Our Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of CAH consists of a maximum of nine (9) directors elected by the members of the Corporation at the Annual General Meeting.

Board members may choose to become involved in one or more of the committees necessary for the good governance of CAH: Executive Management Evaluation Committee, Treasury and Audit Committee, CAH Member Relations Committee, Board of Directors Nominating Committee, Building Committee, Legal and Complaints Committee, and Governance Committee.

Vous parlez français et désirez vous joindre à un conseil d’administration francophone? Veuillez consulter notre page du CA en français.

The members of the Board of Directors for the year 2025-2026

We would like to thank the board members who are stepping down from the Board of Directors: Diane Saint-Pierre,Edgard-Casimir Lalo-SayoJoyce Irvine and Marek Nesvadba.

Geneviève Grenier

DIRECTOR/CHAIR

Email : presidence@caheritage.org

Originally from Quebec, Genevieve Grenier has lived in the Toronto area for almost 20 years. Genevieve is a member of the Ontario CPA Society and was awarded the title of Fellow by her association in 2014 for her commitment to her profession.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Royal Military College. She currently holds the position of Vice President of Membership Development at CPA Canada. Prior to joining CPA Canada, she held the position of Senior Director of Finance and Technology for Rona. For several years, she has been involved in the Francophone community in Ontario; she has represented the Region of Peel for the Francophone school board since 2014. Her community involvement has also led her to sit on various audit committees. She now considers herself a proud Franco-Ontarian and is happy to be able to raise her two daughters in an environment that embraces the Francophonie.

She joined the CAH Board of Directors in September 2021 as a Director.

Denis Frawley

DIRECTOR/VICE-CHAIR

Email: vicepresidence@caheritage.org

Denis Frawley was a member of the CAH Board of Directors from 2013 to 2020, and joined in 2021 to begin a new term.  He is also a member of the Legal and Complaints Committee. He is now chair of the board.

Denis is an associate practicing corporate, commercial and securities law at Ormston List Frawley LLP, a firm he co-founded in 2006.

From this firm, Denis advises clients operating in the mining and exploration sector mining and exploration (in Canada and elsewhere in the world), high technology and other sectors likely to attract innovative business people. A native of Sudbury, he completed his B.A. in Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa in 1996, and his law studies at McGill University in 1996 (B.A. in Common Law and Civil Law). He was admitted to the Ontario Bar (1998) and the New York Bar (1997). After living in New York for several years, where he became a partner in an international law firm, he moved to Toronto in 2005.  He is active on several committees of the Canadian Bar Association.  With his spouse, Denis has two children.

Joëlle Harfouche

DIRECTOR/TRESORER

Email: tresorerie@caheritage.org

(The bio and picture of Joëlle Harfouche will be posted soon.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Normand Babin

DIRECTOR/SECRETARY

Email: secretaire@caheritage.org

Originally trained as a musician, Normand Babin has worked as an artist and manager for several cultural institutions and non-profit organizations. Normand has organized events of all kinds: concerts, circus shows, fashion shows.

He has also written for several media on cultural and artistic subjects. Over the past few years, he has rescued Action positive VIH – SIDA, the only French-speaking organization working exclusively in the field of HIV in the Greater Toronto Area.

He now works for the Fédération des aîné.e.s et retraité.e.s francophonie de l’Ontario (FARFO) as a facilitator for the Réseau VIVRE+ Fierté Toronto.

Dominique Janssens

DIRECTOR

Dominique Janssens has lived in the Greater Toronto Area for almost 30 years. Trained as a civil engineer (with a degree in Civil Construction Engineering from the Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium), Mr. Janssens has spent most of his professional career working in the lumber and civil engineering industries, in Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto.

Since 2009, Mr. Janssens has embarked on a second career focused on French-language education and volunteering in the French-speaking community.
He has been a school board trustee since 2009, representing Halton Region on the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, where he has held several positions at the board table, including Vice President, Chair of the School Facilities Committee, Chair of the Labour Committee and Audit Committee, and most recently Chair of the Political Canvassing Committee. Since joining the Board, the renovation of a Catholic elementary school, the construction of a new Catholic high school and a Catholic elementary school have been completed in Halton Region.

In 2010-2011, he was the coordinator of the Association des francophones de la région de York, where he was the first full-time employee to better promote the francophonie in the region.
In 2012-2013, he acted as a consultant on the construction of a French-language shelter in Toronto to support the general management in carrying out the project.
From 2013 to 2019, he sat on the board of directors of Entité 4 de planification de services de santé en français, as part of the good governance team. He also sat on the founding Board in 2011 when the Province of Ontario created the Planning Entities.

