Michael Chechile

Digital literacy education consultant

Michael was the Director General of the Lester B. Pearson School Board 2015-2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as Teacher, Pedagogical Consultant, Vice-Principal, Principal, Director of Educational Services and as Senior Director of Educational Services and Technology. He was responsible for the creation of the Digital Citizenship Program - a program that served as the inspiration for the development of Quebec Ministry of Education resources related to learning in the digital age. He was responsible, as well, for bringing the first-ever Google Applications for Education Summit to Quebec. His pedagogical career has spanned 33 years. As well, Michael taught as a part-time graduate and undergraduate lecturer at Concordia University for over 15 years in the field of educational technology.

Roxanne Desforges

educational technology & online learning specialist

Roxanne is a former K12 teacher, a researcher and lecturer at McGill University, and spent 5 years building an EdTech startup from the ground up. These experiences have given her insight that only learning-by-doing can. Teaching gave her a deep understanding of education’s stakeholders and school systems. Her experience in Higher Ed brought knowledge of education policy and research methods. Her startup years taught her how to learn from customers, to test and iterate quickly, and to apply a solutions-based approach to selling in public service domains. It also taught her how to design customer experiences, to develop e-learning products, and the importance of listening to voices and perspectives that are different from her own. As an advocate for bringing learning opportunities to those who are underserved, she has built a network of professionals driven by social impact.

Patrycja Nowakowska

lawyer

As a trial attorney in both Quebec and Ontario, Pat’s professional focus is on solution-finding. However, her fervor for art and education date back to her adolescence as a former resident of Edmonton’s youth emergency shelter (now Youth Empowerment and Support Services) – a time that revealed that life’s best solutions demand creativity, especially for those at-risk, disaffected, or marginalized.

With the belief that intersection of art, technology, and education provides the perfect platform for personal transformation, she studied journalism and film production at Concordia’s Graduate Communications Program, which resulted in a brief and treasured work in documentary film.

Since steering advocacy onto the juridical field, Pat has worked to modernize access to justice by co-founding a student-initiated course on Cyberlaw at McGill and co-organizing a conference on online dispute resolution (ODR) at University of Montreal. Pat is honoured to partake in HOME as a way of giving back by lending a hand!

Charlotte Pivot

LX Specialist | EDTech | Product Management

Charlotte has grown a passion for learning design with more than a ten-year of experience in the digital environment. From preschool to professional development, she has developed a wide range of digital products with a learner-centered approach.

Well-connected and involved in the flourishing Montreal EDTech environment, she has shared her knowledge and experience with the non-profit sector by mentoring, developing programs, and facilitating workshops in several organizations promoting digital literacy and competencies to educators, students, and women (Canada Learning Code, Technovation).

From a former book publisher to now a digital consultant, Charlotte has put learning and professional development at the heart of her professional journey and welcomed the opportunity to join HOME board as one of them.

Amanda Roy

Filmmaker, Producer & Workshop Facilitator

Amanda Roy is an Anishinaabe from the community of Buzwah, which is a part of Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. She has worked with the National Film Board’s Hothouse Animation Apprenticeship Program as an Associate Producer and has also worked on various film, tv, and digital media projects in various roles with several Indigenous production companies. She spent two years living in Northern Quebec assisting secondary students with learning video game production while travelling amongst several communities supporting the Cree Syllabics Virtual Reality Project, a program for learning Cree syllabics in an immersive and interactive virtual environment. Amanda is also a Hnatyshyn Foundation Reveal Indigenous Art Award recipient.

She is currently working on her own animation short film projects along with developing several projects with other production companies.   

Peter Salvador

Senior Marketing specialist

Peter is an experienced and certified sales & marketing professional with in-depth knowledge and experience in the natural health and wellness industry, and the early learning industry, with over 20 years of experience marketing and scaling CPG and service brands in Canada and the US. With a proven track record in building and leading high-performing cross-functional teams, strategy development, and execution, Peter brings strong expertise in brand, communication, content strategy, innovation, market research & consumer insights, business development, and channel optimization to Hands on Media.

Based in Vancouver, Peter is the Senior Director of Marketing for Core Education & Fine Arts where he leads innovation, and brand & franchise marketing in the early learning space with a focus on curriculums and programs based on child brain development.

A husband and father, Peter is also a very average volunteer coach for his daughter’s soccer team, Mary, who also graduated from the CEFA early learning program, and is a passionate advocate for the importance of early childhood education.

Geneviève Vallerand

Communications & Digital Content Specialist

Geneviève is a specialist in communications and digital content with more than fifteen years experience in the arts and culture as well as non-profit sectors. She is currently Director of Communications at Community Foundations of Canada, a network of 200 place-based foundations across Canada where she leads communications efforts for the network and several major public and private partnerships. Prior to joining CFC, Geneviève served as Director, Marketing Communications for the Canada Council for the Arts, helping lead communications during the transformation of the Canada Council’s funding model — the organization’s most significant change in its sixty year history. She is passionate about digital and community engagement and the possibilities of using creative and thoughtful content strategies to connect individuals and communities in new ways. A Montréalaise and avid traveler, she seeks out good coffee and croissants wherever she goes.

Julie Whelan

Strategic advisor

Based in Toronto, Julie is a consultant for the creative and cultural industries and works with clients across the private and public sector. From strategic planning and impact analyses to developing partnerships and growth strategies, Julie loves working with organizations to help them reach their full potential. She spent six years in the UK in the marketing departments at Penguin, Random House and HarperCollins - including working with teachers on the DK children's brands My First and DK Eyewitness. Currently a Senior Manager with Nordicity, Julie has an MBA in Arts and Media Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a BA in English Cultural Studies from McGill University.