RENEWAL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF FIERTÉ MONTRÉAL
Montreal, December 11, 2023 ─ Fierté Montréal announces the renewal of its Board of Directors with the nomination of seven new Directors and the reelec tion of a Director . With determination, the organization continues the overhaul of its governance by th e recruitment of 2SLGBTQIA+ professionals who collectively possess competencies, skills and lived experiences necessary forthe sound, transparent and inclusive governance of Fierté Montréal.
New membership, new Board of Directors
At a special general meeting held on December 8, 2023, Fierté Montréal’s new membership which has been in re development since July 2023 met for the first time. Members elected a new Board of Directors. This was the conclusion of two call for applications launched in summer 2023 to fill seats for what are now named resource members (4) and community members (3). The membership also welcomed on the Board a person designated by the Conseil québécois LGBT. The Board of Directors then met to elect a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
Bernard Truong (he/him)
Board Chair
Resource Member
Director, IT and Digital, Transformation Monitoring, Desjardins
Tara Chanady (she/her)
Board Vice Chair
Community Member
Executive Director, Quebec Lesbian Network
Me Marie-Michelle Grenier (she/her)
Board Secretary
Community Member
Prosecutor, Director of Youth, CISSS Abitibi-Témiscamingue /
Board President, Aide aux Trans du Québec
Karan Moorjani (he/him)
Board Treasurer
Resource Member
Manager, Advisory, Governance,
Risk & Compliance Services, KPMG
Stacy Cavery (she/her)
Board Director
Resource Member
Director, Digital Strategy, Atypic
Étienne Dufour (he/him)
Board Director
Designated Person
Public Relations Coordinator, Conseil québécois LGBT
Marlot Marleau (they/he/she)
Board Director
Resource Member
ORAT Coordination, Aéroports de Montréal
Naoufel Testaouni (he/him)
Board Director
Community Member
Co-Founder & Executive Director, QueerTech
To ensure a smooth transition, Moe Hamandi and David Carpentier, respectively outgoing Board Chair and outgoing Board Secretary, will remain on the Board through the end of their terms in January 2024 as Directors. Besides , Naoufel Testaouni, outgoing Board Treasurer, was elected as a community member and as such continue s his involv ement with Fierté Montréal.
Last summer, a Nomination Committee was created to review applications submitted for resource member seats. It was composed of two external members, Agnès Maltais and Artur Wilczynski, and two Board Directors, David Carpentier and Naoufel Testaouni.
« I send my heartfelt congratulation s to the new Board of Directors on its election. Over the past
year, the Board, the Executive Director, and external experts worked diligently to provide Fierté
Montréal with a governance and strategic framework adapted to the size and scope the
organization has grown into since its inception in 2007. I feel great satisfaction in seein g th e
concrete result of this work. I wish to thank everyone involved in the numerous actions we have
under taken to reach this moment. »
Moe Hamandi, outgoing Board Chair, Fierté Montréal
« My colleagues on the Board and myself begin our new mandates with humility and excitement. We are impressed by the scope and earnest ness of Fierté Montréal’s governance overhaul, which has played a role in our interest to contribute to the future of the organization. Collectively, we intend to follow that path to support Simon Gamache and his team so that Fierté Montréal is a even more sustainable organization and remains relevant. The expectations and aspirations of the communities and of the hundreds of thousand s of people who take part in our activities are high we will be listening to them. »
Bernard Truong, Board Chair, Fierté Montréal
« I very much look forward to collaborating with a Board of Directors that is remarkably skilled,
intergenerational, and that is representative of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, of Montréal’s diversity,
and of Québec’s regional realities. Fierté Montréal’s mission is complex, demanding and captivating To attain it, we must work with people bringing different perspectives, and that with openness, transparency, and respect. I wish us all that this spirit persists while our governance keeps advancing. I want to thank Moe Hamandi, David Carpentier and Naoufel Testaouni for their perseverance, resilience and generosity during our governance transition period. »
Simon Gamache, Executive Director, Fierté Montréal
Biographies
Bernard Truong (he/him) is currently responsible for IT and digital transformation monitoring at Desjardins. In a previous role at another Canadian financial institution, Bernard oversaw the development and deployment of a third-party risk management framework. He also contributed, in domains ranging from telecommunications to retail, to the implementation and evolution of first line of defense operational risk management frameworks. Throughout his career, he was named to the executive committee of numerous professional associations. He was also a guest speaker and panelist at recent third-party risk management forum in Mexico, in Asia, and elsewhere in North America. Bernard was co-chair of the committee on concentration risk for domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) in Canada. He was Board Chair of Centre d’apprentissage parallèle de Montréal (Le CAP), a nonprofit offering socio-professional inclusion and education services through art to psychologically and socially vulnerable people. Bernard was also a member of Centraide du Grand Montréal’s Social Development Investment Committee. Bernard earned a Bachelor of Science (Université de Montréal), an Executive MBA (McGill - HEC Montréal), and has a Certified Outsourcing Professional (COP-Gov) advanced certification from IAOP.
