Board of Directors

Dr. Deborah (Deb) Saucier became President and Vice-Chancellor of Vancouver Island University in July 2019. An experienced administrator, accomplished neuroscientist and devoted educator, Deb is deeply committed to access and learner success, Indigenous education, and community engagement.

Originally from Saskatoon, Deb is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Deb started her journey in academia on Vancouver Island, completing an International Baccalaureate diploma at the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Metchosin, and then bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology at the University of Victoria, receiving her PhD in psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 1995.

Deb worked as a neuroscience/psychology professor for many years, and in recognition of her research she was awarded a Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Neuroscience. She has garnered a number grants to support her research, including awards from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. She has also held a number of administrative roles, most recently President of MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, and Provost and Vice President (Academic) at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa.

Aside from continuing VIU’s innovative work in Indigenous education, access and community engagement, Deb is a major proponent of a well-rounded university experience that includes training in both the sciences and the humanities.

Deb is married to curator and contemporary artist Chai Duncan, and they have a daughter whose passion is horses, to which Deb is conveniently allergic. Her dream is to help make VIU’s high-quality education even more accessible to all who wish to attend university. Her favourite sports team is the Toronto Raptors – #WeTheNorth – and if she could have a superpower, she would like to be able to teleport so she can attend meetings and still get home to be with her family.

Ajay Patel was appointed President, Vancouver Community College effective May 26, 2020, however, he has been leading the College in the interim position since September 2019. Previously, Mr. Patel held the position of VP, Enterprise and International Development. He came to VCC with 15 years’ of non-profit experience in amateur sport and recreation sector. Additionally, he has 17 years of post-secondary experience, where he rose through the ranks in several positions, from an instructor to the VP, External Development. In the VP role, Mr. Patel provided strategic leadership, and contributed to the development of community relations and partnerships that supported the college’s vision and priorities. As a provincial leader in the international education sector, Mr. Patel was honoured with the CBIE Distinguished Leadership Award in 2019, and now serves as chair of the board of directors for the CBIE. Raised in Vancouver, he is a long-time eastside resident, and the product of the college system. Mr. Patel holds a Master of Human Kinetics, Coaching Sciences, from the University of British Columbia.

Valérie Amiraux (PhD, 1997) is Vice-Rector of International Affairs and Community Partnerships at Université de Montréal.

Valérie Amiraux has a background in history, classical Arabic and political science and is currently a full professor of sociology at Université de Montréal (on secondment from her position as a researcher at the CNRS), where she headed the Canada Research Chair for the study of religious pluralism for 10 years (2007-2017). Her main research interests are religious pluralism, discrimination, issues of race and ethnicity, Islamophobia and radicalization, focusing on several member states of the European Union and more recently on the situation in the province of Quebec (Canada). Her recent publications analyze the relationship between pluralism and radicalization, with a particular emphasis on the interaction between majority societies and Muslim minorities as examined through the lens of ethnography. She is also conducting a field survey on a number of Muslim women who were prohibited from wearing the veil.

• Mercier C., Koussens D., AMIRAUX V. (dir.) (2020), Nouveaux vocabulaires de la laïcité, Paris, Garnier.
• AMIRAUX, V., BEAUCHESNE, P-L. (2020), “Racialization and the construction of the problem of the Muslim presence in Western societies”, Shahram Akbarzadeh (ed.), Handbook of Political Islam, Routledge, 2020, p. 363- 382.
• AMIRAUX, V., GARCIA, P.(*) (2020), « Approches de l’islam et des musulmans au Québec », dans KOUSSENS, D., LANIEL J.-F., PERREAULT J.-P. (dir.), Étudier le religieux au Québec, Québec : PUL.
• AMIRAUX, V., KOUSSENS, D. (2020), « Laïcité vs accommodements raisonnables ? La comparaison franco-québécoise dans les discours publics sur la définition des rapports au religieux », dans Mercier C., Koussens D., AMIRAUX V. (dir.), Nouveaux vocabulaires de la laïcité, Paris, Garnier, p. 77-104.
• AMIRAUX, V. (2018) « Citoyens, piété et démocratie. Réflexions sur l’occultation des corps croyants, l’intimité et le droit au secret », Social Compass, Vol. 65(2), pp. 168-186.
• GERMAIN, A., AMIRAUX, V., BOUDREAU, J-A. (dir.) (2017), Vivre ensemble à Montréal, Montréal, Atelier 10.
• AMIRAUX, V. (2016) Visibility, transparency and gossip: how did the religion of some (Muslims) become the public concern of others? Critical Religious Studies, vol 4(1): 37-56.
• AMIRAUX, V. et F. DESHARNAIS (2015) Salomé et les hommes en noir. Bayard Canada. AMIRAUX, V. et D. KOUSSENS (dir.) (2014), Trajectoires de la neutralité, Presses de l’université de Montréal.

