she served as executive director of Townshippers’ Association for nearly a decade. From 2015 to 2024, Rachel was an independent director on the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS board, where she represented community organization expertise, chaired the governance and ethics committee, and contributed actively to the human resources and communications committee. She is also vice-president of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) board of directors.
Allen Richards
Executive DirectorCommittee for Anglophone Social Action (CASA)Biography
has over 25 years of experience in the community sector, with a strong focus on employability and economic development. He has served on various boards and chaired employment-focused organizations, contributing to policy and program development across the sector. Since 2021, Allen has been the Executive Director of CASA, a dynamic organization that supports individuals entering the labor force and those furthest from it. CASA offers a holistic model that includes job search assistance, skills development, internships, and access to social services. The organization blends direct support, group training, and partnerships to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Allen is committed to building inclusive pathways to employment and fostering long-term economic resilience.
Hoffman Wolff
Social Economy ManagerRegional Development Network (RDN)Biography
Hoffman joined RDN with years of experience working with Québec City’s English-speaking community, having served as the assistant executive director of the Morrin Centre and the president of Voice of English-speaking Québec. He’s also worked as a project coordination consultant with several branches of the provincial government including the SAAQ, the RAMQ, and the CNESST. A native of North Carolina, he received his Global Business MBA from Laval University and his undergraduate degree from Roanoke College.
Michelle Dzbik
Programs CoordinatorProvincial Employment Roundtable (PERT)Biography
Michelle Dzbik has spent numerous years in service to different communities, focusing on building relationships founded on trust, respect, and inclusion. With experience living and volunteering abroad, she has a particular interest in cultivating understanding and forging connections between a diversity of people. Currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations (Community Development) with a minor in Psychology at Concordia University, Michelle brings expertise in stakeholder engagement, communications, and community organizing. She looks forward to developing innovative and inspiring programs that advance PERT’s mission of improving employment outcomes for English-speaking Quebecers.
Morgan Gagnon
Director of Policy & ResearchProvincial Employment Roundtable (PERT)Biography
Morgan Gagnon is a skilled researcher and policy analyst with a background in Quebec higher education policy and theories of institutional responsibility. She recently completed her master’s degree in philosophy at Concordia University, where she held a SSHRC scholarship for her research on university sexual violence policies and accessibility to education. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Arts at Bishop’s University, where she gained extensive experience building relationships with community and regional partners.
Clea Corman
Organizational Development LeadProvincial Employment Roundtable (PERT)Biography
With 10 years of experience in development and a soon-to-be-completed master’s degree from McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, Clea Corman brings cross-disciplinary leadership skills to the projects she is a part of. She has worked directly with hundreds of at-risk youth, improved drop-out rates, and increased access to bilingual health and employment services for English speakers in rural Quebec. With previous experience as an executive director and board member of nonprofits, she knows first-hand the importance of advocacy for community well-being. She brings expertise in organizational development, strategic planning, stakeholder management, participatory research, and capacity building. She is looking forward to leveraging these skills to further promote the needs of English-speaking Quebecers through her work at PERT.
James Hughes
PresidentProvincial Employment Roundtable (PERT)Biography
James Hughes is the volunteer President and Chair of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT). His full time job is in the homelessness sector as the President and CEO of the Old Mission Brewery. Previous roles include Executive Lead at the McConnell Foundation, President of the Graham Boeckh Foundation, Deputy Minister of Social Development for the Province of New Brunswick and Director-General of the Old Brewery Mission. His two books, both published by James Lorimer Canada, are Early Intervention (2015) and Beyond Shelters (2018). He is proudly the founding President of YES Montreal.
Benoît Dubreuil
Commissaire à la langue françaiseBiography
Benoît Dubreuil occupe depuis 2023 le poste de commissaire à la langue française. Son rôle consiste à veiller au respect des droits et des obligations prévus à la Charte de la langue française. Il est titulaire d’une maîtrise en philosophie de l’Université de Montréal, d’un doctorat en philosophie de l’Université libre de Bruxelles et d’une maîtrise en administration des affaires de l’Université Laval. Au sein du gouvernement du Canada, il a occupé des postes de gestion au ministère de la Défense nationale, à Services aux Autochtones Canada ainsi qu’à l’Agence d’évaluation d’impact du Canada. Au gouvernement du Québec, il a été conseiller du ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur, commissaire à la Commission d’évaluation de l’enseignement collégial et membre de la Commission d’éthique en science et technologie. Polyglotte, il s’intéresse à la promotion de la diversité linguistique et culturelle, et a publié plusieurs ouvrages sur la coopération, l’éthique et les politiques publiques.
