Team Members
Executive Director
Nicholas Salter
Nicholas Salter has been the Executive Director of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) since 2021. He brings to the role more than a decade of leadership working with health and social services agencies, community organizations, higher education institutions, foundations, and multiple levels of government. His priorities have been establishing PERT’s research capacity and developing strong partnerships and relationships with stakeholders.
Prior to joining the Provincial Employment Roundtable, Nicholas directed communications and outreach for McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, where he played a key role in helping to build and launch the School. Nicholas previously headed the policy and communications work at Powered by Data — a nonprofit focused on open data and open government. Nicholas has also been involved in federal politics, where he led the team of a Member of Parliament and later became an advisor to regional teams and multiple parliamentarians.
Nicholas holds an MSW in International and Community Development, a BA in Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations Management. He is also a past fellow of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy.
He currently sits on the board of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex — a not-for-profit community-led health organization. He is also a member of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) Inter-Level Educational Table (ILET) and Literacy Quebec’s Community Empowerment through Literacy Initiative (CELI) Project Advisory Committee. He is the past Vice-President of the Carrefour jeunesse emploi – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Director, Policy and Research
Sta Kuzviwanza
Sta is a policy researcher and analyst with a background in economics and technology policy. Sta previously worked as the policy lead for Québec at Airbnb Canada and as a consultant providing policy analysis to organizations in the private and public sectors. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Max Bell School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s in Economics and African Studies from McGill University.
Director, Engagement & Communications
Chad Walcott
Chad Walcott is a community engagement expert with 10 years of experience in politics and social development. Throughout his career, he has developed and overseen several successful social impact campaigns focused on social and economic development. Prior to joining PERT’s team, Chad held a position at the City of Montreal, where he was responsible for managing citizen requests and advising local officials on policies related to economic and social development.
Policy Researcher
Morgan Gagnon
Morgan Gagnon is a skilled researcher and policy analyst with a background in Quebec higher education policy and theories of institutional responsibility. She recently completed her master’s degree in philosophy at Concordia University, where she held a SSHRC scholarship for her research on university sexual violence policies and accessibility to education. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Arts at Bishop’s University, where she gained extensive experience building relationships with community and regional partners.
Executive Director
Nicholas Salter
Nicholas Salter has been the Executive Director of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) since 2021. He brings to the role more than a decade of leadership working with health and social services agencies, community organizations, higher education institutions, foundations, and multiple levels of government. His priorities have been establishing PERT’s research capacity and developing strong partnerships and relationships with stakeholders.
Prior to joining the Provincial Employment Roundtable, Nicholas directed communications and outreach for McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, where he played a key role in helping to build and launch the School. Nicholas previously headed the policy and communications work at Powered by Data — a nonprofit focused on open data and open government. Nicholas has also been involved in federal politics, where he led the team of a Member of Parliament and later became an advisor to regional teams and multiple parliamentarians.
Nicholas holds an MSW in International and Community Development, a BA in Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations Management. He is also a past fellow of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy.
He currently sits on the board of the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex — a not-for-profit community-led health organization. He is also a member of the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) Inter-Level Educational Table (ILET) and Literacy Quebec’s Community Empowerment through Literacy Initiative (CELI) Project Advisory Committee. He is the past Vice-President of the Carrefour jeunesse emploi – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Director, Policy and Research
Sta Kuzviwanza
Sta is a policy researcher and analyst with a background in economics and technology policy. Sta previously worked as the policy lead for Québec at Airbnb Canada and as a consultant providing policy analysis to organizations in the private and public sectors. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Max Bell School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s in Economics and African Studies from McGill University.
Director, Engagement & Communications
Chad Walcott
Chad Walcott is a community engagement expert with 10 years of experience in politics and social development. Throughout his career, he has developed and overseen several successful social impact campaigns focused on social and economic development. Prior to joining PERT’s team, Chad held a position at the City of Montreal, where he was responsible for managing citizen requests and advising local officials on policies related to economic and social development.
Policy Researcher
Morgan Gagnon
Morgan Gagnon is a skilled researcher and policy analyst with a background in Quebec higher education policy and theories of institutional responsibility. She recently completed her master’s degree in philosophy at Concordia University, where she held a SSHRC scholarship for her research on university sexual violence policies and accessibility to education. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Arts at Bishop’s University, where she gained extensive experience building relationships with community and regional partners.
