The staff has the responsibility of running the day-to-day operations and ensuring that the directives and priorities identified by our members are undertaken in a meaningful way. Our team represents a mix of part-time and full-time staff with different backgrounds, ages, and interests.
Everyone is a gift – first of our 9 core principles of engagement – and possess a profound desire to work towards social change in meaningful ways. Many of us started as volunteers here at the Roulant!
To view: Agriculture / Fundraising / Kitchen / Meals-on-Wheels / Admin
Photos by: Alex Tran, Sandrine Corbeil and JF Veilleux
Agriculture
The Roulant’s agriculture program aims to build a food system that is healthy, just, and sustainable. Our agriculture projects are designed to support local and organic agriculture while ensuring that the fruits of our labours remain accessible to all regardless of socio-economic status, level of mobility, or degree of autonomy.
Katherine McDowell
Farm Manager
Having always been happiest when frolicing in the outdoors, I knew from a young age I wanted to work outside. By chance, I got involved with a small-scale organic farm right after finishing high school and quickly found my passions for growing food in community, and promoting biodiversity and local food accessibility. At the beginning of 2020, I joined the farming community on the unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation in Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal after previously farming in the States. From my experience working on and managing various small-scale organic farms, in both non-profit and commercial sectors, I found I loved most the opportunities in connecting people to their food and am very excited to continue to do so with Santropol Roulant.
Mélodie Côté
Farm Hand
From a young age, I always liked manual work and getting my hands dirty. After having worked as an environmental technician on various projects, it was my studies in geography as well as in environmental management that made me aware of the issues of autonomy and food security. My path then naturally turned towards organic market gardening. This is a way for me to take action in the development of food and ecological resilience in my community. I am grateful to work at Roulant farm, which contributes to maintaining a healthy and sustainable food system. Looking forward to meeting you at the farm and sharing my enthusiasm for plants!
Rachel Takasaki
Farm Hand
Two of my favourite things to do are sharing a meal with friends and spending time outdoors, so I was naturally drawn towards working in small-scale organic agriculture after finishing my studies here in Montreal. I’m most excited about building relationships with each other and with the land, and I believe that food is a uniting force between both. Ultimately, I hope to grow accessibility toward food autonomy, nature, and community for the people around me, so I’m super excited to join the team here at the Roulant. Can’t wait to see you amongst the vegetables!
Magali Casaubon
Urban Agriculture Program Manager
Originally from Mexico, I have lived in Tio’tia:ke (known as Montreal) since 2001. Growing up on a farm with two crafty parents, I had an attachment to land and art since I was a kid. Later, I got to get involved and fell in love with the food justice initiatives around the city, as well as work for various peri-urban farms. Joining the team at the Roulant is an awesome opportunity to put my heart in what I value and I can’t say how excited I am! After working on the Roulant farm in 2019, and then on the Meals on Wheels team, I’m stoked to now manage the Urban Agriculture program and pursue its mission of universal accessibility, education, and bringing people together around flowers and vegetables to feed bellies and hearts. See you soon!
Adrienne Richards
Gardens and Accessible Agriculture Coordinator
Born and raised in Montréal, I love being involved in projects that work to make this city greener and better for all its residents. I have been interested in ecological agriculture and food security ever since starting my degree in Environmental Studies. Since then, I have been involved in a variety of agriculture projects, including a community garden in NDG and a rural food sovereignty project in Nicaragua. I am super passionate about community-based initiatives that improve city living for both our human and non-human neighbors (of which the Roulant’s urban ag projects are a perfect example!). I am also super passionate about exploring the island on my bike, reading in the park, and bird watching.
Fundraising
The fundraising team plans our main fundraising events and activities, brings alive our sponsorship and corporate partnership strategy, and more!
Melanie Godel
Fundraising & Communications Manager
Having lived and worked the last ten years on Vancouver Island, I feel privileged to be making a new home on the unceded traditional lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal. I am excited to leverage my experience in the non-profit arts sector and my passion for facilitating powerful community partnerships and events — from the main stage to the fringes, to my own backyard — to contribute to the incredible work and reputation of Santropol Roulant. And I am eager to share the stories and values at the heart of our work to build vibrant partnerships in this growing community. Let’s connect.
Kate Reade
Fundraising Agent
Growing up in the Plateau/Mile-End, I remember Santropol Roulant quickly becoming a symbol of grassroots community care in my neighborhood. Years later, I’m honoured to be helping nourish my community as part of the Roulant team. I fell in love with alternative agriculture and food solidarity three years ago while volunteering at an urban garden collective. The experience taught me to cherish good produce and the earth it comes from; and to view our food systems as an integral part of social and climate justice. I’m sure that together, we can continue to strengthen our ties and grow toward a greener and tastier existence.
