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Governance
CPF National Board of Directors 2009-10
CPF National is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Each Director serves a mandate of either one or two years, with half of the Board being elected for a single year.
David M. Brennick
President
David Brennick has gained parental experience with French-second-language learning through his three children who have been students in core French, extended core French and late French immersion programs. With a view to supporting the value of learning French as a second language and enhancing the opportunities for others, he has served on the Board of CPF-Nova Scotia initially as a director before completing a two year term as president.
David is currently Coordinator of Secondary Programs with the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board in Eastern Nova Scotia. After a number of years as a French-second-language teacher in the Annapolis Valley and the Cape Breton region, he became a Central Office administrator for more than twenty years with responsibilities in the areas of human resources, French first- and second-language programs, secondary programs and student services. During this time, he has been an active member of many professional associations including the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT), l'Association canadienne des professeurs d'immersion (ACPI) and the executive of the Nova Scotia Language Teachers' Association.
David recently returned to the Central Office of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board after a three-year secondment with the Department of Education as Director of the Network for Children and Youth, Eastern Nova Scotia. Its mandate was to improve outcomes for children and youth through more effective working relationships among fifty providers of services to children and youth including government (Education, Health, Justice and Community Services) and a host of non-governmental service agencies.
David is a graduate of Dalhousie (B.A), St. Mary's (B.Ed) and St. F.X (Med.) universities and has been a doctoral candidate at the University of Tennessee. He has taught graduate level courses in Education at Cape Breton and St. F.X Universities. He is also a certified organic market gardener with the Cape Breton Farm Market Association.
Leonard Quilty
Vice-President
Leonard Quilty has been a CPF volunteer since 1998 when he was invited to a chapter meeting in his hometown of Marystown, Newfoundland. At that initial meeting, Leonard volunteered to serve as the chapter President. The following year, 1999, he moved on to take a larger leadership role as President of CPF-Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Leonard remained in that position until September 2005.
During his tenure as CPF-NL President, Leonard was glad to play a role in various provincial initiatives that led to a significant growth in volunteer numbers. As well, in his position as branch president, he was able to forge positive relations and strong partnerships with many FSL stakeholder groups. These groups included Canadian Heritage, the Department of Education, school boards, school administrators, and FSL teachers and students.
Being the branch president also afforded many opportunities for Leonard to interact with branch presidents from across the country. These sessions proved invaluable in terms of sharing success stories and learning how other branches grow their organizations.
Aside from his CPF volunteer work, Leonard is an FSL teacher in NL. This year marks Leonard's twenty-fourth year as an educator. For about half of those years he has been a teacher/librarian at various schools within the Eastern School District. Leonard is a graduate of Memorial University, holding B.A., B.Ed., and M.Ed. degrees.
One of his greatest joys as an FSL teacher is preparing his students for the regional and provincial Concours d'art oratoire competitions. Leonard has long recognized the importance of good communication skills, especially in the FSL classroom. He feels that the Concours d'art oratoire is one of the strongest programs that CPF has. This competition allows CPF volunteers to have a direct link to the French classroom, thus developing strong partnerships at that level.
Beyond his work and volunteer commitments, Leonard also finds time to do some writing. For the past seven years he has written a weekly column called "From the Teacher's Desk". This column currently appears in two community newspapers in NL: The Charter in Placentia, and The Southern Gazette in Marystown. It is also published in The Nickel Belt News in Thompson, MB.
Leonard and his wife Jane have two daughters enrolled in the French immersion program in Marystown. Their son has completed his first year at Memorial University.
Leonard has served as a Director on the national board of CPF for the past two years and is very pleased to begin his two year term as Vice-President. He looks forward to the opportunity of continuing to make a contribution to the enhancement of FSL education in Canada.
