Board of Directors

Robert Gervais

Chairman

Management consultant in organizational positioning and strategic development with more than 30 years of experience, Robert Gervais has worked over the recent years for various large enterprises, benchmarking the development of their environmental and social function with about a hundred companies in North America and Europe.

Maxime Aucoin

Vice President and Treasurer

Maxime Aucoin is an Engagement manager at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he works with multinationals in the high tech and financial services sectors on operational and organizational issues. Maxime has a strong interest in corporate social responsibility and its impact on sustainable development. Prior to joining McKinsey, Maxime worked at Cirque du Soleil in strategy and business development. He has an MBA from the Harvard Business School, was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from HEC Montreal.

Sabine Audette-Hall

Vice President

Sabine Audette-Hall is an associate in the Business Law Group of McCarthy Tétrault’s Montreal office. Her practice is focused on banking and corporate finance. Before joining the Bar of Quebec, among other things, she served on the board of Sustainable Campus of the University of Sherbrooke and worked in the forest industry in western Canada. She is interested in business law and aims to contribute to the sustainable development of the business sector.

Laura Howard

Vice President and Co-founder

Laura has a variety of experience in community driven development initiatives. With a BA in Political Science and a graduate certificate in International Project Management (CECI), she is currently the Communications Coordinator for Canada World Youth (CWY), a leader in international programs for youth in over 67 countries. She began with CWY as Project Supervisor coordinating projects between Canada, Mali and Honduras related to food security, agriculture and water. Additional experience includes: CoDev – social change and education in the Americas, CCEDNET – Community Economic Development and Santropol Roulant- urban food security. Laura is a founding member of Taking Root.

Andrés Restrepo

Vice President

Andres serves as the community manager and social media strategist for the chain ARTV. His role is to recommend and implement communications strategies across various social media operated by ARTV and eventually for those of it’s new specialty channel, Explora.

Having worked as a social media strategist with brands such as Cirque de Soleil, One Drop, Vélo Québec, le Poulet du Québec and Vidéotron, Andres has been involved in the world of organizational communication and internet marketing since 2003.

Brooke van Mossel-Forrester

Vice President, Secretary and Co-founder
Staff representative

Brooke has a B.A in Communication Studies, Minor in Art History/Studio Art (2006) and a Graduate Diploma in Community Economic Development (2007) from Concordia University. From 2006-2011 she worked as the Online Communications Officer for Icograda, the world body for professional communication design. During this time she helped found Taking Root and, in 2011, began working full-time as Communications Coordinator. In this role she manages the organization’s brand identity and develops and implements its international communications and promotional strategy.

Kahlil Baker

Non-voting member and Co-Executive Director

Samuel Gervais

Non-voting member and Co-Executive Director