Jeansil Bruyère, David Carpentier and Naoufel Testaouni appointed to the Board of Directors of Montréal Pride
Montréal, January 11, 2022 – The Board of Directors of Montréal Pride is pleased to announce the appointments of Jeansil Bruyère, David Carpentier and Naoufel Testaouni as directors of the organization. They were elected at the Annual General Meeting held in December 2021.
Jeansil Bruyère (he/him) – A jurist, seasoned communicator and community mobilizer, Jeansil holds degrees in communications, religious studies, globalization, common law and civil law. As a biracial gay man of color, of Filipino/Muslim and French-Canadian descent, his penchant for anti-oppression and anti-racism is rooted in personal experience. He has contributed to the management and leadership of non-profit organizations in the areas of access to justice, sexual health, and policy change for trans persons, migrants and refugees as well as for people living with HIV. He is currently a Board member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Eastern Region.
David Carpentier (he/him) – A PhD student in political science at the University of Ottawa, David is interested in the inclusion of immigrant and ethno-culturally diverse people at the municipal level. As an emerging researcher, he wishes to participate in the building of an inclusive Quebec society by contributing to public debate and building bridges between academia, government and community organizations. He is a member of the Student Intersectoral Committee of the Fonds de recherche du Québec and of the Board of Directors of the Société québécoise de science politique. The quality of his academic career and of his social commitment have been recognized with several awards, including the medal of the Quebec National Assembly, the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships from SSHRC (master’s and Ph.D.), and the Prix de la relève 2021 from the Alumni Council of the Political Science and Law Faculty of UQAM.
Naoufel Testaouni (he/him) – Passionate about developing and creating inclusive communities, Naoufel 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 currently serves on the Board of MTL New Tech, the Advisory Committee for Block Hate (YWCA Canada) and is a Governor of the Fondation Émergence.
“My fellow board members and I are delighted to welcome Jeansil, David and Naoufel to Montréal Pride,” said Esther Léa Ledoux, President of the organization. “Each one of them brings skills, expertise and experience that will be invaluable to us in the years to come. The collective know-how of the Board of Directors is thus enhanced, allowing us to envision the future of Montréal Pride with ambition, determination and audacity.”
At the 2021 Montréal Pride Annual General Meeting, Frédérique Drainville (she/her), Treasurer, Karl Boulanger (he/him), Director, and Ketty Cédat (she/her), Director were confirmed in their respective roles. Esther Léa Ledoux (she/her) president, Moe Hamandi (they) vice-president, Alexandre Dumont Blais (he/him), secretary, and Stéphane Proulx (he/him) administrator, continue their mandates.
About the Montréal Pride Festival
Since 2007, at the initiative of Montréal’s 2SLGBTQI+ communities, the Montréal Pride Festival has been promoting their rights and celebrating their cultural richness and social advances. The largest gathering of the sexually and gender diverse (SGD) communities in the Francophone world, it works locally on a daily basis while serving as a beacon of hope for people living in 2SLGBTQI+ hostile regions of the globe.
The Montréal Pride Festival presents its activities in Tiohtia:ke, on the unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, whom we recognize as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather. Tiohtia:ke is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montréal community.
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