Board of Directors & Executive Director

President: Ms Yseult Friolet

Originally from Quebec, where she completed her training in education, Yseult has been living in British Columbia since 1976. After 10 years in education, she went on to specialize in the management of not-for-profit organizations, she holds a Certificate in Management from Simon Fraser University. She worked as a project manager for nearly five years at Canadian Heritage, and then served as Executive Director of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique from 1988 to 2007. During this time, she helped create organizations such as the Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique, and, as founding member, the Fondation des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique. She contributed to the establishment of the first Canada-British Columbia Agreement on French Language Services, as well as the opening of the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs at Simon Fraser University. From 2007 to 2015, she connected Francophone organizations with various levels of government to help them with their financing.

Now a volunteer in Vancouver, Yseult is a member of several boards of directors, including Réseau-Femmes in Vancouver, the Théâtre la Seizième, the André Piolat Foundation and La Boussole.

Having retired in 2015, she first sat on the board of the Foundation as Secretary, and in 2016 became President.

Vice-President: Ms Denise Branter

Originally from Quebec, Denise moved to Victoria in 1984. From 1984 to 1992 she was a teacher at the Victor-Brodeur School and then became the school’s director until 1998. Since 2000, she has been the president of the dance troupe Les Cornouillers, and since 2016, the president of La Société Radio Communautaire in Victoria.

Elected as a member of the first board of directors of the Fondation des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique at the founding General Assembly Meeting in 1999, she has been a member of the board since the beginning, with the exception of the years 2007 to 2009. In 2009 she became president, a position she held until 2015. She has since been a vice-president on the board of directors.

Denise is committed to promoting French-language education in British Columbia.

Secretary: Ms Nicole Legault

A native of Quebec and a graduate of the University of Ottawa, Nicole moved to British Columbia in 1978. After 18 years in the federal government as a human resources manager, she established her business management consulting firm, offering recruitment services, strategic planning, governance model and project management in Canada and abroad. The firm operated until 2010.

Nicole started her “third career,” volunteering in high schools and has not stopped since. She has held various positions since 1986, on the boards of directors of the Fédération des francophones (FFCB), the Fondation André Piolat, the Théâtre la Seizième, the Maison de la francophonie, the Chambre de commerce francophone de Vancouver and the Fondation des francophones de la C-B.

She is also active in the English-speaking community and has been a volunteer at the YWCA since 1986. From 2014 to May 2018, Nicole served as Chair of the Auxiliary at BC Women’s Hospital & Health Center and currently serves on the board of directors of BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre Foundation.

Director: Ms Mélanie Chartier

Originally from Quebec City, Mélanie arrived in British Columbia in 2000 to complete a Master of Laws degree at the University of British Columbia.

Mélanie worked for several years as a lawyer with the Department of Justice, where she also held the positions of Official Languages Coordinator and Official Languages Champion. Mélanie also held the position of Chair of the Official Languages Committee of the Pacific Federal Council from 2012 to 2013 and the position of Liaison Officer at the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages from 2013 to 2014.

From 2016 to 2019, Mélanie worked as a member of the Refugee Protection Division at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, where she presided over hearings in English and French. Since September 2019, she has been working as a Crown Prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

Mélanie is passionate about the outdoors, cycling and beach volleyball. In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation des francophones, Mélanie is a volunteer for Mom2Mom Child Poverty Initiative Society.

Director: Ms Marie-Claude Collins

Originally from France, Marie-Claude holds a bachelor’s degree in Litterature from the Faculty of Bordeaux and a Teacher’s Diploma from the College of Teacher Training in Glasgow, Scotland. She moved to Vancouver in 1968.

From 1970-1995 she has held various teaching and school leadership positions in Vancouver. She subsequently held school leadership positions with the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique including at the École André Piolat, École des Voyageurs and École Anne Hébert.

Retired since 2009, Marie-Claude is active in the English-speaking community. She is the secretary of her community association (False Creek South Neighborhood Association) and is a member of the committee responsible for negotiating lease renewals for False Creek buildings. She now wants to re-engage in the promotion of French-language education in British Columbia. She became a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation in 2018.

Director : M. Jean-Claude Roy

Originally from the Montmagny region of Quebec, Jean-Claude Roy completed his training in agronomy at the École d’agronomie de la Pocatière, affiliated with Laval University in Quebec. He worked for the federal government in the Department of Agriculture for some 30 years.

As an agronomist specializing in accounting, he helped farmers with their financial challenges. He became a part-time farmer for about 15 years and became involved in soybean farming. He participated in the establishment of this crop in Quebec. In addition to his professional activities, he is involved in his community with several organizations and institutions, including as a municipal councillor in Saint-Pierre de la Rivière du sud for four years. He was also an advisor at the office of the Caisse populaire de Montmagny for several years.

As an agronomist specializing in accounting, he helped farmers with their financial challenges. He became a part-time farmer for about 15 years and became involved in soybean farming. He participated in the establishment of this crop in Quebec. In addition to his professional activities, he is involved in his community with several organizations and institutions, including as a municipal councillor in Saint-Pierre de la Rivière du sud for four years. He was also an advisor at the office of the Caisse populaire de Montmagny for several years.