November 6, 2023 (Headingley, MB) – Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C) welcomes Mathieu Rouleau to lead the organization as Executive Director effective November 6.
Based in Quebec, Rouleau brings a combination of leadership, agriculture and finance experience to the role. While working in the finance sector, he co-founded École-O-Champ, a non-profit organization dedicated to agricultural education and AITC-C's member organization in Quebec. With a background deeply rooted in agriculture, Rouleau grew up on a dairy, cash crop and maple syrup farm and holds a Bachelor in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Business and Agronomy from McGill University.
After starting École-O-Champ as a student project, Rouleau has grown it into a well-recognized organization, successfully growing the budget tenfold, expanding youth experiences throughout Quebec, and cultivating a motivated and engaged team. In his new role with AITC-C, Rouleau will focus on implementing a new three-year strategic plan and continuing to build strong relationships with the agriculture and food industry to allow AITC-C to grow and thrive.
“We are thrilled to have Mathieu take on the leadership role at AITC-C,” says Rebecca Sooksom, Chair of AITC-C. “A passionate champion of ag education, he was instrumental in establishing École-o-Champs and furthering agriculture education in Quebec and I know he will strengthen our commitment to getting agriculture into classrooms across Canada.”
“I’m excited to lead a national team and collaborate with our provincial members to educate and empower Canadian youth with essential agriculture knowledge and skills in both official languages,” says Rouleau. “Tomorrow’s leaders are in the classroom today and it is critical they understand the importance of agriculture to nourish and grow our industry for the future.”
Last year, AITC-C and its member organizations provided over two million student learning experiences through programs and initiatives across the country. AITC-C recently released its annual progress report at https://aitc-canada.ca/en-ca/news-events/impact-reports.
With a vision to create meaningful connections to agriculture and food, AITC-C is the national advocate for agriculture education, representing a collective of 10 provincial member organizations who deliver agriculture education on the ground across Canada. AITC-C is the umbrella organization connecting the national network to facilitate sharing and collaboration and deliver accurate, balanced, and current resources. Visit www.aitc-canada.ca to learn more.
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For more information, contact:
Tracey Shelton
Communications Consultant
tshelton@aitc-canada.ca
204-995-2102