Our organization
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors has been created to ensure the proper governance of ECO-02.
Debbie Ford-Caron
President
Debbie Ford-Caron was born in Stratford, Ontario and was raised and educated in Kingston, Ontario where she obtained her diploma as an Early Childhood Educator. She is married and has two grown sons. In 1981 after her husband completed his military career, they moved into the Saguenay region where he grew up. She worked as an educator at the Jardin d’Enfant d’Arvida until she retired in 2015. She was elected as a School Board Commissioner in 1998, a position that she still occupies in 2021. Currently, she is the President on the CIUSSS SLSJ Regional Access Committee that advocates for improved access to English health care services. Debbie is one of the original founders of ECO-02.
Eleanor Perry Morissette
Vice-President and Secretary
Eleanor was born in Arvida and has lived there all of her life, except for about ten years,
when she lived in Montreal. She is a retired secretary, and after retirement worked
as a tour guide for tourists coming to the Region on cruise ships.
She presently volunteers for ECO-02 as Vice-President, something that
she enjoys very much.
Martin Caron
Treasurer
Martin Caron was born in Chicoutimi, Québec. He graduated in Engineering from the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1976. After his military career, he settled back in the region where he has been living since 1981. Recently retired from an International Engineering firm, he has become the treasurer and a Board member of ECO-02 since its creation. Above his duties as treasurer, he also act as a mentor to implement best practices in project management with Eco-02 staff.
Karen Knight
Director
Karen Knight is originally from Fort Nelson, a small northern community in British Columbia. After graduating from the education program at the University of Victoria , she wanted to work and live in other parts of Canada and found herself in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. She has happily been teaching at Riverside Regional High School since her move in 1997.
Hélène Martin
Director
Born in Sept-Îles, she is a full-time working mom with two teenage children. Helene is trilingual in the following languages, French, Spanish and English. When she moved to the states in her mid-twenties, she met her future husband who was from Québec city. They moved to the Saguenay where her children could learn French and attend an English school. Helene and her husband chose the Saguenay to raise their family due to the beauty, the French-speaking community and access to an English school.
When Helene was approached to be on the Board of Directors, she knew she had to be a part of this organization. She understood the kind of challenges that minority speakers have in a predominately French-speaking community.
"The English community in Saguenay is a tight one. We take care of each other"
Lisa Deguire
Director
Where am I from? This is the quintessential question all teachers ask of their students to encourage conversation and help make them aware of their identity and culture. Paradoxically, it is not so simple for me to answer.
I identify as an English- speaking Québecer. I was born in Québec city, the first daughter of a military family that valued and practiced not only both official languages; but also, the language and culture of the various places we were posted to. In essence, I am an Army brat. My father was very proud of his Irish Montreal heritage. I also married military; we chose to retire here in his home region. I have lived in this region since 1993, the longest I have lived in one place ever... so..., I guess, one could say I am from here...
I am a retired Pedagogical Advisor and ESL Teacher at the college level.
Recently, I have reconnected with first loves, former fields and passions of photography, history, travel and tourism.
Respect for our anglophone community and specifically our elder's rights and needs in this bastion of the French language is of the upmost importance.
- LINKS:
** Linkedin Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-deguire-86962528/
** Office of the commissioner of Official languages
https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/publications/storytelling
Pier-Olivier Tremblay
Director
Pier-Olivier Tremblay was born in a little town called Saint-David de Falardeau, located in the Saguenay region (QC) in Canada. He grew up there for most of his life. He moved multiple times within the Saguenay region where he graduated as a Social Work Technician at the Cégep de Jonquière. He shares his life with his beautiful Fiancée and his cat, Biscuit. He spent most of his career working with teenagers, first in his hometown's youth center and now at Riverside Regional High School. Throughout his career, he joined multiple committees with the desire of further developing useful partnerships and strong links with the community. On top of his work with ECO-02 as a board member, he is also the President of the ''Comité régional en prévention des dépendances du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean'' Outside of work, Pier-Olivier has many passions. He plays musical instruments in various bands, practices Martial Arts, plays video games and loves cars and bikes. He sometimes wishes he could have either more time, or less hobbies !
Director
(We wish to recognize the contribution of our founding members. Anne-Marie Cronkwright, Debbie Ford-Caron, Jamie Kirlin, Karen Knight, Eleanor Perry Morissette, Melissa Perry)
