2021-2023
Shawna Joynt
President
Shawna Joynt is First Nations. Her tribe is Tr’ondek Hwech’in Han Nation in Dawson City, Yukon. She is a proud mother of four boys. Her boys are her inspiration in life.
Shawna has spent years on various local and provincial level organizations, she brings her years of experiences, knowledge, and wisdom to the Canadian Association of the Deaf. She commits to educating the community about important issues, is dedicated to working with people to improve the sense of belonging. Her goal is to remove the many barriers people face. Shawna is proud of the work she has accomplished and her passion.
Email: shawna.joynt@cad-asc.ca
Hélène Herbert
Vice President of Governance and Membership
Hélène first language is French and she learned LSQ as a teenager. She quickly became fluent in LSQ, she has basic knowledge of English and ASL. Hélène considers herself bilingual and bicultural. She has several university degrees, a bachelor’s degree in education – ortho pedagogy, a certificate in children’s literature, and a specialized graduate diploma in school administration. Hélène is a retired remedial teacher who taught both adults and youth at different levels. Teaching is her passion and she is proud to see the fruits of her labour have paid off. Currently, she is a co-editor and administrator of the magazine Voir-Dire and in the past she was the president of ReQIS (Réseau Québécois pour l’inclusion sociale des personnes sourdes et malentendantes) and the president and secretary for SCQS (Société Culturelle Québécoise des Sourds). As the National Francophone Director of the CAD-CAD, Hélène works to promote and defend the use of LSQ across Canada. It is important to her that communication and information regarding deafness be more fluid in order to avoid stigmatization between English and French Deaf people in Canada.
Email: helene.hebert@cad-asc.ca
Stephanie Jebb
National Indigenous Director
Bio coming soon.
Email: stephanie.jebb@cad-asc.ca
Paula MacDonald
National Youth Director
Paula MacDonald is a Saulteaux-Cree Deaf woman from Pasqua First Nation who resides in Ottawa. I am a passionate recent graduate with a degree in Indigenous & Canadian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. She also completed a Computer Aided Drafting Technology degree at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) in Rochester. Paula actively volunteers in several organizations representing Deaf people, especially the Indigenous community. She is a national youth representative of the Deaf Indigenous of Canada committee and the Canadian Association of the Deaf.
Locally, she is the vice president of the National Capital Association for the Deaf. Paula actively engages with the local and national Deaf communities. As an American Sign Language (ASL) translator for both work and personal, she has experience engaging on important and emerging issues for the Deaf community on social media. She has been participating in many talking circles to share Deaf youth’s advocacy voices with many organizations, such as the Native Women Association of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian Roots Exchange, Canada Post, and more.
She loves to engage with the Indigenous Deaf and Hard of Hearing youth community as an Indigenous youth advocate. In her own time, she loves reading, beading, and enjoying outdoor activities. Volleyball is her favourite sport.
Email: paula.macdonald@cad-asc.ca
Vacancy
- Director-at-Large
- Director-at-Large
- Director-at-Large
- Treasure
- Secretary
- Communications Director
Board of Director Nominations
The Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada for its Board of Directors is a two-year terms. An election will be held to fill the positions of President, Vice President (Governance and Membership), Secretary, Treasurer, Communications Director, National Francophone Director, and three Directors-at-Large. The election will be held at our Annual General Meeting in odd-numbered years (2023, 2025, etc.).
Questions? Contact Nominations Committee at info@cad-asc.ca. The nomination form is available as a docx.