Clare Shuley
Fundraising and Communications Officer
Originally from Vancouver Island, I grew up spending ample time outdoors. Part of this was working in the garden with my parents and neighbours where I came to understand food as an important part of social connection. A few years in Montréal and one degree in environmental studies later, these values have rooted themselves more deeply into my day-to-day life. Since moving to Montréal, my passion for cooking has grown and my professional life has been largely focused on helping to ensure food security for seniors living in isolation. These passions for good food and social connection naturally led me to the Roulant, where I had previously volunteered doing meal deliveries and in the kitchen, but mostly with the bicycle collective, SantroVélo. I am grateful to be able to engage my love of being involved with the community in contributing to the important work of Santropol Roulant.
Emma Simon
Fundraising and Communications Officer
Four years ago, I decided to embark on a new grand adventure and leave my native France (at only 18!) to settle on the other side of the world in Montreal! These past four great years have prompted me to become more and more interested in a sustainable lifestyle, one that is community-oriented and has a positive impact. After having been a volunteer for several months, the Roulant seemed like an obvious way to continue my little journey towards a more humanitarian (and delicious!) world :)
Kitchen
The kitchen team prepares, develops, and packages healthy nutritious meals every day for our Meals-on-Wheels clients with the help of volunteers.
Katherine Macnaughton
Kitchen Manager
My journey to becoming Santropol Roulant’s Kitchen Manager is a winding one. I studied Communications at Concordia then began my professional career as a filmmaker, running a production studio for 8 years. In 2016, I co-founded a tech startup that powers mentorship for individual artists and businesses. Both were professional experiences that challenged and honed my creative and business skills, but didn’t quite align with my values; I wanted to be a part of a loving community, drive social impact and create value with my hands, all of which are foundational to the Roulant and its unique environment. Volunteering in the kitchen this past year has allowed me to reconnect with food in a more thoughtful way, grounded in food security and education. As Santropol Roulant’s Kitchen Manager, I am extremely proud to contribute to the organisation’s mission of providing daily nutritious meals to individuals living with a loss of autonomy. I am eager to grow its impact and reach further within the community.
Julie St. Onge
Community Cook
Some of my happiest memories have been around a dinner table; the energy and laughter that came along with these gatherings, paved the way for my career in the food industry. My early education was spent getting a degree in Sociology at Concordia, but food was always at the back of my mind. The question that did and still dominates my thoughts is “what am I going to eat?”. I knew as I was completing my degree that I would be going to culinary school to pursue a career in the food industry. After 10 years of working in the Montreal food scene, I started to think more deeply about the impact our global food chain has on our local food systems and how it negatively impacts vulnerable populations. This led me to rethink my future and so, as a new mom, I went back to school and got a degree in Human Environment. At Santropol Roulant I hope to use my experience to cook food that promotes inclusion and empowerment within our community.
Meals-on-Wheels
Our Meals-on-Wheels program is at the heart of the organization and is the core around which Santropol Roulant was built back in 1995. It responds to the increasing need for greater food security among the elderly, but also to the shared desire, as manifested by our volunteers, to build a rich and healthy social fabric.
Laura Marec
Meals-on-Wheels Manager
Originally from France, I arrived in Montréal 8 years ago to study at the University of Montréal and never left! I fell in love with the city and its unique atmosphere and way of life. After getting my master’s degree in political science, I decided to get involved in non-profit organizations in Montréal because I found it was the best way to do my part in creating a fairer and kinder society. I’m really happy to join the team of the Roulant and its community. The programs the Roulant has put in place over the past decades and how they complement each other and create solidarity and a sharing environment between generations is a great source of inspiration. I’m very enthusiastic about contributing to the Meals-on-Wheels program, which ensures access to healthy and accessible meals for everyone.
Béatrice Daudelin
Meals-on-Wheels Outreach Worker
Having lived in the Mile End all my life, I had the chance to grow up near my family, our friends, and a community that was constantly growing thanks to encounters with neighbours and my work with children and seniors in my neighbourhood. After having dedicated several years to my studies, I wanted to reconnect with this part of my heritage and devote myself to what brings me joy each day: people, encounters and the space we share. This desire, joined with the hope that we each have a capacity for action nourished by contact with our living environment (the individuals, the ecosystem, the space, the history, etc.) led me to Santropol Roulant. Here, I have found a warm community of employees, clients, and volunteers; people committed to bringing to life a space for intergenerational encounters and to supporting the mission of the Roulant, one which I now have the joy and honour to participate in as Meals-on-Wheels outreach worker. Come visit us, enter into this space; it would be a pleasure to meet you!
