Meet the Board

New board members were most recently elected at our October 2025 Annual General Meeting.

Here are the current board members:

Josée Thibault, President

A Franco-Ontarian from Northern Ontario, I moved to Ottawa in 1999 to attend university.  I have lived in the Convent Glen – Orléans Wood area since 2004. I have two children and a dog with whom I am often out and about walking, biking, or cross-country skiing. I joined the CGOWCA Board of Directors to get more involved in this wonderful community and support local initiatives.

Matthieu Gagnon, Vice President

I was born and raised in Orléans. In my 20s, I moved around a bit while working as an exploration geologist in the gold industry. I moved back to Orléans around 2010 and moved to Convent Glen in 2018. I am a dad of two girls and I want them to grow up in a thriving community where they will have freedom and independence. On my free time, you will often see me in the parks around Voyageurs or running errands on my cargo bike. I also enjoy board games and run a weekly Dungeons and Dragon campaign.

Daniel Lamothe, Treasurer

I have been a resident of Orléans since 1979 and seen it grow and develop incredibly in the past decades. My spouse and I moved to Convent Glen in 1997 and have lived here since, enrolling our three children at École des Voyageurs and exploring the many parks and green spaces. I was an active member of school councils for 19 years, and I am an avid cyclist and music festival volunteer. I am very curious about the impact of the stage 2 Light Rail Transit expansion on our community; I joined the CGOWCA Board of Directors to learn more about this impact and to represent my neighbours and friends.

Rob Attrell, Secretary

I moved to Ottawa for university in 2006 after growing up in Calgary and moved to Convent Glen in 2019. It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know this community and start to raise a family here. I am a rarity in North American suburbs in that I’m personally not a huge fan of driving, in fact I didn’t get my full license until my mid-20s.

My whole life, I’ve only ever commuted to work on foot, by bike, with public transit, on rollerblades for a couple of years, and on skates a couple of times when I lived near the canal going to uOttawa. I’m an advocate for making our communities more accessible and safer to modes of transportation other than cars. I’d also like to grow and strengthen our sense of community locally by helping people get to know their neighbours better. Check out TheNewOrleans.ca for my thoughts on urbanism and community.

Arnold van den Hoeven

I moved to Convent Glen in 1994 when I was posted here as a member of the RCAF. We have raised our kids here, through Ecole Des Voyageurs and St Matthew High School. We’ve enjoyed the many great things that our neighbourhood has to offer; access to the river, greenbelt, cycling paths, parks and the fantastic neighbours that we’ve met over the years. In joining the board, I hope to contribute to a thriving and connected community that takes care of each other and our environment.

Bruce Kelly

Proud Franco-Ontarian, avid cyclist, and huge fan of the Ottawa Redblacks and Senators, it is with great pleasure that my wife and I decided in spring 2024 to move to Convent Glen to raise our little family. For me, it is also a return home, since I grew up in the neighbourhood in the 80s and 90s. I truly believe that all positive change must derive from grassroots initiatives, and it is with great dedication that I plan on working with my peers to help our community flourish.

Caroline Fahmy

Raised in Ottawa to Egyptian-born parents, I went to high school at St. Matt’s, left Orleans, and have now been back since 2008. I have two boys (20 and 17). They went to school at Des Voyageurs and Garneau. I am very proud of my Franco-Ontarian heritage. Even as I studied international relations in university, I am now more convinced than ever that taking care of your neighbours is just as important, if not more. I hope to do that with the CGOW community association.

Lorna Lyttle

I grew up in Osgoode, Ontario, daughter of an engineer with Health Canada and mother who was chair of the High School Board! My husband, Wayne (owner of Fred Guy Moving and Storage), and I were among the first settlers in Blackburn Hamlet where we started our family of two daughters and helped that community to establish itself. We lived there for 16 years before moving to Convent Glen in 1984 to feel like we were living in the country but convenient to the city.

I earned a BA in Law and Psychology at Carleton University while tutoring students with Learning Disabilities at home and teaching Group Fitness and Pilates at Jan’s Workout in Blackburn Hamlet. I became involved with opposing the building of the Eastern Interprovincial Bridge when the Provincial Liberals proposed it in about 2009 and it had been suggested that it should be built ‘in that field in the east end’ (The Greenbelt)! I worked hard for several years on it then and took up the gauntlet again when the Federal Government proposed it in 2019! I chair the Bridge Committee, a group of dedicated members of this community who are very committed to this task. I am proud to be part of this fabulous group of people who are our Community Association!

Rachelle Thibodeau

I was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and still call it home, even though I grew up in Toronto. I moved to Ottawa in 1992 to attend Carleton University (psychology). I’ve now worked at Carleton’s Centre for Initiatives in Education for 30 years. I also work as an academic and resiliency coach with Awakened Learning and volunteer as a mentor and life-path coach with Discover Year. I moved from Nepean to Orleans Wood in 2022 and immediately found kindred spirits in the Environment Committee of the CGOW Community Association.