Governance
President | Derreck Bentley
Vice President | Kate Peters
Treasurer | Marc Gobeil
Secretary | Dr. Wendy Carr
Since participating in CPF Chapter meetings in elementary school, Derrek has been passionate about French language promotion and education. In 2011, he joined CPF Manitoba’s Branch Board as a director. In 2016, he became a member of CPF’s National Board and in 2020 was nominated as President. Derrek wants la francophonie to be more inclusive of all French-speakers, regardless of accent, and he believes that youth are the proponents of this change.
Email: dbentley[at]cpf.ca
Kate’s relationship with CPF began when she was Deputy Director of the Alliance Francaise of Calgary. Since then, she’s worked as the Community Liaison Officer for the Francophone Secretariat with the Government of Alberta and Director of the Centre collegial de l’Alberta and Academic Administration at the University of Alberta. She feels privileged to have a young Francophile family supportive of community engagement activities and is excited to be part of CPF’s growth.
Email: kpeters[at]cpf.ca
Marc is a true advocate for FSL education and bilingual learning opportunities in higher education. He is the Director of the French Immersion Stream at the University of Ottawa and a regular collaborator with members of the FSL Partner Network. Apart from participating in university and community events that promote French education, Marc is also a proud father of two teenage sons and devotes much of his spare time to playing and coaching ultimate frisbee.
Email: mgobeil[at]cpf.ca
Dr. Wendy Carr is a Professor of Teaching in Education at the University of British Columbia after a long career as a core French teacher. She has authored FSL curriculum resources and scholarly articles and has edited or co-edited the annual CPF State of FSL Education reports and Research/Advocacy briefs. Underpinning advocacy work with current research and practice has always been important and she is proud to have contributed to this long CPF tradition.
Email: wcarr[at]cpf.ca
Director | Nancy McKeraghan
Director | Dr. Richard Slevinsky
Director | Diane Tijman
Executive Director | Nicole Thibault
Nancy founded the York Region French Immersion Association in 1982 which eventually became a Chapter of Canadian Parents for French (York Region, Ontario). She has held every executive position possible within the organization including Member at Large, Secretary, Treasurer, Chair, Vice President, and President. Nancy is a true FSL advocate and CPF is lucky she has been such an integral part of its growth for 39 years.
Email: nmckeraghan[at]cpf.ca
Richard is a native Franco Albertan who defines commitment towards FSL education. He holds a MEd and PhD from the University of Alberta and served as a French teacher and administrator in core, immersion and French first language settings for over 40 years. He was recognized by the Association Canadienne-Française de l’Alberta in 2004 for his outstanding contribution to French language education.
Email: rslevinsky[at]cpf.ca
As a young Francophile, Diane worked hard to become bilingual by completing a B.A in French and M.A in Second Language Education. She has been a CPF Richmond Chapter member for over 22 years and served as CPF BC Yukon President from 2016 – 2018 before landing on the National Board of Directors. She attributes much of her children’s success in FSL education to CPF and hopes to create the same opportunities for more Canadian children.
Email: dtijman[at]cpf.ca
Nicole brings over 25 years combined leadership experience as an executive director, vice principal, educational consultant, FSL and French immersion teacher. She strongly believes in individual bilingualism as a personal benefit and is greatly supportive of CPF’s mission to provide official language education opportunities for all students in Canada. She was recently awarded the Laurier Allié.e de la Francophonie des Prix Bernard Grandmaître recognizing a lifetime of work as a francophone ally in Ottawa.
Email: nthibault[at]cpf.ca
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