about me

 What I'm currently up to:

I work at McGill University as the Coordinator of the Personal and Cultural Enrichment program (PACE) in the School of Continuing Studies, Faculty Partnerships and Summer Studies unit. The PACE program is relatively new and over the next little while, I hope to contribute to its becoming a vibrant series of events and offerings for personal growth and social exploration. As part of my work, I will also be working closely with the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning and will actively be looking for ways to connect the McGill faculty and resources to the needs of the Montreal community.

For the past few years, I have collaborated with the Concordia Institute for Community Development on creating and moderating public discussions for the University of the Streets Café.

I'm enrolled in the MA program in Educational Studies at Concordia University. I'm interested in technological literacy and autonomous communitites of practice.

For fun, I organize a variety of events with Geek Montreal, a loosely knit crew of people who believe in reintroducing the idea of fun, creativity and geekiness into adult lives. In the summer, I play anarchist soccer - a soccer game for folks who wouldn't feel comfortable or welcome in traditional sports. 

My background:

I have been involved  with various community initiatives for fifteen years. Most recently,I worked with the Center for Community Organizations (COCo). What I love most about COCo is our lack of organizational hierarchy. Without anyone acting as director or supervisor, we self-managed ourselves via project-specific hubs and committees. While there, I worked on a research project that looked at the relationship between provincial funders and community groups and I did various facilitation contracts with organizations in Quebec on various issues including fundraising and conflict mediation.

I produced an extensive study on the development potential for community and cooperative housing in the St Raymond neighborhood for the NDG Community Council. Prior to this, my background is in community media and local development. I was the fundraising coordinator with youth organization Head & Hands during which time I helped launch a streetwork needle-exchange program and the SENSE Project, a youth-driven sex-health education initiative. I was also the co-founder of Grenadine Records, a Montreal-based record label which released records from an international roster of critically acclaimed artists.

I have a BA from Bishop's University and the Thomas More Institute and certificates in Conflict Analysis & Intervention and in Personal & Professional Coaching from the Center for Human Relations & Community Studies at Concordia University. I have received additional training from the Centre Québécois de PNL.

I ride my bike around town. I have two cats.