Dr. François de Champlain

BEng, MD, MM, FRCPC

Dr. François de Champlain is one of Dr. Jacques de Champlain’s sons. He has been the founding President of the Jacques de Champlain Foundation since 2009.

Since 2003, François has been working as an Emergency Physician and Trauma Team Leader at the McGill University Health Centre. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGill University. He also completed the International Master’s for Health Leadership program at McGill University. Over the past 20 years, he acquired an expertise in prehospital care working in different roles in the medical direction of Urgences-santé for over 10 years and as a member of the committee on Emergency Medical Services for the Collège des médecins du Québec for 14 years. He also has an expertise in organizing medial services for mass gatherings events, having served as the Medical Director for the Montreal Marathon from 2012-2018 and for the Montreal International Triathlon from 2016-2018 and for the Mont-Tremblant Ironman in 2018. He is also active in research in the field of prehospital care in particular out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and in trauma care.

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Wayne John Smith

MD

Dr Wayne Smith has been involved in emergency medicine and prehospital care since the early seventies. He has had the opportunity to direct two university Emergency Departments (McGill, Sherbrooke) as well as the Emergency Medical Services in the Eastern Townships. He was a contributor to two provincial reform reports in prehospital care (the Frechette and Ouellet Reports) and has been involved with the Jacques de Champlain Foundation since 2014.

Yves Sauvé

Yves has worked at the service of high-income investor families for over 30 years. In 2002, he took over his father’s responsibilities, applying the same devotion and rigor to his work as the former. He became a portfolio manager in 2008 and was a finalist for the “Gestionnaire de l’année” title at 3 occasions in the last 10 years. In 2017, he was named Vice-President of the Financière Banque Nationale, gestion de Patrimoine Sauvé Groupe Conseil.

When he is not devoted to finance and wealth management, skiing and biking are his favourite leisures. Above all, spending quality time with family and friends is synonymous to happiness.

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Nancy Pelletier

LL.B., LL.M.

A few years ago, Nancy witnessed a cardiac arrest during a sporting event. Since then, she became aware of the importance of accessibility to defibrillators in public places and decided to get involved in the Foundation.

Nancy has been working as a senior legal advisor in a large financial institution for several years. She obtained a Civil Law Degree from Laval University and completed a Master’s Degree in Business Law from Université de Montréal in 2008.

Olivier Cléroux

Eng., MBA

Olivier is an entrepreneur and the cofounder of eXolnet, a software engineering firm. Holder of an MBA, he is a software engineer and a sailing enthusiast. He has been indirectly involved with the Foundation through his company since 2012.

Since his nomination on the Board in 2017, his role consists of aligning the digital strategy of the Foundation and the AED Project.

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Laurent Morisset

MBA

In 2018, Laurent survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in part thanks to a defibrillator.

Laurent counsels leaders and organizations (firms and non-profits) in the development and consolidation of their brand, strategic plan, governance and communications. He has been active in the communications marketing field for over twenty years during which he has acquired a solid reputation. He is a strategic advisor in most of his mandates, in addition to overseeing his own firm’s development and management.

Laurent is a graduate in political science (international studies) from Université de Montréal, and in marketing management from HEC Montréal. In 2018, he completed the McGill-HEC Montréal Executive MBA program.

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Stéphane Demers

Back in September 2015, at age 46, Stéphane Demers was running his first half marathon when he fell victim to a cardiac arrest at 50 meters from the finish line. He was resuscitated thanks to the rapid intervention of the medical team on site, who performed CPR and employed an AED in the very first minutes.

Following cardiac surgery and rehabilitation, Stéphane got back to running.

“Physical activity is an integral part of my life. It is a way to liberate my stress. Running remains something positive for me. It is part of my life” said the cardiac arrest survivor, who completed his race the following year. He was accompanied by Dr François de Champlain who symbolically wore an AED on his back while running in order to raise awareness on the importance of easy access to this easy-to-use and life-saving apparatus.

Katrysha Gellis

“Two weeks after my 30th birthday I collapsed at work due to sudden cardiac arrest. With no health issues, warning signs, or apparent reason my heart simply stopped beating. Two of my colleagues, saved my life because they knew what to do in an emergency. Without hesitation, one called 911 and the other started CPR immediately.​

The first responders, by sheer coincidence, happened to be a team of firemen who had finished a call nearby and arrived within minutes. Miracles are real and luck is nothing to scoff at. Every moment was a matter of life or death and every decision was significant. I was in the right place at the right time. But more importantly, my colleagues knew the life-saving measures to take that gave me another chance at life, and ultimately changed the course of it.”

