You might run into or talk to some of them when you happen to be walking by the north end of the 11th floor at 1010 Sherbrooke, where the team is based. We’re talking about the Office of the Associate Vice-President (AVP), Facilities Management and Ancillary Services. It is a group with a diverse set of functions that plays a key role in the strategic planning of operational, administrative, budgetary and financial activities within FMAS, provides support to the AVP, develops and implements processes and mechanisms to facilitate collaboration between FMAS units, and promotes their work and achievements within and beyond FMAS.
Today, we introduce you to the members at the Office of the AVP and provide you with a bit of insight into what they’re up to when they are not at work or little-known facts about them.
Denis Mondou
Associate Vice-President
Joined McGill and FMAS in August 2010.
Denis is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction of FMAS, which is attained through the work of the many units that make up FMAS. His role is to support each team so it can achieve its individual objectives, while ensuring all units are working in the same direction in support of the overall priorities of McGill. In addition to regular meetings with the heads of the different FMAS teams, his day-to-day involves meetings with members of McGill’s senior leadership and with external stakeholders such as representatives of the City of Montreal and of the provincial government.
Fun fact(s): Denis has worked in a variety of settings, including a chocolate and coffee factory. “I remember having the smell of chocolate linger on my clothes for hours after I’d left work. And there was way too much of it available to employees in the warehouse – so easy to pick up a handful each time you walk by!” Denis has also worked in automation of presses and packaging lines for a company that printed scratch-off lottery tickets.
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Alexandra Depatie
Senior Director, Administration
Joined McGill and FMAS in February 2022.
Alexandra is responsible for producing financial and management reports for all FMAS activities. She also promotes and shares good financial behaviour, works on improving administrative processes and supports the AVP and other FMAS directors on administrative matters.
Fun fact(s): Between the ages of 20 and 30, Alexandra visited over 30 countries, and she always brings back different kinds of chewing gum as a souvenir. "It is cheap, not heavy to carry when travelling and you can use it, if necessary,” explains Alexandra. She plays flute and loves classical music. “I have also attended many sommelier courses and love discovering the world of grapes and wines.”
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Enache Adolphe
Senior Director, Administration
Joined McGill and FMAS in May 2023.
Enache is currently replacing Alexandra, who is on maternity leave. She joined the senior management of FMAS to continue to provide leadership to FMAS units on strategic planning of administrative, budgetary and financial activities.
Fun fact(s): Enache is a sports enthusiast: “I played basketball in high school, then practiced kickboxing in my 20s. In recent years, I’ve developed an interest in sports psychology,” she says. She also loves watching anime (Japanese animation).
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Jerome Conraud
Senior Consultant, Infrastructure Management and Strategic Planning
Joined McGill and FMAS in February 2010.
Jerome was McGill’s first Energy Manager and was later appointed Director at Utilities and Energy Management. He joined the Office of the AVP in November 2023 as Senior Consultant. His mandate includes planning physical infrastructure capital work and setting cross-unit strategic objectives. “For instance, I support FMAS units in the change management associated with key initiatives such as the review of our asbestos management processes or the Incident Management Team, a new FMAS mechanism aimed at facilitating a coordinated response to incidents,” he explains.
Fun fact(s): Jerome is a true outdoors aficionado, although “I hate bugs, but they love me,” he says. In the winter he enjoys Telemark and cross-country skiing. In the summer: sailing and hiking, with some of his favourite hikes being in Italy, France, Switzerland, and Iceland. “I’ve got two babies,” he adds, “a cat with an attitude and a puppy who runs away.” He also plays the cello.
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Karyne Matteau
Office Manager
Joined McGill in February 2003 and FMAS in May 2019.
Karyne’s key responsibility is to provide diverse administrative support to the AVP and members of his office. “I liaise with our FMAS teams on various initiatives and provide support to diverse committees,” she says.
As the asset steward for FMAS, she makes sure that all employees are provided with the necessary IT equipment and ensures that proper access to the network is provided.
“I am also the 'absence partner' in Workday, which means that I am responsible for maintaining employees’ absence records up to date.”
Fun fact(s): Karyne grew up in Florida and her playground as a kid was mainly the beach, where she started collecting seashells. She still has an impressive collection years later: “I could easily compete with the Redpath Museum’s collection,” she says.
Even though she didn’t play in the snow much at a young age, she now enjoys practicing winter sports with her family. “We enjoy downhill skiing, ice skating, and when I need some Zen time I cross-country ski.”
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Christina Danieli
Senior Administrative Coordinator
Joined McGill and FMAS in December 2000.
Christina is responsible for special projects in the AVP’s office, such as organizing the annual safety boot truck visits on campus. “I am also an 'absence partner' in Workday for all FMAS units and I support several meetings in FMAS, such as those related to the newly-created FMAS Incident Management Team and the FMAS Action Group for Asbestos,” she adds. Denis is the third AVP Christina has worked with, after having first worked with Jim Nicell and then Robert Couvrette.
Fun fact(s): Christina likes to prepare homemade tomato sauce at the end of the summer, which she usually does in bulk. “Sometimes I make enough for the year, or even more,” she says. “We usually end up with well over 100 large mason jars of tomato sauce.”
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Roberta Grimm Trotta
Administrative Coordinator
Joined McGill in February 2017 and FMAS in July 2018.
“I handle many different things,” says Roberta. She orders office supplies, processes expense reports, supports event planning, develops tutorials and manuals, manages the footer of the FMAS website as well as some other webpages, and occasionally manages travel arrangements.
“But my biggest and most challenging task is calendar management for Denis and Alexandra/Enache” she says. “Sometimes, I must make some scheduling miracles happen!”
She also makes sure the little “humour corner” at her desk is always updated with some memes and jokes.
Fun fact(s): Roberta was born and raised in Brazil. Although she can’t play soccer or do the samba, she can make a very good caipirinha (their national drink).
She is obsessed with traveling, which she considers her biggest passion. “I’ve been traveling for over 20 years, and I’ve been to all continents, except Antarctica (it’s on the list of future travels though),” she says. “The more unique and “off-the-beaten-path” the country, the more interesting it is to me.” Oh, and she once met Keanu Reeves at his Hollywood Hills home (want to know more, don’t you?)!
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Julie Fortier
Communications Manager
Joined McGill in June 2008 and FMAS in December 2016.
Julie’s role consists of promoting the work and many achievements of the various FMAS teams – within and beyond FMAS. “This includes informing the McGill community of our work’s impact on their spaces and raising awareness and understanding of the necessity and benefits of what we do,” she explains. “It also involves managing the occasional crisis to make sure building occupants are made aware of an incident and how we are working on resolving it.” She also looks after internal administrative announcements.
Fun fact(s): Classical music was a big part of Julie’s life as a child and teen. “I started taking piano lessons at the age of three, violin lessons a few years after, and played competitively for many years, until the age of 18. It allowed me to teach music throughout my post-secondary studies, which was a great part-time job,” she says.
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Nienke Broekstra
Digital Communications Officer
Joined McGill and FMAS in May 2022.
Nienke works on various websites under the responsibility of FMAS and leads and implements the redesign of several sites. She also participates in the production, distribution, and creation of other communications materials, including content for FMAS’ social media channels, the FMAS Bulletin, and articles for the McGill Reporter.
Fun fact(s): Nienke grew up in the Netherlands and as a teenager worked two summers on a tulip farm. She moved to Montreal just two years ago after having lived and worked in Brussels, Belgium, for a couple of years. “I love going to see live music and regularly go to concerts,” she says. “Last year, I spent five evenings at the Jazz Festival.”