Meet the CPF National Board of Directors
President | Derrek Bentley
Since participating in CPF Chapter meetings in elementary school, Derrek has been passionate about French language promotion and education. In 2011, he joined CPF Manitoba’s Branch Board as a director. In 2016, he became a member of CPF’s National Board and in 2020 was nominated as President. Derrek wants la francophonie to be more inclusive of all French-speakers, regardless of accent, and he believes that youth are the proponents of this change.
Vice President | Kate Ashley
Kate is a professor of French at Acadia University. She has extensive committee experience under her belt and has served on the Humber Community YMCA and the Booker School Boards. She previously volunteered with CPF Nova Scotia as a judge at the Concours d’art oratoire. Kate currently has three children enrolled in French immersion.
Treasurer | Salma Al-Saquaf
Salma Al-Saquaf is a dedicated CPF volunteer with a longstanding commitment to advocating for French as a second language education, special needs education, and childhood mental health. A former homeschooler and enthusiastic blogger, Salma transformed her passion for teaching and language learning into establishing a bilingual playschool. Currently, she takes on the role of guiding the education of her three children, all enrolled in French Immersion. Notably, she navigates the distinctive challenges of the autism spectrum with her son, demonstrating resilience and dedication in the face of unique educational needs. Salma holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Women & Gender Studies. Professionally, she contributes her skills to the field of Human Resources, serving as a Training and Professional Development Coordinator.
Director | Isabelle Levert-Chiasson
As a parent of two and an Acadienne raised in Nova Scotia, Isabelle is a proud bilingual with experience as a community facilitator and has been employed in Ottawa by the Canadian Commission of UNESCO responsible for their education portfolio since 2016. She has much experience managing national and international youth projects, developing strategic partnerships and collaborating to build relationships with Indigenous organizations in Canada.
Director | Diane Tijman
As a young Francophile, Diane worked hard to become bilingual by completing a B.A in French and M.A in Second Language Education. She has been a CPF Richmond Chapter member for over 22 years and served as CPF BC Yukon President from 2016 – 2018 before landing on the National Board of Directors. She attributes much of her children’s success in FSL education to CPF and hopes to create the same opportunities for more Canadian children.
Network CEO | Nicole Thibault
Nicole brings over 25 years combined leadership experience as an executive director, vice principal, educational consultant, FSL and French immersion teacher. She strongly believes in individual bilingualism as a personal benefit and is greatly supportive of CPF’s mission to provide official language education opportunities for all students in Canada. She was recently awarded the Laurier Allié.e de la Francophonie des Prix Bernard Grandmaître recognizing a lifetime of work as a francophone ally in Ottawa.
Meet the Staff Working from the National Office
Nicole Thibault | Network CEO
Nicole is the best person to speak with about CPF Network strategic goals and partnerships; Outreach, Development and Liaison with stakeholders; Funding diversification; Network governance and operations; Liaison for National committees and Network advisory councils. Nicole also regularly responds to media requests, of national scope, in both English and French.
Cathy Stone | Network Director, Operations
Cathy is the go-to person for information on network operations, finance and compliance. She oversees finance and administration (including Board & staff expenses); audit, bookkeeping and payroll services; budgeting; contractual & policy compliance as well as advertising and sponsorship.
Debbie Murphy | Network Coordinator, Member, Branch, Office & Board Support
As CPF’s Network Administrator, Debbie is the glue that holds our CPF National office together. She is the go-to person for the board and network support and oversees office administration. Debbie is also responsible for coordinating board meetings, communicating with chapters and members and supporting CPF’s donors.
Deb Powers – Network Manager, Human Resources
Deb is responsible for HR processes, from recruitment to onboarding and more. Contact her if you have any questions about HR, employee experience or the overall employee life cycle. She has extensive experience in recruitment, HR policies and labour relations.
Sylviane Pichardie | Network Director, Finance
Sylviane is the best person to speak with about CPF’s bookkeeping, reporting and the overall financial management. She strongly believes in giving young Canadians the opportunity to learn and continue their studies in French.
Marcos Salaiza | National Manager, Communications and Government Relations
Marcos is the best person to speak with about communications, publications, public affairs, government relations and annual events such as our FSL Awareness Breakfast and Concours d’art oratoire National Finals. He manages CPF’s social media channels and the publication of CPF’s Magazine and the production of our annual summer camp listing.
Marin Hawley | Network Coordinator, Membership and Donor Relations
Reach out to Marin for inquiries about membership, donating to CPF or to discuss the many benefits CPF provides its members. She is also the best person to speak with if you like to participate in member events, or our Member Conference. Marin is also overseeing Member & Donor Services across the CPF Network.
Dominique Labas | National Projects Manager
Dominique is responsible for managing the development, implementation, and evaluation of national projects like our FSL Early Childhood Education initiatives, the FSL Teacher Retention and Attrition campaign, and Concours d’art oratoire.
Email:
spichardie[at]cpf.ca
Email:
msalaiza[at]cpf.ca
Email:
mhawley[at]cpf.ca
Email:
dlabas[at]cpf.ca
Megan Chartrand | National Coordinator, Quebec/Nunavut Project
Are you interested in implementing, participating in, or simply learning more about CPF’s initiatives in Quebec and Nunavut? Megan is eager to meet with collaborators and build community over a late and a croissant. She works closely with partner organizations, schools, local volunteers and the CPF National office to increase access to quality learning opportunities for FSL speakers and bring our initiatives to life.
Shivaanie Jadoonanan | Virtual Programs Coordinator
Are you interested in volunteering with CPF in their virtual programs? Shivaanie is the person to contact to get involved. She is responsible for leading volunteers through the onboarding process as well as assisting them and responding to inquiries. She helps coordinate the Virtual French tutoring program and the content creation program run by volunteers. Feel free to reach out to her if you would like to be involved or for any volunteer-related questions.
Joe ElHajj | Network Human Resources Administrator
Have you got questions about CPF Human Resources? Call Joe! He is responsible for overseeing the BambooHR system that supports National Office and the branches across the country and for preparing and recommending HR policies and procedures as well as assisting with the recruitment process. Joe prepares a variety of employee reports with analytical data to support CPF decision making.
Heather Cavanagh | Network Director, Communications, Marketing & Development
Heather leads CPF’s digital transformation while improving the efficiency of its operations. She’s also responsible for the development of fundraising plans to generate and diversify revenue. Reach out to her for any question about marketing and digital strategy.