Exploring Partnership Opportunities with CELI’s Advisory Committee

Join us for an interactive session featuring members of the Community Empowerment Literacy Initiative (CELI) Advisory Committee. This webinar will provide an opportunity to meet the people behind CELI, learn about their organizations, and explore potential collaborations to strengthen the literacy and employment ecosystem for English-speaking communities in Quebec. 

 

Hosted by TALQ and Literacy Quebec, this webinar will feature three 15-minute presentations followed by a 15-minute Q&A, presented by:

 

Launched in 2021, CELI strengthens the English-speaking community of Quebec (ESCQ). Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and led by Literacy Quebec with the fiduciary support of TALQ, CELI supports community-based literacy and essential skills (LES) providers in Quebec’s English-speaking community. Through funding and professional development activities (including webinars, workshops, and online resources), CELI helps organizations :

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Buck is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC).  CEDEC has designed a new and innovative approach to economic development that helps communities achieve lasting success by identifying and leveraging their strongest opportunities for growth.  Specifically, CEDEC helps create public-private-civil society partnerships to foster economic innovation and creativity, combine resources and expertise, and drive local economic development initiatives.  

 

John is an innovative and results oriented leader with a track record of success and a history of creating positive change in communities.  As the President and CEO of CEDEC, John leads a diverse and talented team of professionals dedicated to creating jobs, upskilling workers, increasing wages and revenues, building and growing businesses, and increasing investments in communities.  John is committed to enhancing the economic health of communities.   

 

John is a member of the Community Empowerment Literacy Initiative (CELI) Project Advisory Committee.  John is a Board Director on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Forum.  John is a Board Director for the Provincial Employment Roundtable and for the Advisory Committee for English-Speaking Quebecers.  John is a Past Chair of the Board of the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE).  

 

Foundational literacy skills underpin success in both educational attainment and workforce participation. Anchored by CEDEC’s mission to strengthen the economic well-being of English-speaking Quebecers, Mr. Buck’s presentation will highlight the critical link between literacy, career and job readiness, and ongoing labour market participation across all sectors, from professionals and tradespeople to blue-collar workers. Drawing on applied research and real-world examples, John’s presentation will illustrate how improved literacy enhances access to training, job mobility, and long-term employability. The presentation emphasizes the importance of collaborative strategies that unite literacy organizations and workforce developers through CEDEC’s ECOSystem. Working together creates the potential to build stronger education-to-employment pathways. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio: 

For more than 25 years, Cathy Brown has been a driving force in strengthening the vitality of Quebec’s English-speaking communities. 

A graduate of CEGEP de la Gaspésie et des Îles, Cathy joined the Committee for Anglophone Social Action (CASA) in 2001 and held a range of roles before becoming Executive Director in 2008. Over the next 12 years, she oversaw major growth in CASA’s programs and services—benefiting communities along the Gaspé Coast through expanded support in health and social services, employment, and economic development, including tourism initiatives. 

 

In 2019, Cathy co-founded the Regional Development Network (RDN) and became its first Executive Director. Under her leadership, RDN has flourished over the past five years, establishing itself as a key provincial voice for English-speaking communities. Cathy has also contributed her expertise at the provincial level, serving on numerous boards and committees, including the Provincial Access to Health and Social Services Committee. She currently sits on the boards of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) and the Comité consultatif pour les Québécoises et les Québécois d’expression anglaise (CCQEA). 

 

This presentation will focus on Who is the Regional Development Network and what we do to help improve the Socio-economic situation of the Regional Organizations of Quebec.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicholas Salter has been the Executive Director of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) since 2021. He brings fifteen years of leadership experience to the role working with multiple levels of government, the private sector, higher education institutions, foundations, health and social services agencies, and community organizations. After establishing PERT's policy capacity and developing strong partnerships with stakeholders, his priority has been to develop and scale innovative initiatives to close the employment and earnings gap for Quebec’s English speakers. 

 

Prior to joining the Provincial Employment Roundtable, Nicholas directed communications and outreach for McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, where he played a key role in helping to build and launch the School. Nicholas previously headed the policy and communications work at Powered by Data — a nonprofit focused on open data and open government. Nicholas has also been involved in federal politics, where he led the team of a Member of Parliament and later became an advisor to regional teams and multiple parliamentarians. 

 

Nicholas holds an MSW in International and Community Development, a BA in Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations Management. He is also a past fellow of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy. He is currently a member of the Conseil du patronat du Québec’s Comité éducation et adéquation formation-emploi and the Fédération des chambres du commerces du Québec’s Comité Éducation, formation et main-d’œuvre. He is also a member of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) Inter-Level Educational Table (ILET) and Literacy Quebec’s Community Empowerment through Literacy Initiative (CELI) Project Advisory Committee. He is a past board member of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex — a not-for-profit community-led health organisation and past Vice-President of the Carrefour jeunesse emploi – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. 

 

Our presentation will introduce the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) and our work to strengthen labour market inclusion for Québec’s English-speaking communities through collaboration with community, education, employment, employer, and government partners. It will also presents our Circonflexe Mentorship Program, a province-wide initiative we developed to connect English-speaking Quebecers with French-proficient professionals, building workplace confidence, expanding professional networks, and supporting full participation in Québec’s labour market.