Didier Schraenen

It will soon be 10 years since Didier Schraenen was victim of a cardiac arrest following a severe heart attack after a Formula 1600 event at the Gilles-Villeneuve race track. Alerted by his wife, firefighters and the medical team on site administered life-saving CPR and defibrillation with an AED.

“I want to promote the free AED-Quebec app for all those who may benefit from its existence and to encourage AED owners to register their device. This is why I proudly display the Jacques-de Champlain’s colours on my race car. I won the most important race of my life!”

Samuel Lortie

A passionate runner since adolescence, Samuel suffered a cardiac arrest at age 24 during a routine morning jog. Fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time, two bystanders saved his life by quickly reacting and alerting first responders. He hopes his story helps exemplify the crucial impact of bystanders in these situations and therefore accepted with enthusiasm to join the Jacques de Champlain Foundation in order to promote this message and educate people on the importance of easy and quick access to defibrillators in public spaces. Due to his keen interest in aviation and spatial exploration, Samuel obtained his private pilot’s licence in 2017, a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 2019, and is currently completing a master’s degree in aerodynamics.

Marion Artaud

” Having moved to Quebec in 2019, I currently work in Montréal as a productions engineer. After practicing basketball, I started jogging with the objective of eventually running a half-marathon. In September 2022, as I as running my last kilometer in the Montreal half-marathon, I had a cardiac arrest despite feeling fine. I was very lucky to be at the right place, at the right time! I was surrounded by proactive runners and a competent medical team, that succeeded in resuscitating me quickly. They litteraly saved my life.

I am proud to become an ambassador for the Foundation and I hope that my story will help in democratizing knowledge on simple but indispensable resuscitation manoeuvres and in facilitating access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs).”

Wassila Yassine

Wassila joins the Jacques de Champlain Foundation with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Her background in organizations dedicated to health, education, and community services reflects a deep commitment to social causes and a constant drive to build humane and sustainable environments.

She brings her expertise in outreach, partnerships, and fundraising to support the Foundation’s visibility and impact. She actively contributes to making automated external defibrillators (AEDs) accessible throughout Quebec, convinced that each device installed can help save lives.

Driven by values of transparency, collaboration, compassion, and human impact, she works with the Foundation to build a safer, more united society that is better equipped to respond to cardiac emergencies.

Frédérique Steenackers

Frédérique is the mother of a 17-year-old who survived a cardiac arrest during a football practice, thanks to a rapid response and the use of a defibrillator. This life-changing experience profoundly strengthened her belief in the vital importance of making defibrillators accessible in public places and naturally led her to become involved with the Jacques-de Champlain Foundation.

Trained as a lawyer, Frédérique has been committed for over 25 years to causes close to her heart. Drawing on a career spanning the legal, management, and communications fields, she now brings her expertise to the field of philanthropy as a consultant.

Joel Neves Briard

MD, MSc, FRCPC

Dr. Joel Neves Briard is involved with the Foundation since 2014. Since he strongly believes in active bystanders’ lifesaving role during out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, he is happy to contribute to the Foundation’s mission, notably through social platforms, communications and as the AED Project’s first coordinator.

Joel holds degrees in chemistry from McGill University and in medicine and epidemiology from Université de Montréal. He completed neurology residency and critical care medicine fellowship in the Université de Montréal teaching hospitals.

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Eddy Afram

With over 17 years of experience in the prehospital field, Eddy Afram has been a medical management and emergency measures consultant as well as Co-Founder and CEO of Groupe Conseil Promutech. He was notably responsable for the medical team and emergency measure from 2012 to 2018 in this firm, which is recognized for its expertise in event management, such as the Montreal Marathon.

Mr. Afram has also worked for the Corporation d’urgences santé. Among the mandates he accomplished, he led the creation of a risk management system for special events and the development of an emergency measures and major events service. He has also represented Urgences-santé in novel partnerships involving prehospital intervention, prior to obtaining a mandate as a commander in the organization’s management. In 2018, he was intimately involved in the deployment of paramedics in the Montreal International Airport.

Mr. Afram is currently a manager in public protection in the municipal sector. He also collaborates on diverse consultation roles in the fields of event planning, prehospital emergency service performance evaluation and management continuity. He is happy to contribute to the Foundation’s mission and to assist its leaders in their mandates. His wish it to eliminate the “chance” factor in “chances of survival”!

Alexandre David

Equipped with vast experience in both sales and customer service, Alexandre is honoured to contribue to the crucial mission of facilitating access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces. The Foundation’s innovative vision, rooted in emergency cardiac care and research, are in sync with his desire to contribue to public health.