Aurore Corominas

Board of Directors (2024)

From left to right: Jean-François Giroux (Secretary), retired professor, Département des sciences biologiques, UQAM; Jean Huot (Director), emeritus professor, Département de biologie, Université Laval; Jean Bédard (Chair), retired professor, Département de biologie, Université Laval; Élyse Lauzon (Vice-Chair), Customer Experience and Customer Service Manager, Groupe voyages Québec….; Yvon Mercier (Treasurer), retired manager, Canadian Wildlife Service; Jean-Michel Perron (Director), Chair PAR Conseils. Absent: Mathieu Laflamme (Director), infrastructure manager, SEPAQ. Photo : Mélanie Doré.

Jean Bédard

Jean is a biologist by training and first became interested in the ecology of seabirds during his graduate and postdoctoral studies which led him around the world. His research has been published in numerous international scientific journals. In 1979, he founded the Société Duvetnor with a few biologist friends. By developing various activities, Jean wanted to share his passion so that visitors gained a greater understanding and respect for nature, and a desire to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle. His training as a professor makes him an excellent communicator. A hard worker, he is an inspiration and role model for those who want to make a difference in wildlife conservation and public awareness.

Christian Boulet

Christian, a biologist by training, took up the position of captain in 1998. As owner of the Chantauvent sailboat, he has sailed many many hours on the St. Lawrence River as well as in South America, where he spends his winter months with his dog Morgan. Bohemian by nature, he also enjoys the solitude of his cabin in the heart of the forest by Lake Malobèse. Calm and joyful, Christian inspires confidence and navigates the sometimes rough waters with ease. He is easily recognizable by his legendary braid.

Olivier St-Pierre

Olivier took up his position in 1999 after studying wildlife conservation. Very versatile and curious, he quickly became indispensable. He has a wealth of knowledge and is involved in many of the Society’s activities, including infrastructure construction, design of electrical systems, water filtration, eiderdown harvesting, and navigation of our boats. Island life has many challenges that he gladly takes on to improve the experience of our visitors. When he is not behind the wheel of a boat, you can find him on his motorcycle or heading out to the family cabin!

Sylvie Marchand

Sylvie worked in regional tourism before joining Duvetnor in 2001. She is one of our most loyal employees. With her abundant goodwill, she is a maternal figure for all the staff. Although her role is mainly associated with numbers and managing the supply of materials and food that is delivered to the islands, she takes great pleasure in taking reservations and chatting with customers. A great lover of animals, she divides her time between the office and her stable, where she spends many hours feeding and caring for her horses.

Mélanie Doré

Mélanie studied public communications and joined our team in 2002. If you are familiar with her name, it is because you probably chatted with her on the phone or by email, or because she welcomed you when you arrived at our office. Her customer knowledge is surprising. She is very pleased and proud to help you make the most of your visit. She is behind all of our promotional and recruitment campaigns that you see on social media. She is not the best sailor, but she can be found on her paddleboard on the River during beautiful summer days.

Michèle Pelletier

Michèle has been with Duvetnor since 2003. You will not run into her on the islands since she is hidden in our eiderdown cleaning warehouse facilities, located near Rivière-du-Loup. After studying microbiology, Michèle joined our team and manages the down cleaning process for marketing. It is a unique, solitary, and specialized work that requires a lot of attention to detail; few people in Quebec have such a unique role.

Francis Dufresne

Francis has been working with us since 2007. With more than 30 years of experience on commercial fishing boats and excursion boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Francis no longer counts the roundtrips made between his native Gaspésie at Rivière-du-Loup to come and work with us during the summer.  Known for his unusual sense of duty, he is a major asset to our team. His charming accent, his typically Gaspesian expressions and his sense of humour make him a particularly endearing person.

David Levesque

David joined the permanent technical team at Île-aux-Lièvres in 2009 before his training course that focused on the maintenance and mechanics of our boats. With a background in visual arts and art history, he is now thriving with his new responsibilities. In addition to the engines that have revealed their secrets to him, David devotes himself to the restoration of his home and his passion for making craft beer.

Marc-Philippe Christophe

Marc-Philippe joined the technical team in 2011 after studying geography/environment. A colourful and expressive character, he will charm you with his infectious laughter! Owner of Le septième ciel sailboat and a new dad, Marc enjoys playing the guitar in his spare time. He can sometimes be heard singing around sunset by the employees’ house to entertain his colleagues. A great lover of nature, he quickly fell under the spell of the Bas-Saint-Laurent, where he started his family.