Marie Larivière
Board Member
Originally from Montreal, Quebec, Marie Lariviere spent twenty years in British Columbia where she obtained a B.Ed and a M.Ed from the University of Victoria. She taught eleven years in the French immersion program at Keating Elementary in the Saanich school district. During those years at Keating, Marie had the opportunity to work along side CPF members. That was her first contact with CPF as an organization. She recalls being impressed with anglophone parents who were convinced that learning French was an advantage for their children and who were willing to provide support in any way they could so their children could be successful learning the other official language.
During her teaching years, Marie served on the Executive Committee of the Association provinciale des professeurs d’immersion et du programme cadre (APPIPC). This volunteer work provided Marie with valuable experience as a Board member and, at the same time, made her aware of the situation of French as a second language at the provincial level. Like in most Canadian provinces, issues such as teacher shortages, accessibility to programs and quality education needed to be addressed.
In 2006, life brings Marie back to the East, particularly in Ottawa, where she held the position of Executive Director for the Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers (ACPI-CAIT). During her time at ACPI, Marie definitely gained a greater understanding of the FSL situation at the national level. She worked closely with representatives of Canadian Heritage, the French Embassy, the Office of the Commissioner of the Official Languages, partner associations such as CPF and various other stakeholders.
Over the years, Marie has come to know and respect greatly the work of CPF as an organization. She intends to serve her term with diligence and determination.
Jordan Wright
Board Member
Jordan Wright, a self-described "CPF lifer", has been involved with the organization since his days in pre-school just over 20 years ago. Since this time, Jordan's involvement with CPF has stayed strong, while changing, over the years. Moving from camp participant to camp counsellor, and Concours winner to Regional Concours Chair, are examples of how Jordan has experienced CPF from many different perspectives.
Having completed the EFI program and being selected Canadian Parents for French NL's Inaugural French Immersion Student of the Year (2001), Jordan continued his French studies at Memorial University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts with a major in French in 2005. From there, Jordan pursued his Masters of Business Administration and graduated in 2008, while also completing French courses at the graduate level from Université Laval to further hone and test his FSL skills.
Currently, Jordan holds the position of Manager of Programs at the Gardiner Centre, Memorial University's Faculty of Business Administration's newly formed outreach unit, and keeps busy outside of work with his involvement with the MUN Ballroom and Latin Dance Club, Gower Street United Church, Les Jeux de la Francophonie and sports such as soccer and hockey.
Jordan is passionate about FSL learning and has seen the benefits of a bilingual education first hand. He is committed to working with young people, where he has experience working as a French tutor, sports coach and as a staff person with the Shad Valley International Program. Over his CPF career, at the chapter level, Jordan has held the post of Chapter Treasurer, has helped oversee summer students and participated in fundraising activities. At the Newfoundland and Labrador Branch level he has performed the roles of Secretary and Youth Representative and was a member of the Bi-Laws, Nominations, Concours and Personnel Selection Committees while at the National level, he has also served on the Concours Committee.
His varied background has made him an experienced contributor on both branch and chapter executives in Newfoundland and Labrador, and he looks forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead as a National Board member, working cooperatively to further the mandate of CPF.
Laurel McIntyre
Board Member
Laurel McIntyre, who lives near Victoria, B.C. has served over ten years as a Director for her local CPF chapter, taking on the roles of school liaison, publications and advocacy. Her two daughters recently graduated from French immersion, and she was enrolled in French as a Second Language as an elementary student in Winnipeg, Manitoba continuing to study French through to University. In 1997 she became a passionate supporter of CPF when her local school district was contemplating the elimination of core French from Kindergarten to Grade 4. She continues to advocate for French programs, opportunities and resources for FSL and French immersion students and truly values French education and bilingualism.
She holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia, was a senior instructor at the Michener Institute of Medical Technology in Toronto, then “retired” to Victoria to own & operate a Printing and Stationery store with her husband of 25 years - Steve. Laurel places high priority on giving back to her community, has donated a considerable amount of her time to many non-profit organizations over the years, and has held the office of president, secretary and treasurer. She understands how non-profit societies function and is a consensus builder. She also gained valuable experience in decision-making and public speaking when she was elected as a councillor for the Town of Sidney Municipal Council.
