Diana Toffa, President
Diana Toffa has extensive experience in the management and coordination of projects and administrative activities in the field of international development and in community sector. She holds a Master's degree in Public Law and a DESS in Public Administration, and is particularly interested in issues related to women, vulnerable populations and social justice.
She currently holds the position of Coordinator of Operations and Administration at CDÉACF, the Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine.
Why BCAQ?
Themission of BCAQ is particularly important to me for very personal reasons. Accurate and up-to-date information on breast cancer and the populations particularly affected by this problem is crucial to a better understanding of this phenomenon and the various aspects surrounding it.
What does environmental health mean to you?
Environmental health is an important issue in understanding the possible connections between breast cancer and environmental factors. Since little is known about this "cause and effect" link, it is important that as many people as possible be better informed to be able to fully claim a healthy environment free of factors that affect health.
Marie Nikette Lorméus, Vice President
Marie Nikette, program evaluator, has a long-standing personal commitment to women's rights issues and has been a member of several organizations and platforms on women's rights issues in Haiti and Latin America.
Why BCAQ?
Once I arrived in Quebec, I was eager to continue my involvement in women's rights activities. I joined the BCAQ as a worker and fell in love with the work the organization is doing to fight the invasion of toxins on all fronts and specifically through the reform of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
What does environmental health mean to you?
I believe that environmental health is the right of every citizen to live in a healthy environment where toxic substances are well controlled at all levels to avoid the risk of serious diseases (cancer).
Elizabeth Lallemand, Secretary/Treasurer
Elizabeth Lallemand is Program Engagement and Community Manager at McGill University. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Marketing from Concordia University.
Why BCAQ?
What does environmental health mean to you?
Elana Wright, Director
Elana Wright has had a long career in communications and public engagement, having worked for national and international non-profits and institutions, including Concordia University, Development & Peace-Caritas Canada, Rights & Democracy, and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Communication Studies from Concordia University.
Why BCAQ?
‘’I joined BCAQ in the early 1990s when I was a young feminist activist, and I returned to the board after my partner Helene was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47. She died in 2021, and I continue my work in her honour.’’
What does environmental health mean to you?
We all need to assert our right to a healthy environment to ensure our future but also the future of the planet.
Ariane K. Métellus, Director
Ariane K. Métellus is a social entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and birth doula. Her background has led her to examine the importance of experience in the health system, specifically in sexual and reproductive health and perinatal care of marginalized women, particularly Black and diverse women in Quebec.
Why BCAQ?
What does environmental health mean to you?
Jennifer Beeman, Director/Executive Director
Prior to coming to BCAQ, Jennifer Beeman worked for 10 years with an advocacy group for nonunionized women workers. She has an MA in sociology from Université du Québec à Montréal and has worked or been an activist in the Quebec women’s movement her entire adult life.
Honorary Members
Deena Dlusy-Apel
Janine O’Leary-Cobb
Michele Landsberg
Francine Pelletier
Sharon Batt