France CAPISTRAN

President, General and Artistic Manager

Instigator and founder of ACM, France Capistran holds degrees in psychology and pedagogy (U. Laval), audiovisual techniques and school television (U Laval), public relations (U. de Montréal), group animation and social and cultural animation (France and Institut Desjardins).

In cinema and television, we should mention: “Le soleil n’a pas de chance” (The Sun Has No Luck), “La nuit de la poésie” (The Night of Poetry), “Les procès de l’histoire” (The Trials of History), documentaries on French at work, on host families, on health, including “Commando Oxygène” (Oxygen Commando), “Écran de fumée” (Smoke Screen) and “Le travail et la santé mentale” (Work and Mental Health).

She founded (1978) and directed PARLIMAGE CCF, a consulting and training firm in communications, film, television and video, in addition to taking on thousands of internal and external communications mandates for multiple organizations including the Canadian Space Agency, Bombardier, Domtar, Bell Canada, Bell Canada, Magistrates’ Institute of Canada, Health Canada, the S.A.A.Q., the Régie du bâtiment, the Canadian Cancer Society, Public Health, Youth Centers, the National Bank, and various departments such as Revenue, Environment, Agriculture, Education, etc.

At the same time, she has developed more than a hundred specialized training courses in film and television, making PARLIMAGE the largest advanced training school in this sector in Quebec.

She has been offering her services free of charge to for-profit organizations for more than 40 years.

She served on the board of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the National Institut of Image and Sound. She chairs the board of directors of the theater company Les Trois Tristes Tigres.

She was responsible for creating the Arts-Affairs Committee and establishing the Montreal Chamber of Commerce. Her innovative approaches to training earned her the Quebec Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

Marie-Josée CORNAY

Treasurer

Marie-Josée CORNAY holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology and a certificate in sociology from the University of Montreal.

An authentic and strategic communicator, she places people at the heart of everything she does. Specializing in conscious leadership, public relations, and crisis management, she supports leaders, teams, and organizations in building strong and lasting relationships. With over 15 years of experience in general management, education, politics, and human support, her mission is to build bridges, mobilize, and promote meaningful projects.

Among her notable achievements, she created the podcast Entièrement Leader, dedicated to human and conscious leadership, helped more than 1,000 people transform their personal and professional lives, organized two tele-summits reaching more than 5,000 participants, and served as a speaker and trainer for organizations such as women’s centers and public institutions. She continues to serve as Founding President of Conscience en Action and is Director and Political Advisor to the National Assembly of Quebec. She has served as Assistant Director of Mobilization and Organization at the CAQ and Executive Director of the Memphrémagog Chamber of Commerce.

Chantal PROULX

Secretary

A career scientist, Chantal Proulx holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the Université de Montréal. She worked for many years for the Red Cross than Héma-Québec in 1998 and was Vice-President (Education & Scientific Support) at STEMCELL Technologies Inc., the largest biotech company in Canada. She led a team of scientific trainers on three continents and created, supervised, and delivered scientific and technical training in more than a dozen countries, which allowed her to develop exceptional listening and adaptability skills.

After 15 years in Vancouver, she and her husband decided to return to Quebec three years ago, and a happy coincidence led them to settle in North Hatley.

Very active within ACM, Chantal Proulx supports senior management in both day-to-day activities and the establishment of broad strategic directions, while also coordinating volunteers and activities and performing a number of communications tasks.

Yvan DAGENAIS

Administrator

A renowned painter, Yvan Dagenais’ artistic career spans several decades, during which he has taken numerous training courses and worked with recognized masters.

His works have been exhibited in Montreal, Paris, New York, Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships, among others, and have won numerous prestigious awards.

He was one of the first Canadians to become a member of the Pastel Society of America.

Retired from teaching at the Université de Sherbrooke, he continues to paint and draw, while remaining involved in community life, through Arts Cultures Massawippi, for example, or Vacances Art Nature in Coaticook and at the UTA (Memphrémagog branch).

He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Sherbrooke Museum of Fine Arts, where he remains active as a consultant.

Yvan Dagenais is the visual arts team leader at ACM and leads creative workshops that are popular with young and old alike.

Nathalie CARON

Administrator

After studying theater and earning a master’s degree in visual and media arts (UQAM), Nathalie Caron developed a professional artistic practice in the visual arts, focusing on the relationship between image and text. With a background in Waldorf pedagogy, she also pursues a teaching career, first in visual arts and then in theater, and is now part of the team at École des Enfants-de-la-Terre, in Waterville.

She creates plays for children that are hugely successful thanks to her creativity as a writer and her staging, which thrills not only children and their families, but also everyone else who has the chance to attend the highly popular performances.

Ginette BUREAU

Administrator

Ginette BUREAU holds a master’s degree in creative writing and a doctorate in French literature from the University of Sherbrooke. She is interested in the power of words and resilience through writing.

In 1979, she published Mona, which was a huge success both in Quebec and abroad. She has also published several stories and essays, all of which have been widely acclaimed by the public. Her story Je t’aime la vie (1985) was made into a film, Le Jardin d’Anna, which was shown on Radio-Canada’s Beaux Dimanches program and also circulated throughout the French-speaking world. In addition to a few translations, these first three titles appeared as serials in four major Quebec newspapers. All her works have one thing in common: they promote love, sharing, and faith in life. Her most recent title, Guérir la mère-transmissions inconscientes (Healing the Mother: Unconscious Transmissions), was published by Fides in 2019.

She taught spiritual anthropology at the University of Sherbrooke.

She also gave lectures and writing workshops. She was president of the Association des auteures et auteurs des Cantons de l’Est (Eastern Townships Authors Association) and representative of the Union des écrivains en Estrie (Estrie Writers Union). With a group of authors, she presented several literary shows in schools and various cultural venues. In 2006, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste of the Diocese of Sherbrooke awarded her the Juge-Lemay Literary Prize for her entire body of work.

She has been the patron of the Salon du livre de l’Estrie twice and has participated in numerous events.