Tara Chanady (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Quebec Lesbian Network. Her doctoral studies in communications (Université de Montréal) focused on media representation of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, including in Quebec television, as well as on lesbian spaces and identity issues for women emerging from sexual diversity in Montreal from 1980 to today. She has presented her research findings, notably at the European Lesbian* Conference in Vienna in 2017, and has published in several scientific journals and collective works. Further postdoctoral work at Université de Montréal’s Public Health School brought her to work on mental health and substance abuse issues among LGBTQ+ youth with the queer research lab Qollab. For many years, she was an instructor at Université de Montréal’s communications department. Her approach aims to critically assess discourse and norms about gender and sexuality. She currently sits on the Board of the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) on LGBTQ+ health.
Orginally from Lévis and now living in Rouyn-Noranda, Marie-Michelle Grenier (she) is a prosecutor for the Director of Youth at the CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1995, she started at Quebec’s Ministry of Justice as substitute attorney general, a role she occupied for a decade. Marie-Michelle Grenier also practiced at the North Itinerant Court, providing professional services to the James Bay Cree community in several legal domains. In fall 2018, Marie-Michelle started her transition journey. A decision that changed her life and which later led her to become more active and engaged in the community. In 2021, she participated in the public hearings of the National Assembly’s Committee on Institutions to denounce discriminatory legal provisions in Bill 2. That same year she became involved with Aide aux Trans du Québec (ATQ), eventually as Board President, a role she still holds. Beyond ATQ, Marie-Michelle Grenier is actively involved in several committees for the inclusion and access of LGBTQ2+ individuals at Quebec’s CISSS and CIUSSS (regional health and social services centres). She is a member of the Barreau du Québec LGBT Advisory Committee.
Karan Moorjani (he/him) is a management consulting professional specialized in risk management with over 13 years of professional experience. He earned a BAA and an MBA from HEC Montréal and is currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Sustainable Development. He is a member of the Governance, Risk and Compliance team at the Montreal office of KPMG. In his role, he advises organizations in risk management and in the enhancement of risk management function and internal audit. He is also interested in second and third line ESG integration.
Karan has always valued community engagement. At KPMG, he is a member of the Pride Committee that promotes sexual and gender diversity within the organization. He is also a coach of HEC Montréal’s Corporate Social Responsibility Competition for MBA candidates. He currently serves as President and Board Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors of Montreal.
Stacy Cavery (she) is Director, Digital Strategy at Atypic, where she advises many causes on their marketing, communications, and digital strategies. She has a strong experience in communications and digital strategy development for businesses and community organizations. Stacy earned a masters in e-commerce from Université de Montréal and has practiced consulting for over 12 years. Based in Montreal for the past decade, she has been involved with several organizations such as the Chambre de commerce LGBT du Québec and the LGBT+ Family Coalition. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Société de la Place des Arts.
Étienne Dufour (he/him) serves as Public Relations Coordinator at the Conseil québécois LGBT, where he has worked for the past three years. Guided by a deep interest in social justice, culture, and the arts, he has been involved for several years in the LGBTQ+ community milieu. He is also interested in local realities, as well as issues experienced by communities in Quebec and Canada. Before being responsible for communications and public relations at Conseil québécois LGBT, Étienne co-led a project aimed to make Quebec municipalities more inclusive of LGBTQ+ communities, working closely with 70 member organizations of Conseil québécois LGBT.
Marlot Marleau (they/he/she) is a professional involved in political and cultural circles. They founded Agence Carmelo, a firm offering services in event management and communications. Equipped with a strong experience in inclusive communication and governance, they offer their consulting services to both public organizations and corporations. Marlot currently works at Aéroports de Montréal where they support the realization of major infrastructure projects. At ease both in public and in front of a camera, they host events and panels in person and online. Member of several Boards, they bring their expertise in public affairs, governance, diversity and inclusion, as well as international development. Marlot has been engaged with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities for several years, first in Quebec City and then in Montreal. They believe that solidarity, empathy, and curiosity are must for advancing society. After a decade of political activism, Marlot now focusses their energy on causes touching them personally.
Passionate about developing and creating inclusive communities, Naoufel Testaouni (he/him) is Co-Founder and Executive Director of QueerTech. Originally from Morocco and having worked in New York City, Turkey, and Canada, Naoufel’s career path has led him to observe discrimination against queer people in the technology industry. His findings led to the creation of QueerTech, a pan-Canadian organization whose mission is to queerify the tech ecosystem by breaking down barriers, creating spaces and connecting communities to support and enable LGBTQ2S+ people to thrive. He has served on the Board of MTL New Tech, the Advisory Committee for Block Hate (YWCA Canada) and is a Governor of Fondation Émergence.
About Fierté Montréal
Since 2007, Fierté Montréal amplifies the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to assure their representation, their inclusion and the recognition of their rights in society. Catalysts for social change, our Festival, our community initiatives, as well as our artistic and cultural projects celebrate the creativity and resilience of our communities. Mindful of and in collaboration with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, we call attention to their fights and realities in the wider public and the institutions.
Fierté Montréal presents its activities in Tiohtia:ke, on the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá: ka Nation. We recognize her as the custodian of the lands and waters on which we gather.
Tiohtia:ke is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations, and today a diverse Indigenous population, as well as other peoples, reside here. It is with respect for the connections to the past, present, and future that we recognize the ongoing relationships between Indigenous Peoples and others in the Montreal community.
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