All for 9 and 9 for All Team
The Defining Moments Canada Team
Neil Orford – President
Jenifer Terry – Executive Director
Anna England – Projects Manager & Digital Curator
Louis Lebel – Digital Content Manager
Amanda Merpaw – Education Manager
Janelle von Kleist-Bernard – Digital Marketing & Communications Manager
John Lorinc – Chief Editor
Vincent Sabourin – Videographer
Linn Øyen Farley – Website Design & Technical Expert
The Project Team
Contributing Historians

Matthew Barrett
Graphic Illustrator
Matthew Barrett is an illustrator and historian who specializes in the creation of graphic histories and comics that visualize fascinating stories of the past. He received a PhD in history from Queen’s University and was a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Canadian War Museum. He is the author of Scandalous Conduct: Canadian Officer Courts Martial, 1914–45, and is the co-author and illustrator of Through Their Eyes: A Graphic History of Hill 70 and the First World War.

Laurel Broens
Contributing Historian
Laurel is a graduate of the Master of Library and Information Studies program from the University of Alberta and holds a BA in Economics and a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Calgary. She has worked in the information management field for over a decade in a career spanning public and academic libraries and government and legal records management. Laurel is a proud member of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and is the current chair of AUPE Local 002, Chapter 002 which represents more than 4700 Government of Alberta administrative and program services workers in the Edmonton area. In her spare time, Laurel runs the popular labour history Twitter account @labour_girl.

Joseph Burton
Contributing Historian
Joseph Burton is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University. His research explores the transmission of anarchist ideas in North America during the middle and latter twentieth century, focusing on the Industrial Workers of the World and linkages between democracy and revolutionary practice. His writing has been published in the Canadian Historical Review and he has shared and discussed his work at academic conferences in Canada and the United States. As an educator and sessional instructor, his teaching has focused on histories of work and working life in Canada.

Robert Flewelling
Contributing Historian
Robert Flewelling is an MA candidate studying history under Dr. Brittany Luby at the University of Guelph, Ontario, located within the Between the Lakes Purchase (Treaty 3); the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and Dish With One Spoon lands. Robert, a settler of Scottish and Welsh descent, grew up on the Grand River and Haldimand Tract in Southern Ontario, and he currently resides in Guelph. His research focuses generally on the historical relationships between Indigenous nations and settler-colonial societies in what has historically been called ‘North America’ between the 18th and 20th centuries. Robert’s areas of research involve the impact of settler-colonial economic development and legislative policymaking on the food security and land sovereignty of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit nations. Robert is also currently engaged in research focused on the historical legacy and contemporary consequences of the “Grand River Navigation Company’s” activities on the Grand River in Southern Ontario between the 1820’s and 1860’s. This company, as generally most settler-colonial ambitions in the area, clashed with the sovereign interests of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations of the Grand River, the ripples of which are still being felt today.

Howard Akler
Historical Contributor

Émilie Lebel
Contributing Writer
Émilie is an emerging freelance writer specialising in health and social justice. Her knowledge base includes an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences & Psychology (uOttawa, 2013), a Master of Health Sciences in Occupational Therapy (uOttawa, 2015), and a certificate in Concurrent Disorders (University of Toronto & CAMH, 2022) along with years of experience in community mental health and acquired brain injuries. Emilie is passionate about effective positive social change – which she works to spark through education and meaningful discourse.

Harrison Kennedy
Historical Contributor
Harrison Kennedy is an intern for the Museum of Royal Canadian Military Institute. Harrison has completed his master’s degree in military history from the University of Chester, UK (at the Shrewsbury Campus). Harrison has also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours, with a Double Major in History & Political Science at Carleton University, Ottawa.
Education Collaborators

Natalie Zacharewski
Education Coordinator
Natalie is a museum education professional based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has a passion for creating learning opportunities for students of all ages through immersive, inquiry-based experiences. She has worked in museums and heritage institutions across Canada and the United States such as Museums of Burlington, the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum and Colonial Williamsburg. She has held the role of Faculty Instructor for the Public Programs course in the Certificate in Museum Studies Program with the Alberta Museums Association. She has also worked with the British Columbia Museums Association as Museum Education Consultant, assisting small museums develop educational programs. Natalie holds a Master of Arts in History from the University of Ottawa, specializing in Canadian, American and gender history.

Renee Allen
Education Collaborator
Renee Allen is a multi-hyphenate Jamaican-born, Toronto-based, writer-educator, with a passion for working with children and youth. She is deeply committed to work that interrogates and addresses interlocking systems of oppression. Her writing appears in Zora, THIS magazine and PREE. Renee is also a recent graduate of the Masters of Teaching program at the University of Toronto, with a book collection that keeps outgrowing her bookcase.

Dr. Madeleine Mant
Education Consultant
Dr. Madeleine Mant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her biocultural research program examines health inequities in marginalized and institutionalized human groups through an interdisciplinary integration of bioanthropological and archival datasets. Her work investigates and amplifies previously unheard voices, demonstrating the powerful legacy of historical health in shaping health consequences and experiences today.

Leticia Nadler
Education Collaborator
Leticia lives in Edmonton, Alberta. She has worked as a K-12 French Immersion teacher and also as a curriculum consultant for Alberta Education. She now teaches college and university students while pursuing her doctoral studies in educational leadership at the Faculty of Education, University of Alberta. She has experience in developing learning materials that enhance students’ critical thinking skills.
Translators
Anne-Chantal Fontaine
Translator
Certified by OTTIAQ in 2010, Anne-Chantal holds a master’s degree in French Studies from the University of Sherbrooke (1996) and has nearly 25 years of experience in translation. She has acquired a diverse clientele almost everywhere in Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Manitoba). In addition to the privilege of contributing to the promotion of the French language, Anne-Chantal translates for museums and organizations that, like Defining Moments Canada, cultivate the duty of remembrance and raise awareness about important chapters of history, some of which are dark and little known, particularly concerning Indigenous Peoples and veterans.

Geneviève Desaulniers
Translator
Equally passionate about linguistics, science-fiction, and curry recipes, Genny is an avid researcher and traveller. She enjoys unearthing details, anecdotes, and tasty bits and weaving them into her translation and writing work, thus creating vivid narratives to enthrall readers. She is the proud mom of two young booklovers, and enjoys fueling their imagination with myths, legends, and history.

Marie-Catherine Gagné
Translator
Seasoned translator, Marie-Catherine has over 25 years of experience, working in many fields. She has been a translator for the federal government for over 15 years, but also for several humanitarian non profit organizations. Marie-Catherine enjoys literature, cats and great food.