Abdoulaye Bah
Mr. Abdoulaye BAH is an experienced legal expert, holding a Master’s degree in private law, with over ten years of experience in implementing international cooperation programs related to access to justice, human rights, gender equality, combatting gender-based violence (GBV), and descent-based slavery. He has worked with renowned international organizations such as Lawyers Without Borders Canada, Santé Monde, and SOCODEVI, developing deep expertise in the protection of human rights in conflict settings. In Montreal, his collaboration with Equitas has reinforced his commitment to human rights education and access to justice.
Nancy Dossous
Nancy Perry Dossous, CFRE is a professional fundraiser. She harnesses philanthropy to advance causes that create a positive, inclusive, and sustainable social impact. Nancy is currently Director, Development at the McGill University Health Centre Foundation. She is also an advocate for health equity. Nancy joined the Welcome Collective board to contribute to empowering people to reach their potential.
Maxime Gobeil
Maxime is a Chartered Professional Accountant specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He contributes his financial experience to ensure that Welcome Collective is able to sustain its operations and keep helping refugee claimants for years to come.
Shona Moreau
A McGill Law graduate (J.D./B.C.L.) and member of the Barreau du Québec, Shona dedicates her expertise to civil rights advocacy through both legal and political avenues. As a Pathy Fellow, she established a mobile legal clinic for refugees in partnership with trusted stakeholders and local organizations in Johannesburg. Her professional background is marked by collaborations with the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the House of Commons, the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and the Litigation Group of the Department of Justice. She also serves as an advisor at the Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program at McGill's Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.
Niamh Leonard
Niamh is a lawyer by profession and a systems thinker at heart. She is the Executive Director of the Euphrosine Foundation, a philanthropic foundation strengthening democracy and human rights in Canada. She also serves as Vice-Chair of Welcome Collective, and is pursuing a master’s degree in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University.
Nandini Ramanujam
Professor Nandini Ramanujam has extensive experience in human rights issues, strategic planning, governance and programming, with a particular focus on education and civil society. She is the Co-Director and Director of Programs of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at McGill University's Faculty of Law. She also directs the International Human Rights Internship Program as well as Independent Human Rights Internships Program. She is the McGill representative for the Scholars at Risk Network and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Scholars at Risk Network, Canada section.
Lauren Ravon
Lauren Ravon is a feminist and social justice advocate with 20 years of experience in human rights and international development. She is currently the Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, where she leads a fabulous team working to advance gender and economic justice and tackle the root causes of poverty, inequality and exclusion. Lauren believes that it is more important than ever to have strong, locally rooted organizations like the Welcome Collective to provide frontline services to refugee claimants at a time of rising xenophobic and anti-rights backlash.
Claire Trottier
Claire Trottier is a philanthropist with an interest in democracy, inequality, and climate change. She chairs the Euphrosine Foundation, a new Canadian foundation tackling the intertwined crises of inequality and democratic decline. Claire also serves on the board of the Trottier Family Foundation, which supports climate, science, education, health, and community initiatives. A firm believer in solidarity, she co-founded and chairs the Welcome Collective, supporting refugee claimants in Montréal. An advocate for tax fairness, she collaborates with international networks pushing for wealth taxes and other measures to counter extreme inequality, including through Patriotic Millionaires.
Philippe Bélanger in memoriam
Philippe was appointed as a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal in 2020. He practiced law at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in bankruptcy and commercial litigation. As a board member at Welcome Collective, Philippe inspired through his rich experience in the legal field and his devoted passion for helping vulnerable refugee claimants.