Since its creation in 2012, the Umalia team has grown and has been able to gather behind its raison d'être a team rich in experience and perspectives, members of an Advisory Board, and invested and trusted partners.

In addition to being the founding President of Umalia, Lucie brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive with major Canadian and international multinationals in strategic planning, change management, human resources management and corporate social responsibility. It is over these years and with her in-depth knowledge of organizations that she has developed unique and very pragmatic tools and methodologies to strategize and anchor the societal engagement of companies. She has a sharp expertise in the art of combining the strategic and societal objectives of organizations, as well as a great ability to mobilize and engage the various stakeholders towards a societal and organizational impact.

Lucie holds a master's degree in management from the Hautes Études Commerciales and a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from the Université de Montréal, in addition to being certified in change management and affiliate partner of the Shared Value Initiative network. She has collaborated on numerous projects in North and South America, as well as in Africa. She also sits on the boards of directors of multiple organizations in Canada and internationally, including the Board of Directors of the Fédération Humanité et Inclusion (Lyon, France), and the Leadership Faculty of the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Institute of the Conference Board of Canada (Ottawa, Canada).

"I deeply believe that when an organization begins to question and act, step by step, on its role as a business within society, these actions become meaningful and impactful both within the organization and within society, creating a virtuous circle that carries all stakeholders."

A respected scientist, Irene has dedicated her career to the advancement of knowledge relating to biodiversity and sustainability. She is an experienced researcher who has worked with the scientific community, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and the general public.

Following her studies in Zoology at the University of Alberta, Irene went on to complete a M.Sc. in Plant Ecology and a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa. She also held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at McGill University and was a visiting scholar at the University of Arizona.

An accomplished writer and international speaker, Irene is a passionate ecologist, and has played an active role in preserving the rare wetland flora that was the object of her studies.

Irene joined Umalia to help build bridges between the corporate world and the scientific community. She is confident that cooperation between businesses and nonprofit organizations will generate a host of innovative and sustainable partnerships that will benefit both business and the environment.

“The planet is important and beautiful and I am encouraged by those trying to make a difference.”

With her long track record in the development sector, Marie-José brings to Umalia her experience and vision of the development sector, both in Canada and internationally. She has worked for many non-profit and international cooperation organizations, including Oxfam-Québec and the UN (FAO and UNFPA programs), both in the field and in management positions.

Marie-José has lived in several African countries, including Benin, Madagascar, Cape Verde, Chad, Mauritania and Niger, and has worked in more than a dozen other places around the world.

She excels at coaching individuals to develop the skills needed to ensure that projects run smoothly in the field. Her proven project management skills, creativity and great ability to listen are also useful in establishing partnerships for the benefit of Umalia's clients and societal organizations.

‍"I am a person of action and adventure who likes to be in the 'doing' ; if you want to see a change you have to take action".

Through her experience of working with senior executives in several geographies, contexts and on different scales, Delphine brings a cross-cultural vision to strategic project management for organizations. She has been in charge of the design and deployment of large executive development programs in the private sector, particularly in the water, energy and waste management sectors in Asia and Europe. She has also been in charge of designing and implementing learning and development strategies in a training organisation and in the NGO sector, both for emergency and development settings.

In her project management, in addition to demonstrating a great deal of creativity and pedagogy, Delphine is committed to bringing together and valuing the diversity of contributions in the service of a common goal. Parallel to her career, Delphine has been involved for several years in the field of fire safety and first responder as a volunteer. She is also involved in personal and associative artistic projects to promote culture and the arts.

‍“If societal engagement were an art, for me it would be the art of mosaic.”

Territorial development must now be combined with a multiplicity of actors. From this perspective, coordinating these actors and ensuring a governance system that puts them in permanent dialogue and interaction allows for better structuring of development around the satisfaction of the interests of the greatest number, if not of all.

This is the conviction of Hyppolite DANSOU, currently a doctoral student in land use planning and regional development at Laval University where he is working on issues of territorial governance, institutional innovation and adaptation to climate change.

A key player in local development and a committed leader, Hyppolite has worked extensively in several countries to help set up consultation tables to achieve collaboration between authorities and civil society organizations. Responsible for the Civil Society Organizations Collective, the Multistakeholders Consultation Framework of the Sô-Ava community and facilitator of consultation meetings in several African countries (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Togo,...) Hyppolite, in addition to his continuous involvement in local development, has a proven expertise in collaborative governance.

Today more than ever, Hyppolite firmly believes in multi-level governance as a ferment of good democracy and a springboard for innovation and harmonious development within communities.

Estelle holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry with a bioanalytical and environmental orientation from the Université de Montréal and a master's degree in environmental management and sustainable development from the Université de Sherbrooke. Estelle is a young professional who combines analytical rigor and critical thinking in order to make both specific and global diagnoses.

Her fields of expertise include adaptation to climate change, water management, energy and ecosystems. Versatile, she can quantify an organization's greenhouse gases (GHGs) in accordance with current standards as well as build an action plan for sound water management in the agricultural sector in collaboration with the region's water stakeholders.

Focused on the search for solutions, she promotes social innovation to participate in the resolution of socio-environmental issues within organizations, but also through environmental citizenship. With a strong spirit of synthesis, she focuses on global impact initiatives in order to bring about deeper and more systemic changes than the simple greening of isolated elements. She believes that there is a pool of opportunity that is possible (and necessary) through dialogue between stakeholders and knowledge. She joins the Umalia team with a view to embedding these initiatives across organizations to help them direct their strategic decision making towards a sustainable future.

"We have the privilege to rethink the world of tomorrow: let's explore this dream, let's innovate together. "

Corinne is a recognized professional in the fields of corporate social responsibility (CSR), labor standards, ethical sourcing and stakeholder engagement.

For the past 25 years, Corinne has worked in the field of communications, humanitarian aid and CSR. She has had the opportunity to work with corporations, non-profits and international organizations.

She works with major brands and their suppliers, licensees, investors, relevant stakeholders and internationally recognized organizations such as the Fair Labor Association and the Global Social Compliance Programme to develop sustainable supply chains that respect human rights while achieving business objectives.

Corinne holds an undergraduate degree in law as well as masters degrees in corporate social responsibility, political science and English. Corinne is a trusted, respected, and frequent contributor to Umalia. Her skills complement the Umalia team and contribute to a greater diversity of experience, perspectives, and skills.  

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Pô brings to Umalia his long experience in emotional management and well-being at work. Generous and physiognomic in the relationships he establishes, he values the bond of trust.

"Well-being begins with listening, patience and a walk along the river".

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