Board

Chris Gosse

Board Member

Anne Scotton

Board Member

Brittney Senger

Board Member

Karl Bélanger

Past President

Né à Québec, Karl Bélanger est un militant social-démocrate de longue date et ancien directeur national du Nouveau Parti démocratique du Canada. Il est devenu membre et militant du NPD à l'âge de 18 ans et s'est présenté à deux reprises comme candidat lors d'élections fédérales. Il a siégé à diverses instances du NPD avant de se joindre à l'aile parlementaire en 1997. En près de 20 ans sur la colline parlementaire, il a été un proche conseillers de quatre chefs néo-démocrates successifs, soit Alexa McDonough, Jack Layton, Nycole Turmel et Thomas Mulcair. // A native of Quebec City, Karl Bélanger is a long time social-democrat activist and a former National Director of the New Democratic Party of Canada. He joined the ranks of the NDP at 18 years old and ran twice for a federal seat. He held several positions within the NDP and joined the Parliamentary wing shortly after the 1997 Federal election. During his political career, Karl Bélanger served as a senior advisor to successive NDP Leaders Alexa McDonough, Jack Layton, Nycole Turmel and Thomas Mulcair.

Irene Mathyssen

President

Irene Mathyssen served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of London-Fanshawe from 2006 to 2019. Irene was the Official Opposition Critic for Veterans, and sat on the Veterans Affairs Committee. She served previously as Seniors Critic, Pensions Critic, Deputy Heritage Critic, Critic for Status of Women, as the chair of the NDP’s women’s caucus and as the chair of the Status of Women committee. Irene also served as Deputy Whip for the NDP in the 42nd Parliament. Previously, Irene served as the MPP for London-Fanshawe from 1990 to 1995, and as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Premier Bob Rae. She has also served as a member of the Ontario Health Coalition. Irene holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Brad Lavigne

Vice-President

Brad Lavigne is longtime campaign strategist and director. He served as the Principal Secretary to the Hon. Jack Layton, and the New Democratic Party’s National Campaign Director in the 2011 general election that resulted in the party’s best election in its 50-year history, becoming Canada’s Official Opposition for the first time.

Melissa Bruno

Vice-President

Melissa Bruno is a Government Relations Principal at Earnscliffe Strategies. Melissa specializes in government relations, crisis management, and advocacy campaigns within public and private spheres in Canada.

Melissa brings a deep understanding of how to create and execute a vision. She tackles every problem with creative solutions and manages projects from start to finish. With over a decade of experience in municipal, provincial, and federal politics, Melissa developed a reputation as one of Canada’s leading strategists in innovating, mobilizing and executing strategic issue-based campaigns that have organized communities and shaped public policy across a variety of progressive issues. Melissa leverages her demonstrated success in connecting people with the best tools to navigate political decision-making and public processes.

Prior to joining Earnscliffe, Melissa worked for Shad Canada, a Canadian charity and STEAM program, developing their community engagement and partnership growth strategy. Melissa’s career in progressive politics includes serving several elected officials and two federal NDP Leaders; Jack Layton and Jagmeet Singh. During her time as Executive Director for Canada’s New Democrats, Melissa modernized the organization by undertaking a financial restructure, enhancing data-driven community and voter mobilization, and building one of the most equity inclusive slate of candidates representing a major political party in Canadian history.

Melissa is a founding member of Canada’s first professional association for working mothers (Moms at Work) and a Partnerships Co-Chair with the Public Affairs Association of Canada (PAAC). Melissa is an avid volunteer for a number of foundations, charities and not-for-profits, including the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative. Melissa served as a Political Management Program Fellow at Carleton University, is a graduate from the University of Toronto’s Public Relations Program and earned an Honours degree in Social Work at York University.

Mohammad Akbar

Secretary

Mohammad Akbar joined the DCLF Board in 2017. He has worked in student unions, the arts, labour unions and human rights movements for a decade. After working in 5 cities in Ontario, he shifted to Saskatchewan to better support and develop supports for marginalized groups in the province.

Stephen Yardy

Treasurer

Stephen is a leader with over a decade of political and legislative experience. He is one of Canada’s top progressive campaign managers, having executed more than 25 campaigns across the country.

Stephen currently works in Canada’s Parliament for the NDP’s Defence Critic, advising on defence and human rights policies, and serves as President of his local union.

Matthew Dube

Board Member

A former Member of Parliament, Matthew served two terms in the House of Commons, representing his home riding of Beloeil-Chambly in Québec for nearly ten years. Now based in Ottawa, he puts his extensive political, Parliamentary, and legislative experience to use as a member of Proof’s public affairs and government relations team.

During his time in office, Matthew played a number of roles within his party caucus and worked on some of the most significant federal public policy issues including public safety and national security as well as infrastructure and communities. In this context, he also served as vice-chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. Fluently bilingual in French and English, he served as Deputy House Leader and was twice elected caucus chair by his peers.

During his time at Proof, Matthew has led many key accounts, offering expert counsel and executing critical initiatives for clients like Netflix and The Home Depot.

Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University where he majored in political science with a minor in history. Before joining Proof, he also played a senior leadership role for the Canadian branch of a global charity leading fundraising and awareness efforts.

Matthew regularly contributes to political media coverage offering expertise and insight on the news of the day. In addition, he can be seen on political panels on television programs such as CBC Power and Politics and CTV’s Power Play.

Rebecca Blaikie

Board Member

Rebecca Blaikie currently works as Director of Community Services at Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC) in Winnipeg’s North End. MCC is a not-for-profit community health centre that strives to provide culturally competent wholistic care and programs that acknowledge all the social determinants of health. Blaikie served as President of Canada's NDP from April 2011 to April 2016. Following her tenure as President Rebecca worked with the National Democratic Institute to facilitate campaign training to women candidates and activists in Morocco, Algeria and Kosovo.

Derek de Vlieger

Board Member

Derek de Vlieger is a transplanted prairie boy who is a practising lawyer in Ottawa. Derek previously worked for the NDP government in Saskatchewan under Lorne Calvert prior and then moved to the nations capital to attend university and to work in an MP’s office on Parliament Hill. He has been Vice-President and Board Member with the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation since 2017. When not working and participating in social justice causes, Derek spends his time running trails and coaching kid’s soccer.

Jonathan Weier

Board Member

Jon Weier is an established historian and educator, policy professional, and commentator on social and labour movements, specializing in the nonprofit sector, trade unions, political parties, and other efforts by workers, social activists, and reformers to achieve progressive social and economic change. Jon is a professor at George Brown College where he teaches courses on labour and social history. Jon has been actively involved in the NDP and the Canadian Labour Movement for the last 25 years. He is a research fellow the Broadbent Institute and a research associated with the Wilson Institute for Canadian History.

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Board

Karl Bélanger

Past President

Irene Mathyssen

President

Brad Lavigne

Vice-President

Melissa Bruno

Vice-President

Mohammad Akbar

Secretary

Stephen Yardy

Treasurer

Matthew Dube

Board Member

Rebecca Blaikie

Board Member

Derek de Vlieger

Board Member

Chris Gosse

Board Member

Anne Scotton

Board Member

Brittney Senger

Board Member

Jonathan Weier

Board Member

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