Board of directors

Elected by Équiterre members during the Annual General meeting, the Board of Directors sets the organization’s major strategic directions. In 2008, the Board welcomed four new members and met six times to, among other things, adopt Équiterre’s new human resources policy and 2008–2012 Strategic planning.

Brigitte Lepage — President (bottom centre of the picture)
Brigitte Lepage is founder of Équiterre’s first action group, the Mauricie Action Group. Ms Lepage has been a member of the Équiterre board of directors since February 2007. With a bachelor’s degree in literature and a diploma in education, she began her career as president of the Conseil permanent de la jeunesse. In 1995, she launched System Technologies for Industry Inc., a company active in industrial data processing. There she has been responsible for administrative management and human resources and today concentrates on business development. The company has three branches: one in Trois-Rivières, one in the United States, and one in Brazil. Aside from her involvement with Équiterre, Ms Lepage sits on the board of the Société de développement du centre-ville de Trois-Rivières.

Marie-Claude Grignon — Secretary (top left of the picture)
A lawyer and member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines et en relations industrielles agréés du Québec, Ms. Grignon received a master’s degree in industrial relations from Université Laval in 2000. She presently works as a legal counsellor with an expert tribunal. After having received a training at the International Labor Organization, she worked in Paris at an institute specialized in labour relations and human resources management. Marie-Claude serves as a volunteer in many non-profit organizations, such as Amnesty International, Lawyers Without Borders Quebec, Monde équitable, and Assistance d’enfants en difficulté (AED). She is interested in particular in labour issues related to fair trade and has initiated an environmental committee in her professional setting.

Craig Ryan — Treasurer (top centre of the picture)
Mr. Ryan has been working for the public good for twenty years. He worked in the Canadian Parliament, the Canadian Ministry (Environment Canada and CIDA), as well as in developing countries on projects concerning environmental policies and the fight against poverty. He is currently working for a government financial corporation dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses where he specializes on governance, transparency, and accountability—primordial challenges for NGOs as well as for governments and businesses. For that organization he is also in charge of developing a social responsibility plan. Mr. Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in international relations, and a master’s degree in public administration.

Chantal Blouin — Board Member (not on the picture)
Researcher at Institut Nord-Sud since the year 2000, Ms. Blouin’s main interests concern the impact of international trade and business agreements, in particular WTO agreements, on developing countries and the reduction of poverty. Since 2003, she has been working in collaboration with the World Health Organization on the impact of trade on healthcare systems and the health of populations in developing countries. Ms. Blouin completed her studies in political science at the University of Toronto and Université Laval.

Amélie Ferland — Board Member (bottom left of the picture)
Holder of a bachelors in communications and public relations from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Amélie Ferland also studied education at the Université de Sherbrooke. Her marked interest for projects related to social education and her competency in environmental communication have allowed her to collaborate with the planning and deployment of many major awareness-raising campaigns. In her professional engagements as in her private life, she tries to have a sustainable, positive impact on the environment and society. Biking and walking are her means of transport throughout the year.

Clément Guimond — Board Member (bottom right of the picture)
Clément Guimond is a born collective entrepreneur. Prior to becoming General Coordinator of the Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins de Québec in 1986, he took part in each step of building this formidable business cooperative . He directs a team of 80 employees. Several bold projects, such as Cirque de Soleil, owe their existence to his ability to listen to the needs of promoters of collective entrepreneurship in Quebec as well as to his creative and innovative spirit as a banker who shares their aims. Under his inspiration and thanks to his connections in Quebec and abroad, Caisse populaire Desjardins has become a unique crossroads, bringing together a number of organizations and individuals whose practices breathe new life into finance and the economy.

Lucie Rioux — Board Member (top right of the picture)
Lucie Rioux is the owner of Ferme Logi-Bio, one of the farms of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. She feels that the CSA network should be represented on the board of Équiterre, in particular in order to ensure the proper management of resources. Her farm responds to the needs of consumers to eat healthy, organic food that was produced in harmony with nature. Lucie Rioux is convinced that everyone has a large role to play in sustainable and equitable development. She is greatly inspired by the Équiterre way of sensitizing and educating people about the environment and for developing a feeling of social belonging.

Alain Webster — Board Member (not on the picture)
Vice provost for administration and sustainable development at the Université de Sherbrooke, Alain Webster is responsible for the sustainable development policy and its action plan as well as the university’s sustainable transportation strategy. As a professor, Webster has a university education in ecology and economics. His main fields of research include the use of economic tools in climate change management. He teaches environmental economics and climate change at the Centre universitaire de formation en environnement and the faculty of administration at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Amélie Laframboise — Board Member (not on the picture)
Amélie Laframboise, a member of the Ordre des comptables en management accrédités du Québec (certified management accountants) with a master’s degree in environmental management, specializes in investment. She now works at Fondaction CSN investment fund in the field of environmental technologies investment, where she has helped set up many sustainable development projects in the last few years. She is also involved in the administration of organizations active in environmental issues, such as the Association pour la prévention de la contamination de l'air et du sol (Québec section of the Air and Waste Management Association) and the Groupe uni des éducateurs-naturalistes et professionnels en environnement (GUEPE). Amélie has supported Équiterre for more than three years by promoting funding activities, and adds her valuable support to other projects as well.