Laurel is very pleased to be nominated to the CPF National Board and welcomes the opportunity to support and promote the vision, mission and strategies of Canadian Parents for French.
Lisa Marie Perkins
Board Member
Lisa Marie Perkins was on the board of directors for CPF in Red Deer, a member of the national inclusive policy making committee, and the President of the local Francophone association, Association canadienne francaise de l’Alberta (ACFA régionale de Red Deer).
Her home is in the beautiful city of Red Deer, Alberta where she resides with her son Alexander who is 11 and enrolled in French immersion. Lisa Marie has a degree in Political Science, History, and French from Simon Fraser University and a Masters Degree in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University. She currently works for The City of Red Deer as a Strategic Planner.
Thanks to her parents foresight, Lisa Marie was provided with the opportunity to enter the late immersion program in grade 7. Being bilingual has been a great asset in her life both in her career and personal experience. She has worked, studied, travelled, and lived in her second language. Being bilingual makes her feel truly Canadian. It has positively impacted on how she views herself within a Canadian context and how she perceives Canada’s place in the world.
Lisa Marie hopes to bring to the board her passion for bilingualism. She believes this opportunity belongs to everybody and is for everybody. Her greatest wish for CPF is that through the hard work of its members, staff, and executives, it continues to play a critical role in defining the future for French- second-language education in Canada.
Lisa Marie Perkins feels honoured to be nominated to the board and is touched that people feel she has something of value to give to CPF. She looks forward to doing her best to meet that expectation.
Fran Sutton
Board Member
Fran Sutton brings to the National Board 28 years of experience in advocacy, 21 of those dealing with French second language (FSL) issues. She has been a dedicated advocate for FSL beginning with the French Immersion Parents Association and over the past 16 years as a member of her CPF chapter executive, including many years as Vice-Chair. She took on the role of CPF representative on the parent associations (later school councils) of her children's elementary and secondary schools for 11 years.
Fran had developed and delivered a number of briefs to her school board on FSL issues. She has been a strong advocate for improved transportation to her board's secondary French immersion program, for strong, viable and sustainable French immersion elementary and secondary programs and for remedial assistance for French immersion students to combat attrition. She also advocated for the retention of core French in the primary grades after its provincial funding was withdrawn. At the provincial level, Fran took the position of Area Liaison Officer for Central Ontario, a chapter reporting system within the former CPF Ontario Council, later called the Board of Directors. In 2001, Fran’s passionate belief in the concept of Equity of Access in Public Education inspired her to conduct a study of transportation to French immersion and extended French programs in Ontario.
Fran's professional background is in education. She was a full time high school English teacher, holding a B.A., B.Ed. and Specialist Qualifications, before becoming a stay-at-home mother. As a volunteer parent in the school system, Fran's committee work has gone beyond FSL concerns to encompass Character Education, a School Council Policy and Procedure Review around the new provincial legislation and the Commission on School Reform in Ontario. In addition to education issues, Fran has a deep interest in environmental issues.
Fran brings to the Board of Directors her firm belief in equity. Although she sees the provision of transportation to FSL programs as an important component of equity of access, she believes students should also enjoy equity of access to quality resources such as text books and library books through appropriate spending of FSL funds. She also contends that this concept of equity should include access to remedial assistance so that more children will enrol in, remain in and thrive in their FSL programs, thereby getting us closer to the goal of doubling the proportion of high school graduates with a working knowledge of their second official language. She has worked energetically on behalf of French second language learning in Ontario and looks forward to continuing that effort from a national perspective.
As the proud mother of four graduates of early French immersion, two of whom have acquired additional languages, and three of whom are already using their French in their careers, she does not hesitate to extol the benefits of FSL to other parents.