Mike Heinermann
Meals-on-Wheels Outreach Worker
I first came to Montréal in 2008 after studying music in Toronto and Ottawa, and quickly found a new love of mine: doing work to help others out. I started doing this at Concordia by becoming involved with student-run initiatives like the People’s Potato (a politically engaged soup kitchen) and TAPthirst (a working group of QPIRG Concordia against the privatization of water). My studies there focused on how to navigate and try to alter the capitalist system to create a better place for all to live. Now, I find myself at the Roulant doing just that by providing good meals to people who need them. Don’t be shy, come say hi!
Charles-Auguste Beauvais
Meals-on-Wheels Outreach Worker
Born and raised in the countryside, I have spent the last eleven years on the territory of Tiohtiá:ke unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá: ka community. Passionate by urban swarms and all kinds of community projects that emerge in this city, I’ve just finished a master degree in urban studies at INRS in which I worked with young Montrealers on their unique vision of the city and its daily life. My involvement at the Roulant started back in January 2016 as a volunteer for the meals on wheels program. During all these years, I’ve met dozens of incredible human beings overflowing with kindness, energy, sensibility and creativity. Today, participating actively in the organization management is a real honour and a dream challenge. Looking forward to exchanging and sharing wonderful moments with you!
Admin
The admin team supports the Roulant’s other duties and responsibilities through a variety of tasks related to organization and communication to ensure efficient operation of the office.
Carolina Quintero
Director of Human Resources and Operations
With an original career path in health-care, I’ve spent most of my life volunteering for community initiatives and nonprofits near and dear to my heart, whose missions support access to social, food, and housing security.
Obtaining such access is often a delicate first step for many individuals, and is what drove me to specialize in Human Resources, as a way to bridge the information and access gap that too often exists between available resources and those who need them.
My current professional interests center on the intersection of the continuous improvement of Human Resources administration, Information Technologies, and the community. Coupled with a background in psychology and international development, my background has spanned clinical operations, aviation, project coordination, as well as program leadership and development within the local and international non-profit and cultural arts sectors.
Within the Roulant, I’ve found my calling as a Human Gardener, helping to improve the working experience for individuals who choose to pour their heart and soul into our community projects and mission.
Nazmus Syed
Services Coordinator
I first learned of the Roulant during a group volunteering session in 2012 and have loved it ever since. I’ve volunteered mostly on meal deliveries until joining the Fruits défendus collective in 2015, which I continue to be a part of. These two opportunities gave me a way to learn about the challenges of food security and at the same time help to make a difference. In coordinating the market, I am excited to take on the challenge of making local, organic food accessible to people across Montreal and supporting our local producers.
Gautam Mohanlal
Information Systems Administrator
Originally from the Netherlands, I have lived more than half my life in Montreal and what a fruitive, creative and high-spirited city. Coincidentally, it is also these three elements that attracted me to the Roulant – a community full of light and colour. I am currently finishing my Bachelor’s in Computer Science at McGill and in parallel, using my passion for innovation and technology to further connect people and contribute to a sustainable food system in our community. My aim is to create more structure, convenience and efficiency within the IT infrastructure and use my programming background to advance some of the smaller (and bigger) needs within each program. I preach groovy house music with funky basslines, endeavour on walks and hikes wherever there is water and greenery and, of course, love anything to do with the limitless universe to whom I owe it all. I’ll see ya around!
Pier Liné
Executive Director
Being the tall shoot on the staff team, and with my European accent, I’m easy to pick out in a crowd. In pursuit of cross-pollination, I buzzed my way throughout a few cities before settling down in Montreal, a place that grabbed me by the heart strings some time ago. Whereas at the Roulant some cultivate recipes in the kitchen or vegetables in the garden, my role centers around the faces of the Roulant and the various cogs and gears that turn in the background. I’m happy as a worker bee in the community hive that is the Roulant, and if the Roulant were a vegetable, I’d eat it at every meal! I especially love community initiatives, urban chickens, seniors and hugs… and of course, above all else, I love the Roulant (have I mentioned that already? no? yes? yes!), a place that allows us to add new feathers to our hat each and every day.