Chad Walcott
Director of Communications & EngagementTable ronde provinciale sur l'emploi
Wendy Cukier
Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ted Rogers School of Management; Founder and Academic Director, Diversity InstituteDiversity InstituteBiography
Dr. Wendy Cukier is a professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Founder and Academic Director of the Diversity Institute and Academic Research Director of the Future Skills Centre. Launched in 1999, the Diversity Institute now has 80 full-time research staff, 10 hubs across the country, and 300 partners, undertaking research and evidence-based programs to advance growth, sustainability, innovation and inclusion. Wendy has written more than 200 papers on technology, innovation and management and is coauthor of the bestseller “Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Java to Jurassic Park.” She has assisted organizations in becoming more inclusive through innovative programs such as DiversityLeads funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, which tracks the progress, impediments and evidenced-based strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion in organizations.
Wendy has received many academic, industry and community awards for her work and was named one of the “100 alumni who shaped the century” by the University of Toronto. She holds an MA, MBA (Toronto), a PhD in Information Systems (Schulich, York) and two honorary doctorates (Concordia, Laval).
Nicholas Salter
Executive DirectorProvincial Employment RoundtableBiography
Nicholas Salter has been the Executive Director of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) since 2021. He brings to the role fifteen years of leadership working with multiple levels of government, higher education institutions, foundations, health and social services agencies, and community organizations. His priorities have been establishing PERT's research capacity and developing strong partnerships with stakeholders.
Prior to joining the Provincial Employment Roundtable, Nicholas directed communications and outreach for McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy, where he played a key role in helping to build and launch the School. Nicholas previously headed the policy and communications work at Powered by Data — a nonprofit focused on open data and open government. Nicholas has also been involved in federal politics where he led the team of a Member of Parliament and later became an advisor to regional teams and multiple parliamentarians.
Nicholas holds an MSW in International and Community Development, a BA in Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations Management. He is also a past fellow of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy.
He currently sits on the board of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex — a not-for-profit community-led health organization. He is also Vice-President of the Comité consultatif des Québécoises et Québécois d’expression anglaise (CCQEA), a member of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) Inter-Level Educational Table (ILET), and Literacy Quebec's Community Empowerment through Literacy Initiative (CELI) Project Advisory Committee. He is the past Vice-President of the Carrefour jeunesse emploi - Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Abbey McGugan
Lead CoordinatorCCQEABiography
As Lead Coordinator of the ACESQ, Abbey coordinates the committee’s activities and research agenda. She is currently working on several projects related to English-speaking Quebecers and their experiences in the labour market.
Alex Hall
Recruitment CoordinatorBlack Community Resource Centre (BCRC)Biography
Alex Hall is a Recruitment Coordinator at the Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC), where he leads initiatives that support English-speaking Black job seekers in Quebec. He plays a key role in the EmployESBC program, a community-based employment initiative that connects English-speaking Black individuals with meaningful job opportunities and employer networks. Through outreach, partnerships, and digital engagement, Alex works to bridge gaps in access to employment services while amplifying the voices and needs of the community. His experience blends community empowerment, research, and program coordination within Montreal’s English-speaking Black community.
Alicia Piechowiak
Employee Onboarding ConsultantDavieBiography
Dr. Piechowiak is a practitioner and researcher in the field of Management and Education. Her research focuses on the professional integration of new employees and immigrants, the development of company onboarding programs, particularly in less popular immigrant destinations and the manufacturing sector. She worked with an SME where she developed and implemented an onboarding program that tripled the team and facilitated the opening of offices in Vietnam and Morocco. Presently, in the context of her post-doc at UQAM, she is implementing her onboarding model at Shipyard Davie, where they are in the process of tripling their workforce in the coming years (Objective 2,200+ employees).