In 2015, he was one of five founding members of Espace francophone de Halton, a young community association serving francophones in Halton region. He has been its president since 2017, and since then the association has offered a variety of services to the community, on its own or in partnership with other community groups, including the Saint-Jean celebration, networking dinners and field hockey nights, second-hand book sales, more recently a summer camp for young people aged 4 to 11, an online directory of French-language services, and Franco-Ontarian flag-raising events in several municipalities in the region.

From 2019 to 2022, as a member of the Central Region, he sat on the Board of Directors of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario, the organization that represents all francophone communities in the province.
In his various roles, from school board trustee to association board member, he maintains regular contact with the region’s elected officials to raise awareness of the needs and assert the rights of francophones, whether in the fields of education, health or French-language services. Of Belgian origin, a proud Canadian citizen and a Francophone at heart, he is bilingual (French/English) and also speaks a little Flemish and Spanish.

Michel Tremblay

DIRECTOR

Born and raised in Quebec City and relocated to Ontario more than 50 years ago, Michel has worked for most of his career in the field of senior, health and community services, in both the public and private sectors. He has also been deeply involved and passionate about the development of the French-speaking minority community.
For 4 years, Michel was Executive Director of the Fédération des aîné.e.s et retraité.e.s francophones de l’Ontario (FARFO). Previously, he worked as an executive at Montfort Renaissance, Société Santé en français, Montfort Hospital, Montfort Long-Term Care Centre (first Executive Director) and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as Regional Director for Northern Ontario.
He is an active volunteer with community organizations. He is currently Chairman of the Board of FrancoQueer and a board member of the Centre de leadership et d’évaluation (CLÉ). Michel is also a member of the Club Richelieu du Grand Toronto and responsible for the Concours d’art oratoire in French high schools. He was also appointed to the National Seniors Council by the Minister of Employment and Families and the Minister of Health.
He holds an MBA from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa.
Michel has been in a relationship with Bruce Park for over 6 years. He loves to travel and is interested in history and politics. They enjoy movies, concerts and cycling.

 

Raisa Pesel

DIRECTOR

Raisa Pesel is a Toronto-based P.Eng engineer specializing in telecommunications. She works for Fujitsu as a wireless sales engineer, providing technical advice and expertise to customers. Previously, she spent 7.5 years working for Bell Canada, where she held several positions in the Networks Department. Raisa began her STEM education in Romania, at the Polytechnic University of Timisoara.

She then obtained a Master’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Limoges in France, as well as an M.A.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada. Raisa mentors and coaches young people, and devotes her time to Engineers of Tomorrow (where she chairs the GTA North region), Camp Engies, LeanIn Toronto and Fujitsu Women Innovative Network (where she chairs the Canadian STEM Group).

She is a strong advocate for women in STEM, enjoys sharing her experiences as a woman in engineering and traditionally male-dominated industries, and strives to inspire young girls to choose a technical education and future career, ideally in engineering.

Raisa joined the CAH Board of Directors in September 2023.

Safia Fakim

DIRECTOR

Safia Fakim grew up in Toronto and completed her Bachelor of Life Sciences/Biomedical Sciences (BSc) at Queen’s, her Master of Public Health (MPH) at Western and completed her internship at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Safia also has her Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate.

Safia joined the Ontario Public Service in March 2021 and is currently working in the Ministry of Francophone Affairs.

In 2016, she worked as a summer student at CAH. Afterwards, she gained experience at several health service providers and then worked at Entity 4 for French Health Services Planning. Safia joined the CAH Board of Directors in September 2021 as a Director.

Vanessa Cangé

DIRECTOR

Vanessa Cangé joined the board of directors at CAH as of May 2024.

Growing up in a Francophone community in Ontario, she is acutely aware of the challenges associated with full integration in the province. Volunteering on the Board at Centre d’accueil Héritage provides her with a unique opportunity to help seniors thrive in French in Ontario.

Throughout her career, she has held strategic planning and project management roles in both the financial industry and healthcare sector. Currently, as an Ontario Public Servant, she is dedicated to improving the lives of Ontarians.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature and Communication from the University of Ottawa. Additionally, she has completed a Certificate in Business French and Translation at Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Certificate in Project Management from The University of Toronto.

In her leisure time, she enjoys reading and hiking with her three daughters.