Our team

AQED is run almost entirely by volunteers. Its management is divided between a board of directors and an administrative director. The people who work within the association are part of committees overseeing various projects and mandates.

Board of directors

Marine Dumond-Després, chair

Marine is first and foremost a mother of two homeschooled children. For her, learning as a family is a logical decision allowing her to spend quality time with her children and to follow their pace and interests.

In 2017, she completed her master's degree in educational administration focusing on social norms in family learning support groups,  and she is currently preparing a doctorate on the socialization of family-educated youths at the Université de Montréal. She is also co-founder of an activity group for out-of-school children in the Montreal area.

Marine has served as chair of AQED’s board of directors since March 2020. Among her many responsibilities, she is in charge of relations with the Direction de l'enseignement à la maison.

Emilie Salesse Gauthier, vice-chair

Emilie had not anticipated that homeschooling would be part of her life. Top of the class in her youth, a model and docile student, school seemed to be the way to go without saying. There were a few slow moments and times of exasperation, but nothing that justified questioning the established order.

Then, pregnant with her second child, she attended a conference on unschooling at a congress of La Leche League. What a reveal! She felt completely attracted to this way of life. She had the right profile: a bit of an environmentalist (project manager in a renewable energy association), a follower of positive parenting (mothering, prolonged breastfeeding), children not in daycare… And from research to research, the magic happened!

Now a mother of four, none of which went to school. She loves spending time with her kids and learning with them. She is very active in her region and community. She organizes art workshops, sports classes and conferences. She is best known for the hybrid co-operative-style shared education models she has developed in the Outaouais. She has been AQED’s representative for this region since 2018. She joined the AQED Board of Directors in October 2020.

Tanya Gagné, treasurer

As a mother of three homeschooled children who have never attended school, Tanya enjoys getting involved in causes that are dear to her heart. For her, family education is an important right that needs to be protected. This way, all families can choose to live this adventure together, an experience to which Tanya believes few things can compare.

Tanya began her involvement with the association by volunteering with the team providing support to members. In May 2019, she became a member of AQED's board of directors. She serves as treasurer.

Aurore Bonvalot, director

Aurore Bonvalot is a woman of head and heart. Passionate about travel, she has discovered over 70 countries, even setting off on a 6-month world tour, and opened her travel and events agency almost 5 years ago. 

French by origin, Canadian for 11 years, she got married and gave birth to her little boy Ethan 4 years ago. Her agency offers accompanied or unaccompanied trips, specifically designed for families with young children. She is already getting ready to homeschool and, when everything will be possible, she will travel again with her little family. There's nothing better than learning while travelling! 

Her motto: "Great opportunities can arise at any time, but very often when you least expect it: knowing how to seize them makes you grow and enriches you. " Becoming a mother is her greatest achievement. She joined the Board of Directors in February 2021.

Administrative management 

Marie-Jo Demers, Executive director

Marie-jo is the mother of two beautiful and gifted boys who are learning differently. Wishing to promote the sharing of information, research advances and best practices concerning everything related to DYS (dyslexia, dysorthographia, dyscalculia, dysphasia, dyspraxia), she founded the DYS Knowledge Center page on Facebook. An accomplished manager, she has proven herself in several fields. Whether in project management, web design, operations management, customer satisfaction, writing... she has many tricks up her sleeve! 

Life led her to discover homeschooling and alternative pedagogies in 2014. Although the experience was short-lived, she remained within this network and finally returned to it fully in 2019. She is happy to be able to contribute to the growth of homeschooling in Quebec!

Committees

• Welcome to new members
• Member support
• Recruitment and volunteer recognition
• Public relations
• Political action
• Content creation and communications
• Research, studies, and statistics
• Administration