Shelley Aylesworth-Spink began her role as Vice President, International Education at St. Lawrence College after serving as Associate Dean in the School of Business at SLC. Shelley is passionate about intercultural communications, internationalization and student success. Her academic and research background involves the study of global disease outbreaks through the interdisciplinary lens of communications, cultural studies and science and technology studies. She taught and provided academic leadership at the University of Westminster and University of West London, both located in the UK. Her professional background has involved leading public relations in the private sector and broad public sector. Shelley holds a PhD in Cultural Studies and Master of Public Administration, both from Queen’s University, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of West London (UK), BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Waterloo, Diploma in Print Journalism from Loyalist College and a Higher Education Academy Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy (UK).

Vinitha Gengatharan is a senior leader with over 20 years of experience in the higher education sector.  She currently serves as the Assistant Vice-President, Global Engagement & Partnerships at York University where she is responsible for advancing the University’s global engagement goals, global learning and the experience of international students.  Previously, Vinitha was at the University of Toronto for 17 years where she held several progressively senior roles and led the university’s international strategy and partnerships.  She has extensive experience in engaging in the Asia-Pacific region including building institutional collaborations with institutions, industry and government.  At the University of Toronto, she established the University’s in-country presence in China.  She has served in a leadership capacity on numerous not-for-profit boards including Agincourt Community Services Association, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Hart House Board of Stewards.  She is the co-founder of Tamil Women Rising, a non-profit organization that empowers Tamil women and their allies in advancing their professional success.

Kanonhsyonne Janice Hill is the Associate Vice-Principal (Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation) in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Queen’s University, she is Turtle clan of the Mohawk Nation from Kenhtè:ke where she currently resides, and a Clan Mother in her community. Kanonhsyonne is deeply committed to preserving and promoting Indigenous knowledges, histories, cultures, languages and traditions. In her role, she works to drive progress on Indigenous initiatives across the university, promote an understanding of Indigenous histories and perspectives within the Queen’s community, and provides guidance and support in Indigenous education and initiatives.

Kanonhsyonne has dedicated her career to furthering Indigenous education and creating positive learning experiences for Indigenous students. Serving as the Director of Queen’s Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre from 2010 to 2017, she has been actively involved in advancing Indigenization and enhancing the visibility of Indigenous communities at Queen’s.

Kanonhsyonne completed her BA in Native Studies and Anthropology at Trent University, her B.Ed. at Queen’s, and is in the process of completed her MA in Gender Studies at Queen’s. She began her academic career as an adjunct faculty member in Queen’s Faculty of Education and assisted in the establishment of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (ATEP). She also served as Academic Dean of First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) prior to her return to Queen’s.

Jan is deeply engaged in Indigenous education at the provincial and national level and has held executive positions with the Ontario Native Education Counselling Association (ONECA), the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Reference Group on Aboriginal Education (RGAE), and the OCAV/RGAE Joint Working Group on Indigenization. She is the recipient several national grants and institutional awards and served as co-investigator for the Kahswentha Indigenous Knowledge Initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Prof. Nicole Lacasse holds a LLD in International Law (Université Panthéon-Sorbonne) and is a full professor in the Faculty of Administrative Sciences at Laval University. Ms. Lacasse founded the Stephen-Jarislowsky Chair in International Business Management. She has held various management positions at Laval University, including Associate Vice-President for Studies and International Activities, Director of International Affairs and Francophonie, and Executive Director of Continuing Education. Professor Lacasse has led cooperation projects for international organizations in Latin America and North Africa, such as CIDA and the World Bank. For over ten years, she coordinated governance training at the College of Corporate Directors. Recognized for her expertise in university governance, Ms. Lacasse chairs the Réseau international des dirigeantes et dirigeants universitaires en gouvernance et gestion (Dg²) and the Virtual Mobility Consortium eMobi@Dg². She has served on audit committees of different renowned European institutions and has served on several boards of directors, in particular CFQCU’s board (co-chair) and that of Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon (president). She is member of the board of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

Carolyn Russell, Associate Vice-President, International Education at Vancouver Island University has a number of key responsibilities including recruitment and admissions of international students, the promotion of student success, the provision of relevant supports for international students and oversight of international partnerships, global engagement and internationalization activities, and international mobility.

Carolyn has two decades of experience as a senior university administrator and for the past 10 years, she was in a variety of positions at the University of Victoria (UVic), most recently as Executive Director Global Engagement. In this role, she worked with institutional colleagues and local, provincial, and national partners to advance Canada’s academic reputation and attract high-caliber partners to the region. She also led the development and implementation of an international plan to support the university’s strategic framework, led and oversaw the implementation of international agreements, led the development of new strategic global partnerships and developed an institutional global strategy. Prior to joining UVic, Carolyn spent a number of years at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in a variety of roles related to international education and engagement.

Carolyn received the 2012 BC Council for International Education Award for Service Excellence in International Education. She holds a Bachelor’s in International Studies from UNBC, and a Master of Public Administration from UVic.