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.
Engagement Coordinator
Piers Young
Piers has completed a Bachelors of Arts where he earned a degree in Political Science with a minor in Quebec Studies at McGill University. His experience in community outreach and engagement with non-profit organizations in Montreal allows him to better understand the policy challenges that Québec’s linguistically diverse communities face. Piers is committed to finding creative solutions on how to best engage all of Québec’s workforce.
Executive Assistant
Sara Ania Pustol
Sara Ania is a Master’s Candidate of Public Policy and Public Administration at Concordia University. She has previously held positions in administration, program management, and event coordination in immigration policy, aging policy, and law. Sara Ania has also been active in the non-profit and NGO space since 2015 predominantly working in, and advocating for, refugee rights and prisoner justice. She holds a BA in Political Science minoring in Human Rights with honours and distinctions from Concordia University.
Policy Researcher
Cimminnee Holt
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.
Engagement Coordinator
Piers Young
Piers has completed a Bachelors of Arts where he earned a degree in Political Science with a minor in Quebec Studies at McGill University. His experience in community outreach and engagement with non-profit organizations in Montreal allows him to better understand the policy challenges that Québec’s linguistically diverse communities face. Piers is committed to finding creative solutions on how to best engage all of Québec’s workforce.
Executive Assistant
Sara Ania Pustol
Sara Ania is a Master’s Candidate of Public Policy and Public Administration at Concordia University. She has previously held positions in administration, program management, and event coordination in immigration policy, aging policy, and law. Sara Ania has also been active in the non-profit and NGO space since 2015 predominantly working in, and advocating for, refugee rights and prisoner justice. She holds a BA in Political Science minoring in Human Rights with honours and distinctions from Concordia University.
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.
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.