2021-2022 Board of Directors
Jean-François Boisvert, president
Information technology specialist, author and environmental activist, Jean-François Boisvert has worked for many years with the Réseau québécois pour la simplicité volontaire and, more recently, with Montreal Climate Action. Co-founder of “Coalition climat Montréal”, he believes in the importance of fighting for a healthier world, a fairer society and a more sustainable economy.
Lianne Barnes
Lianne Barnes is a communications (Bachelor degree) and public relations management graduate (graduate diploma). Her professional life is geared towards the green industry by building relationships with plant and tree growers to greening projects all over North America. Lianne also has a passion for urban planning, and believes in the power of ‘Smart Cities’. Her goal is to connect and support a network of people that together can really make an impact through education & actions in local communities.
France Levert
France Levert holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the Université de Montréal and a bachelor’s degree in business management from the Université du Québec à Montréal. During her doctoral studies, she also studied the factors that influence the environmental behaviour and decisions of organizations. As an urban planner, she chairs the Sustainable Development Committee of the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec. She received the Mérite 2022 from the Conseil interprofessionnel du Québec for her contributions to the development of her profession and the impact of her achievements on her Order.
Active in the environmental field for over 30 years, she is personally involved in various organizations. She currently chairs the Board of Directors of the Réseau québécois des groupes écologistes and is vice-president of Groupe Écosphère. She has long been involved in the Réseau des femmes en environnement, where she was president for several years and continues her commitment as an administrator and through various initiatives on gender, climate change and the environment as well as eco-responsible events. She is a founding member of the Collectif Communication citoyenne, a collective of multidisciplinary experts on responsible communication, another Network initiative. She contributes to the steering committee of the Québec Zen project of the Common Front for the Energy Transition. As a Montrealer, she has been involved in the Coalition Climat Montréal and the Collectif Démocratisons Montréal since 2015.
In her professional capacity, in the energy and environmental assessment sector, she has led diverse teams and conducted a large number of studies, various research projects and development of policies, strategies and approaches in the field of sustainability, stakeholder relations, corporate social responsibility and sustainable communities.
Bienvenu Rajaonson, vice-president
Bienvenu Rajaonson has over thirty years of professional experience in the private, public, NGO, Multilateral and Bilateral sectors respectively. Specifically, he served for five years as Executive Director of Conservation International in Madagascar. In addition, he spent more than ten years at the World Bank until his retirement as Senior Environmental Specialist and Project Officer. In Canada, he is a member respectively of the Association Québécoise des Évaluations d’Impact (AQEI), the Association des Résidents ” Demain Sud-Ouest “, Administrator of L’Académie de tennis du Sud-Ouest de Montréal (ATSOM) and he developed the concept ” Actions in favour of the planet (AFPLAN) “.
Amal Melki, vice-president
Amal Melki earned a baccalaureate in town planning and a master in environmental health and occupational of the University of Montreal. She understood that a change is obvious to all levels: local, national and international, because the regulations which are in place are not any more adapted to current climatic reality. She worked as a volunteer in different organisms such as: Equiterre, Heritage Montreal, Council of the lasting building, Montreal Climate Coalition, to give them a hand for the ecological and energy transition which s putting on in place. Amal is very impressed to be part of the transition to better climate change adaptation for a more reassuring future.
Matthew Chapman, treasurer
An Ontario native, Matthew Chapman fell in love with Montréal’s bike lanes in 2008. His experience in the fields of fine arts (BFA, York University), education (BEd, University of Ottawa) and commerce (MBA, HEC Montreal) have shaped his understanding of the challenges and opportunities our society and civilisation face. He is a member of the Coalition’s board since its inception and works as the National Campaign Coordinator for The Climate Reality Project Canada since 2016. He looks forward to seeing Montréal adopt an ambitious, necessary and visionary target of carbon neutrality for its 400th anniversary.
Karl Janelle
Karl Janelle is a PhD student in management and a lecturer at HEC Montréal, where his research currently focuses on the future of the health sector in the context of the socio-ecological transition. A biomedical engineer by training, he is also a lead strategist at Poudre Noire, where he assists public and non-profit organizations in their strategic innovation efforts. Through the Coalition, Karl seeks to foster the transition by stimulating public debate and supporting local citizen initiatives.
Selma Vorobief
Selma Vorobief has a Master’s degree in Marketing and a graduate degree in Program Evaluation. She has extensive experience in research and evaluation. She has accompanied and advised numerous organizations on a variety of topics. She is particularly interested in the environment, social-ecological transition and social innovation. Both through her professional background and her civic involvement, she supports organizations that contribute to the socio-ecological transition.