Communications and Engagement Specialist
Maria De Las Salas
Maria J. De Las Salas recently earned a Bachelor of Art with a double major in communications and political science from Concordia University. She immigrated with her family from Colombia in 2015, and this experience makes employability challenges and language minorities issues close to her heart. As a communication and engagement specialist, she intends to translate policy and research developments into clear language destined to other actors of the milieu and to spread PERT’s commitment to the underrepresented communities in Québec.
Policy Researcher
Cimminnee Holt
Economic Policy Analyst
Ye Zin
Ye is a Policy Analyst and has recently completed a Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Ottawa. He specializes in labour economics and has research experience from working with labour market survey data, such as the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS). With his skills and experience, he is committed to providing economic policy solutions to employability challenges of linguistic minorities in Québec.
Executive Assistant
So Young Park
So Young Park is the Executive Assistant at the Provincial Employment Roundtable, bringing a wealth of experience in community engagement and administration. With a diverse background in student and labour rights advocacy, student leadership, and academic research, she has developed valuable skills working closely with the Anglophone workforce in Quebec’s academia. So Young recently completed her honours degree and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Concordia University.
Communications and Engagement Specialist
Maria De Las Salas
Maria J. De Las Salas recently earned a Bachelor of Art with a double major in communications and political science from Concordia University. She immigrated with her family from Colombia in 2015, and this experience makes employability challenges and language minorities issues close to her heart. As a communication and engagement specialist, she intends to translate policy and research developments into clear language destined to other actors of the milieu and to spread PERT’s commitment to the underrepresented communities in Québec.
Policy Researcher
Cimminnee Holt
Economic Policy Analyst
Ye Zin
Ye is a Policy Analyst and has recently completed a Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Ottawa. He specializes in labour economics and has research experience from working with labour market survey data, such as the Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS). With his skills and experience, he is committed to providing economic policy solutions to employability challenges of linguistic minorities in Québec.
Executive Assistant
So Young Park
So Young Park is the Executive Assistant at the Provincial Employment Roundtable, bringing a wealth of experience in community engagement and administration. With a diverse background in student and labour rights advocacy, student leadership, and academic research, she has developed valuable skills working closely with the Anglophone workforce in Quebec’s academia. So Young recently completed her honours degree and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Concordia University.
Policy Research Intern
Conner Mc Levy
Conner is a policy research intern at the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) and a student from Concordia University’s Co-op program. Currently studying towards a Bachelor of Arts, he has recently completed his second year in Concordia’s Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN) program. With a background in Information and Library Technologies (ILT) from his time at John Abbott College, he was inspired to apply to work at PERT due to their research into the employability challenges and solutions of linguistic minorities in Québec.
Communications Intern
Jessica Habiyakare
Jessica is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Political Science and is an active participant in the Concordia University Co-op program. Her main interests are international relations, human rights law, equality rights, and public policy.
Jessica was drawn to the Provincial Employment Roundtable due to its emphasis on addressing the challenges faced by English speakers in Quebec’s employment sector. Having personally witnessed the impact of language barriers on employment access, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how to mitigate these challenges and enhance employment opportunities for non-French speakers while also advancing employment equity in Quebec.
Policy Research Intern
Conner Mc Levy
Conner is a policy research intern at the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT) and a student from Concordia University’s Co-op program. Currently studying towards a Bachelor of Arts, he has recently completed his second year in Concordia’s Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN) program. With a background in Information and Library Technologies (ILT) from his time at John Abbott College, he was inspired to apply to work at PERT due to their research into the employability challenges and solutions of linguistic minorities in Québec.
Communications Intern
Jessica Habiyakare
Jessica is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Political Science and is an active participant in the Concordia University Co-op program. Her main interests are international relations, human rights law, equality rights, and public policy.
Jessica was drawn to the Provincial Employment Roundtable due to its emphasis on addressing the challenges faced by English speakers in Quebec’s employment sector. Having personally witnessed the impact of language barriers on employment access, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how to mitigate these challenges and enhance employment opportunities for non-French speakers while also advancing employment equity in Quebec.