Mission Committee

Manon Hélène Desjardins has served as a Director on the Board of Fondation Olo since September 2020. She is the Executive Director of Famille à Cœur, an organization that offers a full range of workshops and services for families in the MRC du Haut-Richelieu, including a perinatal resource centre. Driven by a commitment to family well-being, she developed a program in 2008 specifically for fathers facing difficulties and their children. Manon Hélène Desjardins is part of the Board of Director of various community organizations. She also brings over 15 years of experience across a diverse range of fields in the private sectors.

This vast social and corporate experience makes her a valuable asset to Fondation Olo.

Mireille Fortin holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Université Laval (1995) and has been an IBCLC-certified breastfeeding consultant since 2012. She has over 25 years of experience in the health and social services network. Over the years, she has held a variety of clinical and management positions, including those of nurse clinician, outpatient service coordinator, director of nursing and physical health, and chief of administration at several CSSS. Since 2012, she has been Chief of Administration at the Direction des services aux jeunes et aux familles of the CSSS-IUGS.

Highly committed to children and families, she is an active member of many local and regional committees concerned with early childhood development, perinatal care and breastfeeding. She coordinates programs for children aged 0 to 5, manages regional budgets, handles multiple memoranda of understanding with daycare centres (CPE) and community organizations, and plays key roles in accreditation, governance and cross-sector partnerships.

Marie-Ève Giroux holds master’s degrees in public administration and psychoeducation. She has been working in the youth sector for more than 25 years. Over the past three years, she has played a part in the evolution and improvement of perinatal services, particularly in view of the influx of asylum seekers in her region and the growing number of requests for perinatal follow-ups. In collaboration with midwives, nurses, nutritionists, community organizations as well as the various Montréal and Quebec network partners, she has developed paths to improve access to services. By joining the Board of Directors of Fondation Olo, she continues her work to reduce social inequalities for healthy families and children.

A passionate advocate for children’s rights and equal opportunity, André Lebon has been a consultant and freelancer in the social service field since 1986. He has carried out more than 50 consulting mandates in the early childhood, Indigenous population services, mental health, youth protection and rehabilitation sectors. Since 2003, he has served as Director and subsequently as Advisor for early childhood strategies at the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon and chaired the Commission sur l’éducation à la petite enfance headed by the Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance. In recent years, he acted as Vice-President of the Special Commission on the Rights of the Child and Youth Protection, also known as the Laurent Commission, a pivotal milestone in our shared mission to improve the well-being of little ones.

With over 25 years of experience advocating for preventative measures, André Lebon now serves as a strategic advisor for culturally appropriate services for Inuit families and youth in Nunavik. 

Marie-Josée Pineault has been with the Direction de la santé publique du Bas-Saint-Laurent for over 25 years. She contributed to the revision of the Public Health Act, which was passed in 1995, especially for the early childhood development, family and education components. Over the years, she has also participated in the development of several other government policies, including the Politique gouvernementale de prévention en santé (PGPS). Her contribution to the implementation of the Communauté ouverte et solidaire pour un monde outillé, scolarisé et en santé (COSMOSS) in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region is particularly noteworthy. She remains an active contributor to the regional coordinating committee for this initiative, which brings together stakeholders from the municipal, education and health sectors.

As a public health manager, Marie-Josée Pineault has sat on a number of national bodies and boards of directors dedicated to the community sector. Convinced of the benefits of preventive interventions, especially for children and their parents, she joined the Board of Directors of Fondation Olo to help give all Quebec children an equal chance.

Isabelle Papineau holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work as well as a graduate diploma in social administration. With over 28 years of experience in the health and social services network, she is currently the Director of Youth Programs and Public Health Activities at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest.

Having devoted most of her career to youth, she previously held a variety of management positions with CLSC early childhood and youth outreach teams and worked with youth centre mission teams. She also served as a social worker and project coordinator at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine.

Chantal Cusson holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a graduate degree in public health. She began her career as an early childhood nutritionist in a CLSC, where she also acted as an Olo care provider. Working alongside organizations focused on population wellness, she is co-chair of the Table de concertation nationale en promotion-prévention.

With nearly 30 years of experience in public health in the health network, Chantal Cusson is happy to return to her roots, working with young parents in community services, by sitting on the Board of Directors of Fondation Olo. Olo is delighted to benefit from the experience she acquired in her community.

Martin Gingras has nearly thirty years of experience in the Canadian financial sector. He is an established visionary leader who has steered high-impact transformations. Throughout his career, he has consistently drove the growth of every team and sector he has managed. He excels at implementing innovative customer- and employee-centric strategies. His leadership fosters collaborative, inclusive and high-performance environments. Martin Gingras is currently Senior Vice‑President for Personal Banking Solutions and Distribution Strategy at National Bank. In this role, he oversees the creation and execution of strategies for all personal banking channels.

Martin Gingras joined the Board of Directors of Fondation Olo in 2018 and now serves as its Chair. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from HEC Montréal and is a member of the Ordre des CPA du Québec. Father of two teenagers, he cultivates work-life balance through sport and cooking, passions he shares with his family.