James has been involved in immigration since 2010 when the City of Temiskaming Shores began to participate in workforce attraction events to encourage people to move to Northern Ontario. After several years of mediocre success with attraction efforts, the City realized that retention and welcoming were as important to the process. James partnered with Keepers of the Circle, the Centre for Civic Religious Literacy, the Rural Development Network and the Religious Business Freedom Foundation to develop a business training program to assist businesses to better understand the needs of newcomers and how they can more easily integrate different cultures and religious practices into their operations. As a small community that felt underserviced by federal and provincial immigration programs, the City created a partnership with a local not for profit, the One Light Diversity Centre to offer welcoming and settlement services within the community and surrounding area. The program has been successful in retaining people in the community and growing the number of cultures represented in the region.

 

Cathy Woodbeck is the Executive Director of the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association, having led the organization for the past 31 years.  A graduate of Lakehead University (MA 1993), and lifelong resident of the region, she is a former municipal councilor for Conmee Township. With her extensive experience in the Immigrant Settlement and Language Sector, she has been represented the North, small centres and remote locations in various working groups and provincial and national committees and councils. She participated in the development of the small centre tool box for communities and also the anti-racism project “Developing Diversity in Policing” with the Thunder Bay Police Service.  Cathy provides mentorship and training to agencies and organizations on issues of Immigration, Settlement service delivery, Building Welcoming Communities and Working Effectively with Interpreters.  She often represents the North at Federal and Provincial discussions on serving small, remote and northern communities, settlement of newcomers across the North, language acquisition, small center strategies for building welcoming communities and issues of institutional change with respect to diversity. 

Monique Beaudoin has been working at the Greater Sudbury Community Health Centre (GSCHC) since 2006. In her role, Monique has worn many hats and led various community projects, including initiatives on poverty and its impact on health; art and its impact on health; the health rights of the LGBTQ community; and the social integration of Francophone newcomers. She has been the Settlement Services and CFA Sudbury Coordinator since December 2024.

After completing her studies, she worked in Latin America for 12 years as a human rights observer. This experience was transformative, giving her the opportunity to see and carry out this work in a context of war, colonialism and fierce struggle for dignity and self-determination. It is an experience that still guides her every day.

Monique has served on numerous boards of directors over the years. In 2019, she was awarded the Horace Viau Award for her community involvement.

A native of Mattawa, she comes from a large extended family, has three daughters, a grandson and a cat, and is passionate about community arts, forest walks and travel.

Deborah Robertson has over 17 years of experience in the sector, having begun her career in settlement after immigrating to northern Ontario from London, England in 2008. As Executive Director of the Northeastern Ontario Multicultural Centre, Deborah ensures the unique needs of smaller, more rural centres are at the forefront of her advocacy work for equitable access to services for all.

Deborah has served as the Northern Regional Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) for five years, during which time she has sat on various committees including the Membership Services Committee, Policy and Research Committee, Governance Committee and the Leadership Forum Steering Committee. Most recently NEOMC has entered a partnership with OCASI to pilot an Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Policy Toolkit to provide guidance to organizations committed to advancing equity, social justice, anti-racism and anti-oppression within the immigrant serving sector.

Deborah also serves as the Co-chair of the Local Immigration Partnerships in both Timmins and North Bay. She is honoured to serve as the Chair for her local Literacy and Basic Skills agency for over a decade. Deborah is currently pursuing a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Simon Fraser University in BC.

Stacey Platt is a Workforce Development Officer at the CEDC, overseeing the Rural Community Immigration Pilot for the Thunder Bay CMA. Previously, Stacey was the Coordinator of the Rural & Northern Community Immigration Pilot for Thunder Bay and Area.

Stacey brings a wealth of knowledge regarding immigration pathways from her time spent as the Local Immigration Partnership Coordinator with Thunder Bay Multicultural Association.

Previously, Stacey worked at the University of Toronto for 15 years, and enjoyed enriching roles such as being the International Student Recruitment Officer for the faculty of arts and sciences. In that role Stacey traveled throughout China, South Korea, Mexico and the United Stats- meeting with students and high school guidance counsellors to recruit a diverse student body to U of T, during which time she achieved her certification as a Registered Immigration Consultant of Canada

Since moving to Thunder Bay in 2017, Stacey has fallen in love with the lifestyle our great area has to offer and does her best to assist our local employers as they seek to grow and develop our workforce.

Stacey also LOVES the food scene in Thunder Bay and spreads the word about the area to anyone who will listen!

Stacey is very pleased to again be participating on a panel for Magnetic North!