Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is made up of volunteers from the business community and representatives from our founding cities. The latter are high-level professionals who act on a voluntary basis within the Board. No elected member sits on the council. Proanima holds its AMP certification, which attests to its sound governance.
Geneviève Desrochers, ing.,
President and Founder
Retired engineer, 1988 graduate of Université Laval and member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, Ms. Desrochers began her career in a consulting engineering firm as a structural engineer. In 1995, she started a recruitment company specializing in engineering positions, and in 2001, she joined Dotemtex Recherche de cadres as Vice President and Partner, a position she held until 2018. In 2011, with the assistance of a business group, she started Proanima.
Chantal Allinger, DMV, Vice-President
Ms. Allinger has been involved in small animal veterinary medicine for thirty-six years, including nearly thirty years as a veterinarian. She has about fifteen years of hands-on experience, in addition to several years in the industry and as the owner and manager of her own company. For about ten years, she was a member of the Association des médecins vétérinaires du Québec (AMVQ) Board of Directors, including five years as its president. For the past ten years, she has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Anima Québec. In addition, her participation in various committees and working groups on animal welfare in Quebec has enabled her to acquire an expertise that she has shared with Proanima since the very beginning.
Fannie Noël, MBA, Treasurer
With more than 20 years of experience in various sectors of activity, Ms. Noël is Director of Corporate Finance at the Business Development Bank of Canada. A valuable partner, she supports companies in growth, productivity and innovation initiatives. Involved in the business community, Ms. Noël sits on various boards of directors, including Proanima’s since 2017, where she heads the finance committee. She has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Université de Sherbrooke (2007).
Wendy Chavez, Lawyer, Administrator
Ms. Chavez has extensive experience as a legal counsel and training officer. She was an ambassador for the GroupedesTrente, promoting ethnocultural diversity among Montreal BODs. She was a director at SUCO and at the Carrefour Famille Hochelaga. She attended the programs of the Réseau jeunes femmes leaders and the Incubateur Jeunes administrateurs (Institute for governance of private and public organizations). In 2017, she took the Administrateurs de la relève course at the Regroupement des jeunes chambres de commerce.
Sylvie Gervais, CRHA, Administrator
Ms. Gervais has more than twenty years of experience in human resources and health and safety, and sits on the Boards of Directors of Unicel Architectural Corp. and of CSMO Mines. She has also been a trustee for Proanima since 2017 and heads the Human Resources Committee of Proanima’s Board of Directors. In 2018, she became Vice President of Human Resources for Quebec’s leading diamond mine, Stornoway. She holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology from Concordia University, as well as a certificate in industrial relations from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Luc Olivier, CPA, Administrator
(description and picture to come)
Marie-Josée Salvail, Eng. M. Eng., Administrator
Ms. Salvail holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (1992) and a master’s degree in engineering management (2001) from the Université de Sherbrooke. She worked for just over six years in the industrial sector as a project manager before moving into the municipal sector in September 1999. Initially head of the supply and mechanical division for the city of St-Bruno-de-Montarville, she was promoted to head the supply department of the city of Longueuil during the municipal merger in January of 2002. After structuring the new large supply department, which at the time served the seven former cities that had become boroughs, she was appointed Director of Public Works for Boucherville, a position she has held since April 19, 2004.
Caroline Pagé, Administrator
Ms. Pagé holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning, which she obtained in 1993 from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is a member of the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec and has been working in the field of urban planning for over 27 years. She began her career as a municipal inspector for the town of Shawinigan-Sud, before working for nearly 10 years as Director of the Planning Department in the town of Lac-Mégantic. She later held the position of project manager for a private office in Montreal, the position of urban planner for the town of Saint-Philippe, and that of assistant director for the town of Beloeil. During these years, she has, among other things, made several regulatory overhauls of urban planning regulations. She was also a director of the Association québécoise d’urbanisme for 4 years. Since 2015, she has been part of the Town Planning, Environment and Sustainable Development Department of the town of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, as Head of the Regulation, Permits and Inspection Division.
Gaby Jodoin, CRIA, Administrator
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from Laval University, Mr. Jodoin worked for more than twenty years as a human resources manager for organizations such as Agropur, Cargill Foods and Danone. He joined the city of Longueuil as Deputy Director General of Community Services in September 2018. A new corporate member of Proanima’s Board of Directors since December 2020, he will provide the team with his expertise in the municipal sector, resources people and organizational performance.
Ghislain Cossette, MBA, Administrator
Description to come
Me Robert Williamson, Vice-President
Me Williamson has been a notary since 1993 and specializes in business law (business sales and financing) and corporate law (corporate reorganizations, share sales, shareholder agreements). He is a sought-after legal advisor for the entrepreneur and he favors contacts with other professionals, such as accountants and tax specialists, in order to provide complete service to his clients. Naturally, he is a member of several organizations of business people and in particular, of the Chamber of commerce of the south shore of Montreal. Since 2006, he sits on the board of directors of the PME INTER NOTAIRES network, which brings together more than 250 notaries and 400 collaborators throughout Quebec.
Natacha Bouvier, MBA, Administrator
Holder of a master’s degree in business administration, Ms. Bouvier has been a manager in information technology for more than 20 years. His experiences include the engineering, fashion, transit and logistics industries. She is currently vice-president of information technology and innovation at Groupe Robert. She also sits on the board of directors of Place à l’emploi, an employability advice center on the south shore.
Caroline Lavallée, posthumous honorary member
The Proanima team would like to honor the memory of Caroline Lavallée and we thank her for her involvement in our mission.