Susanna Tang
Project CoordinatorVoice Of English-Speaking QuébecBiography
Susanna Tang is a champion of people, dedicated to helping fellow English speakers with their job search in the Québec City region. At Voice of English-speaking Québec, she has been responsible for the Employment Strategy since 2020 and is currently the local lead for a French immersion in the workplace pilot project. These roles have enabled her to meet and assist hundreds of job seekers. She is pleased to bring their voices to the table as both a witness and advocate to their challenges and triumphs.
Dan Bilefsky
Former NYT JournalistBiography
A native Montrealer, Dan Bilefsky spent three decades as a correspondent for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times, reporting from New York, London, Paris, Brussels, Prague, Istanbul, Seoul, and Montreal. He was part of a New York Times team awarded a George Polk Award and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Haitian president’s assassination.
Dan holds an M.Phil. in European Politics, Economics, and Society from Oxford University and a B.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania. He has lectured at NYU, Sciences Po Paris, McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, and Global Affairs Canada. He is the author of The Last Job, a true-crime thriller about a gang of geriatric jewel thieves, and editor of The Financial Times Guide to the Euro.
Peter Padbury
Chief FuturistPolicy HorizonsBiography
Peter Padbury is one of Canada's most experienced futurists. Over his career, he led hundreds of foresight projects that developed vision, policy and strategy with federal government departments, NGOs, business and UN agencies on a wide range of themes – from the future of primary health care in Asia to the future of the UN Security Council. Between 2008 and 2021, he was Chief Futurist at Policy Horizons Canada, one of the world's leading government foresight centers. At Horizons he led, co-led or coached a number of scanning and foresight projects using the 'Horizons Method", a unique foresight process especially suited to complex public policy questions.
IB
Iván Barradas
Kimberly Buffitt
CEORivage GrandirBiography
Kimberly Buffitt is the CEO of Shore Grow Holdings, an integrated enterprise on Québec’s Lower North Shore combining aquaculture, hospitality, consulting, and wellness ventures. With over 20 years of experience in community and economic development, she leads projects that connect language, culture, and entrepreneurship across rural and Indigenous regions of Canada. Kimberly is passionate about mentorship-based workforce development and creating bilingual learning opportunities that strengthen community identity, local employment, and sustainable regional growth.
Jennifer Petrela
Directrice GénéraleMentorat QuébecBiography
Jennifer Petrela (elle) est la directrice générale de Mentorat Québec. Conférencière multilingue, elle écrit des articles, anime des formations et intervient publiquement à propos de la théorie et la pratique du mentorat dans des milieux et secteurs divers. Elle traite régulièrement de l’intersection du mentorat et de l’inclusion et a lancé des partenariats nationaux et internationaux pour rendre le mentorat inclusif plus accessible aux femmes et aux membres de groupes en quête d’équité. En 2022, Jennifer Petrela a développé une formation unique au Canada pour accompagner les organisations dans la conception, déploiement et évaluation d’un programme de mentorat pour leurs membres ou personnel. Elle détient un baccalauréat en histoire de l’Université McGill, un certificat en santé de l’environnement de l’Université fédéral de Rio de Janeiro et une maîtrise en sciences de l’Université de Montréal.
Marlena Flick
Policy ResearcherPERTBiography
Marlena is a researcher and policy professional with an interest in “making work work for everyone” and expertise in socio-economic inclusion, immigration, and labour markets. Before joining PERT, Marlena managed research, partnerships and data on the economic inclusion of immigrants, the future of work and skills, accessibility, and entrepreneurship for social-impact organizations and think-tanks including Canada’s leading foreign credential recognition evaluator, World Education Services (WES) and the Public Policy Forum (PPF). She enjoys leveraging experience in data analysis, intersectional and accessible project design, community development, and multisectoral stakeholder engagement to ensure people are at the centre of policy research and development.
EC
Erica Court
ParticipantWomen's Work Integration ProgramKL
Kim Lehrer
Senior Research AssociateSRDCMN
Martha Nduwayo
Entrepreneur