VEday75Team
The Defining Moments Canada Team
Neil Orford – President
Jenifer Terry – Executive Director
Anna England – Project Coordinator
The Project Team
Contributing Historians
Mike Bechthold
Lead Historian
Mike Bechthold, PhD (mikebechthold.com) has been writing and teaching about Canadian military history for over 25 years. He is the author/editor of eight books and numerous articles, most recently Flying to Victory: Raymond Collishaw and the Western Desert Campaign (2017). He co-authored three guidebooks about the Canadian battlefields of the Second World. He specializes in military air power, the Canadian army in Normandy and Northwest Europe, and the Canadian Corps in the Great War.
Alex Fitzgerald-Black
Lead Researcher
Alex Fitzgerald-Black is the Operations and Outreach Manager at the Juno Beach Centre Association, the Canadian charity that owns and operates the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France. He has a Master of Arts in Military History from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Arts in Public History from the University of Western Ontario. Alex hosts Juno Beach and Beyond: Canada’s Second World War Podcast.
Nathan Kehler
Digital Creative Lead
Nathan Kehler is the Executive Director of the Canadian Research and Mapping Association and one of the creators of Project ’44: The Road to Liberation. Nathan is a veteran of the Canadian Forces, having served in both Afghanistan and Latvia. His expertise is in web mapping and data management, and his passion lies in showing the history of where.
Drew Hannen
Digital Story Lead
Drew Hannen is the Vice-President of the Canadian Research and Mapping Association and one of the creators of Project ’44: The Road to Liberation. He specializes in digital preservation, collection management systems, and mapping history. Through this work, he has developed a keen interest in understanding people’s connection with the land and the role contemporary and archival maps play.
Education Collaborators
Craig Brumwell
Education Consultant
Craig Brumwell has been teaching Social Studies for over 30 years in Vancouver. The focus of his practice is inquiry approaches to place-based learning through digital interactive storytelling. Examples of his projects are Dilemma 1944 and its online educational resource site, Though Poppies Grow and Kitsilano Fallen. He is the recipient of three national awards for teaching excellence, the Governor General’s History Award (2015), the Government of Canada History Award (2015), and the Prime Minister’s Award (2018).
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.