Marika Milani

Marika joined Duvetnor in the summer of 2020 during the pandemic. After completing her bachelor’s degree in dance, she embarked on a career in events, from a street restaurant in France to festivals in Quebec. Since her arrival on the island, she has continued to discover new names of birds and plants, which she sometimes renames in her own way. Marika has a real passion for food and likes to share it with her customers. She is also very creative, whether it is to invent cocktails for happy hour or to solve the last-minute problems brought by the island life. Her boundless energy, her thirst for knowledge and her contagious good mood makes her a person that everyone loves.

Arianne Jacques

Arianne graduated in environmental sciences. She joined our team in the summer of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. As soon as she arrived, she was immediately adopted! With bright eyes, always in a good mood, Arianne spared no effort to pamper the guests. She is trustworthy and full of common sense. In addition to her endearing personality, she has the health of the planet and humans at heart. She has a green thumb and a great passion for plants. She spends as much time as possible in nature.

Phillip Schube-Coquereau

Phillip s’est joint à l’équipe de Duvetnor en 2021. Il est titulaire d’une maîtrise en études littéraires à l’UQAR et de nombreuses années d’expérience dans plusieurs cuisines de Québec et de Rimouski. Bien qu’il passe la majeure partie de l’été à cuisiner, il prolonge son séjour sur l’Île en se joignant à l’équipe technique en début et en fin de saison, lui permettant ainsi de se connecter avec cet environnement unique. Le lien très particulier qu’il entretient avec son environnement se ressent et se déguste dans les plats originaux qu’il concocte pour ses clients. Depuis la pandémie, il s’est découvert un talent pour le pain au levain, un talent très apprécié de ses collègues et clients ! Véritable amoureux de la nature, des plaisirs de la table et des mots, il a trouvé sa place à l’Île aux Lièvres. Ses nombreuses compétences et son énergie inépuisable font de lui un insulaire sans égal.

Jean-Gabriel Morin

Jean-Gabriel joined Duvetnor in 2021. He is a management student at HEC de Montréal and decided to leave his native island of Montreal to settle on Île aux Lièvres during the summer. Very curious, he likes to learn more about a variety of topics, from birds to plants, energy management and pastry. On the same note, he discovered a passion for photography of the Island’s birds and sunsets. He is versatile, friendly and a real joker, which makes him a valuable help for his colleagues and clients. We cannot ignore the delicious muffins and other desserts that make everyone happy!

Marie-Reine Thériault

Marie-Reine joined our team at the down warehouse facilities in 2016. She worked for a long time in horticulture in several greenhouses in the region before making a complete career change and arrived at Duvetnor. Do not be fooled by her small size because she can move mountains by herself! She loves to work so much that she doesn’t seem to notice the passing hours. Her strength, perseverance, and her mischievous side make her a highly regarded member of the team.

Alain Gascon

Alain joined our team in 2021 after working as an event coordinator for numerous years. Following his college diploma in specialized education, he participated in the coordination of an exchange program for young farmers in Africa. Alain wears his heart on his sleeve and is always ready to help his colleagues. Very thorough and versatile, he is appreciated by all and to whom people gravitate naturally. You may come across him at the belvedere of La Corniche, humming an air accompanied by its harmonica or at the bend of a path as it observes birds.

Jeanne Boehme

A ray of sunshine, Jeanne embodies youth and liveliness since she joined our team in 2022. She impresses with her confidence and communication skills both in French and English, which earns her the admiration of her office colleagues. Outside of work and her university studies in law, Jeanne dedicates herself to her favorite sport: volleyball. Her dynamism, contagious energy, and positivity make her an indispensable member of our team.

Évelyne Ouellet

Valentin Jarleton

Of French origin, Valentin joined our team as a volunteer in 2021 to gradually become indispensable within the technical team of île aux Lièvres. Having grown up and worked on a family farm, Valentin pursued studies in hairdressing before completely changing fields and settling permanently in the Rivière-du-Loup region to work as assistant foreman. His great versatility, calm nature, imposing body, and pragmatism are important assets that make him an appreciated collaborator. Trading scissors for a steering wheel, Valentin gradually begins training as a ship captain while contributing daily to construction and maintenance projects on the island. Outside of work and his trips across the ocean, Valentin enjoys cooking and has recently taken up ice hockey.