Appointee Biographies

JULIE LANTAIGNE

Julie Lantaigne has held several positions over the course of her 25-year career in the health sector. She brings to Council the perspective of someone who started her career in Temiskaming Shores and who, through progressive leadership roles, has gained broader insights on the health needs of Francophones living in a minority setting. She follows in the steps of former Chair, Mariette Carrier Fraser, who devoted her time and energy over a decade to build a strong foundation for the Council’s future tasks.

ANGELE BRUNELLE

The director of the l'Accueil francophone de Thunder Bay, Angèle Brunelle is also an advocate for northwest Ontario's Francophone community. She has dedicated her life to promoting Francophone rights in the health and education sectors and is an active member of is an active member of the NorWest Community Health Centres Board of Directors. Angèle Brunelle has been on the Council since 2020.

SUZANNE FILION

Dr. Filion is known as a psychologist, administrator, and keynote speaker. She is the former vice-president of Development and Integration at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital and was a member of the Royal Ottawa Hospital board of directors. She was also a member of provincial councils such as the Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine. Dr. Filion is currently the president and CEO of the FILION Psychology Professional Corporation and is a clinical and administrative consultant to provincial and national organizations in the fields of first responders and long-term care. She has worked in various sectors such as community and hospital, urban and rural, as well as public and private. Moreover, Dr. Filion is an advocate of minority groups and the rural sector. In 2018, she was honoured with the prestigious National Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service by the Canadian Psychological Association.

FATOUMATA (FANTA) ONGOIBA

Fatoumata Ongoiba is currently the Executive Director of Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA), and a leader in the African community. She has worked in a number of capacities related to human rights and humanitarian causes, including as treatment information exchange counselor at CATIE (Canada’s source for information about HIV and hepatitis C) and as a community health promotion worker at the francophone center of Toronto.

NOHA ELSHEIKH

Noha Elsheikh is the French Language Mental Health & Addiction System Navigator at the Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction & Mental Health Services. She is also a member of the French Mental Health & Addiction System Network Table of the Franco-Info Table for London and the surrounding counties, and of London-Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership Health & Wellbeing Sub-Council.

FLORENCE NGENZEBUHORO

Florence Ngenzebuhoro has 27 years of solid experience in the administration, coordination and implementation of health and social services in community and government agencies. She is currently the Executive Director of the Centre Francophone du Grand Toronto and a member of the board of governors of the Université de l’Ontario français. In 2021, she was given the rank of Officer by the Ordre de la Pléiade.

ELIZABETH ALLARD

Since the early 1960s, Élizabeth Allard has held many roles in the Francophone community in Ontario and in the rest of Canada, including Head of Official Languages at the National Capital Commission and Director of Official Languages for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces. After retiring, she was president of the Fédération des ainés et retraités francophones de l’Ontario and subsequently president of the Fédération des ainées et ainés francophones du Canada. In May 2013, she was named a Knight of the Ordre de la Pléiade by the Ontario government.

DENIS VAILLANCOURT

Denis Vaillancourt has worked in French-language education in Ontario as a teacher, principal, school trustee, superintendent and director of education for over 39 years. He has also served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Education responsible for French Language Education and Educational Administration with the Ontario Ministry of Education. His community involvement has earned him the Ordre de la francophonie de Prescott et Russell, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the rank of Knight of the Ordre de la Pléiade.

SEAN KEAYS

Sean Keays is the CEO of the Foyer Richelieu in Welland, a position he has held since January 2010. Mr. Keays holds a Master's degree in Gerontology from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in the built environment stream. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Gerontology.