On October 29, 2024, ACFO-ACAF hosted its 35^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Rogers Centre (formerly Shaw Centre) in Ottawa. We were delighted to have more than 100 members join us in person, along with more than 50 others who participated virtually. During the event, outgoing ACFO-ACAF President Dany Richard delivered updates and answered audience questions on several important topics, including: 

• Telework; 
• Pay Equity; 
• ACFO-ACAF’s ongoing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism initiatives; and 
• Phoenix. 

For anyone who couldn’t attend this year’s AGM, a recording of the event will be accessible on the ACFO-ACAF member portal in the coming weeks. 

Thank you, Dany! 

At this year’s AGM, we bid farewell to Dany Richard as he concludes his tenure as President of ACFO-ACAF, a role he has embraced since being elected in 2016.  

On behalf of the ACFO-ACAF Board of Directors, the CT Community, and the entire staff, we wish him great success in all his future endeavours.  

We’re excited to see him at events in the future, this time as one of our valued members! We are also pleased to be giving him a proper send-off at our Holiday Gala on December 13—please stay tuned for when registration opens for this event. 

Official voting results 

Below are the official results of the votes conducted during the 35^th AGM, which include the elections for board positions and the resolutions. We are grateful to the more than 1,700 members who participated in the voting process this year.  

Resolutions 

Resolution 1: Approval of the minutes of the 34^th Annual General Meeting 

Yes: 1,531
Abstain: 168
No: 13

Resolution 2: Approval of the 2023 audited financial statements 

Yes: 1,536
Abstain: 165
No: 11

Resolution 3: Approval of the 2025 budget   

Yes: 1,508
Abstain: 176
No: 28

Resolution 4: Approval of the auditors 

Yes: 1,510
Abstain: 177
No: 25

Resolution 5: Approval that article 6.4.3 be removed 

Yes: 1,441
Abstain: 194
No: 77

Board of Directors 

Congratulations to Rob Hawkins, who was elected to the position of President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Danielle Allaire, who was elected to the Director at Large position, and Julien Cadieux, who was elected to the CT-FIN Director position. 

The voting results were as follows: 

President and Chair of the Board of Directors 

Rob Hawkins: 956
Natacha Ruiz Tardif : 705

Director at Large 

Danielle Allaire: 494
Richard Rizok: 436
Pierre Liu: 306
Stephanie Salifu: 229
Suman Roy: 85

CT-FIN Director 

Julien Cadieux: 777
Ayanna Alleyne: 523
Rajvir Sehira: 237

Scholarship Recipients 

This year, ACFO-ACAF awarded the Merdon Hosking Youth Scholarship to Olusemilore (Semi) Kumolu-Johnson and Ana-Maria Necrasov.  

Semi is an inspiring young leader with a passion for making a difference. Aspiring to become a lawyer, he plans to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Alongside his legal aspirations, he is committed to empowering children and nurturing our future generations by continuing his volunteer work and supporting educational initiatives in schools. 

Ana-Maria is driven by the conviction that even small actions can have a remarkable impact. Since joining her church in 2022, she has actively volunteered for choir and Sunday school, recognizing the importance of educating and encouraging the younger generation. As a member of the iGEM Outaouais team, she is using synthetic biology to tackle the plastic pollution crisis and improve recycling systems. In addition to her research, she co-directs the educational side of the project, creating short videos and presentations to make science accessible to all. In the future, she plans to continue her work on the environment through biological research, guided by her belief that a healthy planet promotes healthy communities.