Board of Directors

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.

Coming soon.

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.

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.

Loretta Notten is currently the Director of Education at Waterloo Catholic DSB, which represents 50 schools and 24,200 day students, as well as 13,000 Adult and Continuing Ed students attending schools in Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and the surrounding townships.   Loretta began her career in York Catholic DSB as an English teacher and then spent 26 years in Toronto Catholic DSB as a department head, secondary vice-principal and principal, central Program Coordinator and then 9 years as a superintendent.

Loretta’s focus remains on transforming the educational landscape so as to prepare our students for the new global realities that await them upon graduation.   Her passions are inclusive education that invites students to see themselves as agents of change, authentic real-world learning experiences and technology-enabled learning.  International Education is well established in WCDSB and Loretta believes strongly in the reciprocal benefits of involving students in learning abroad.

Loretta holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and a Bachelor of Education from York University, a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto (OISE), and has participated in both the Rotman Executive Leadership Program and the Ivey Directors’ Leadership program.  She is proud to be serving Waterloo Region’s Catholic schools.  She has also served as OCSOA President and is currently ECCODE Chair.  Loretta took on the role of Chair of CODE for the 2020-2021 school year.

Loretta is married and has two daughters.  In her personal time she enjoys travelling (when we are able!), skiing and getting back to nature.

Kathy O’Brien is the Senior Vice-President, Strategy, Communications and Advancement.  She is responsible for leading the overall strategic and business planning for SLC in collaboration with the academic division and other senior administrative staff.  Kathy has oversight for strategic enrolment management, the registrar’s office, student recruitment, marketing and communications, government relations, alumni engagement and advancement activities, and community engagement.

Kathy has broad experience in leadership roles in both the private and public sector.  She held the position of Associate Vice-Principal (International) at Queen’s University.  In this role, she was responsible for the university’s overall international strategic direction and relationship building across the globe.  Through integrated planning and consensus building, she successfully introduced new academic and research partnerships, increased international student mobility, and collaborated on increasing international alumni engagement strategies.  Her previous roles during her 16 years at Queen’s included roles in Advancement and the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic).  She started her career in the executive search business in Toronto and was the Director of Search Operations for the global firm Odgers Berndtson.

Kathy is a graduate of Dalhousie University with a Master’s of Public Administration (Management) and she has a Bachelor of Arts in French Language and Linguistics from Carleton University.  She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE), the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston & Area, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.