Montréal, December 6th, 2023 – It is with great emotion that the Information and Referral Center of Greater Montréal (IRCGM) is announcing the retirement of its Executive Director, Pierrette Gagné on December 15th, 2023. Her successor, already appointed, will be officially introduced in January to allow time for the efficient transfer of all files.
Pierrette Gagné started in March 2012 as Assistant Executive Director and took over IRCGM’s reins in July 2013. The mandate was ambitious: IRCGM manages 4 services, an information and socio-community referral line that has since become 211 Greater Montréal, the Drugs: Help and Referral and Gambling: Help and Referral provincial helplines and the TeleCounseling for excessive gambling program.
Pierrette Gagné’s contribution to IRCGM has been invaluable: the completion and execution of 3 strategic plans which allowed the Center to modernize, making each service even more accessible to citizens, mainly those in vulnerable situations. Pierrette, a strategic entrepreneur, worked on the deployment of the 211 service in Greater Montréal. Conductor of this important project, she was able to rally officials from the Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) and Centraide Greater Montreal who remain 211’s major financial partners to this day. She also forged crucial links with the community sector, valuable partners for the Center. Her strong interpersonal skills have helped maintain the trust of the ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux regarding the 24/7 provincial services in addiction that help substance users, gamblers as well as their loved ones. All these accomplishments were carried out through many societal crises and changes. IRCGM stayed the course thanks to her leadership.
In ten years, Pierrette Gagné quintupled IRCGM’s revenue and significantly improved employees’ working conditions.
The Information and Referral Center of Greater Montréal team wishes her a happy and restful retirement.
QUOTES
Pierre Emmanuel Paradis, Economist and AppEco President
President of the Information and Referral Center of Greater Montréal’s Board of Directors
” IRCGM owes a lot to Pierrette who accomplished the tremendous job of developing services and consolidating teams. Thanks to her vision and energy, 211 Greater Montréal and the addiction helplines were able to help thousands of people get through their difficult situations. In their name and in the names of those committed to IRCGM’s mission, we thank you Pierrette from the bottom of our hearts! ”
Pierrette Gagné, Executive Director of the Information and Referral Center of Greater Montréal until December 15th, 2023
” It is true that the Center evolved very rapidly over the past ten years. It is important for me to highlight the exceptional work done by this committed team without whom I would have never been able to meet the challenges of this position. Thank you to each employee and especially to the board of directors who believed in my ambitious projects. The Center’s success is a collective effort! ”
About IRCGM
The Information and Referral Center of Greater Montréal is a non-profit organization established in 1956 with the mission of helping through information. It manages and operates four services, an information and socio-community referral line that became 211 Greater Montréal in 2018, the Drugs: Help and Referral and Gambling: Help and Referral provincial helplines and the TeleCounseling for excessive gambling program. Each year, the Center’s services help, support and inform more than 70 000 people.