Board of Trustees – The McCord Stewart Museum announces the appointment of six new members

Art advisor

Jo-Ann Kane serves as a consultant in collection management, offering services in evaluations, management, and acquisitions of artworks to corporate clients and private collectors. An art historian, Jo-Ann Kane holds a master’s degree in museology and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Since 2016, she has been an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA).

As the Curator of the Art Collection at Banque Nationale since 2002, she continues to conduct her duties on a contractual basis. From 1997 to 2000, she was the curator of the art collection at Hydro-Québec. In her roles as an advisor and invited curator, Jo-Ann Kane has undertaken several significant projects. Among her key clients are Banque Nationale, Cogir Immobilier, Lune Rouge, and Metfin Group.

In 2010, she was appointed ambassador of the Faculty of Arts at UQÀM. In 2013, she was a member of the working group on cultural philanthropy established by the government of Québec. She also serves on the board of directors of the Guido Molinari Foundation, is a member of the UQAM Alumni Council, and is a member of the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board.

Former Member of the Québec Nations Assembly

Born in Montreal in 1955, Geoffrey Kelley worked as a political attaché in the office of Minister Claude Ryan (1990-1994) before running as a candidate in the Jacques-Cartier riding in 1994. He was a member of Parliament for 24 years. For eight years, he also held the position of Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

Since his retirement from politics in 2018, he has been appointed negotiator for the Quebec government with the Mohawk community of Kahnawake. He is also a lecturer at McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. Always involved in the community as a volunteer, Geoffrey Kelley sits on the boards of directors of Projets Autochtones du Québec, Mouvement pour mettre fin à l’itinérance à Montréal, Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence, and Saint Patrick’s Society.

Chair of the Board, Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Marché allemand de Noël

Britta established her own ready-to-wear house “LILI CREPON” in Paris, for which La Maison Simons was a client almost from the start. She went on to set up her own Fashion & Lifestyle consulting agency, and worked in Couture, Ready-to-Wear, Retail (Auchan), and 3 Suisses catalog, which she refers to as the grandparents of e-commerce.

These experiences greatly broadened her horizon and skills and encouraged her to adapt to new creative and commercial realities.

Based in Quebec City, she acts as a consultant for La Maison Simons and is also involved in the community. The Marché de Noël allemand de Québec, to which she has contributed as president since its very beginnings, is a true example of creativity, sharing, and inclusion.

She serves as an ambassador for the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Canada’s dean of orchestras, of which she has been Chairperson of the Board since September 2021, as well as the YWCA de Québec, the Monastère des Augustines, Jeunes Musiciens du Monde, Fondation Jeunes en Tête. She is also committed to many other causes linked to culture and the achievement of greater social justice.

Conseillère juridique – CSSPNQL — Professeure – Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal

Karine Millaire, avocate, LL.M., PhD., est conseillère juridique à la Commission de la Santé et des Services Sociaux des Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador et professeure à la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal.

À la fois avocate, chercheuse et enseignante universitaire, Karine Millaire assure un rôle-conseil stratégique et s’investit dans la défense des intérêts des Premières Nations, tout en participant à la diffusion et l’avancement des connaissances dans ses domaines d’expertise. Sa pratique et ses travaux portent sur le droit constitutionnel et les droits des peuples autochtones, incluant en matière de droits humains, de gouvernance et de sécurisation culturelle.

Issue de la nation Huronne-Wendate, elle est une citoyenne engagée. Karine Millaire est administratrice et membre du conseil exécutif de Projets autochtones du Québec. Elle souhaite contribuer à supporter la mission sociale et la vision éducative cruciales du Musée McCord Stewart, en particulier en matière d’autochtonisation et de décolonisation des savoirs comme des institutions.

Executive Director – Association Provinciale des Entrepreneurs en Systèmes Intérieurs du Québec

Guy Parent is a skilled manager with over 25 years of diverse and relevant management experience. He has held several positions of high responsibility during his impressive career.

His passion for leadership led him to hold general management positions in non-profit organizations, where he brilliantly led governance reviews at the board level and drove organizational development.During his career, he had sat on several boards of directors as treasurer. Mr. Parent could share his experience to enable organizations to transmit relevant information so that board members could focus on issues.

His expertise extends to the effective management of human, material, financial and informational resources, which has contributed significantly to the success of the organizations he has led. In addition, he successfully led an accounting and finance department, optimizing business processes and ensuring strict compliance with administrative policies, accounting standards and ethics and compliance rules. His background also includes remarkable achievements in financial and business turnaround, including the establishment of internal control systems to ensure sound management of financial resources. His ability to turn around operations and business performance is unquestionable, thanks to his talent for developing and coordinating strategic action plans. As a strategic communicator, he has also acted as a spokesperson with various organizations, thus strengthening their visibility and reputation.

Directeur de la technologie

Directeur TI, Bettara Sonny élargit la vision et les perspectives u des équipes de direction dont il fait partie. Au fil d’un parcours de plus de 15 ans, il a construit et dirigé des équipes d’ingénieur·e·s en Europe et au Canada qui ont livré avec succès des projets d’infrastructure TI, de jeux vidéo et de marketing numérique de grande qualité.

Au-delà de son expertise en TI, son orientation vers l’humain transparaît dans la gestion de ses équipes. Ses engagements sont motivés par une forte volonté de créer des impacts positifs.

Fondamentalement convaincu que le jeu est le meilleur vecteur de transmission des savoirs et un outil qui favorise l’apprentissage, il a cofondé l’Awalé Academy Montréal afin d’inviter les jeunes ─ et les moins jeunes ─- à redécouvrir leur héritage afrodescendant à travers l’Awalé, un jeu qui mêle stratégies et mathématiques.

M. Sonny est à l’origine du programme 3 pirogues qui vise à accompagner les jeunes professionnels dans la gestion de leur temps, de leurs compétences et de leurs réseaux afin d’accroître leurs chances de se démarquer sur un marché du travail mouvant et concurrentiel.