Member Services Manager
(Last name pronounced in English like 'Fang-yen'. Born and raised in Edmonton in a French-Canadian family, Colin has had a wide variety of experiences which saw him live in 5 different countries on 2 continents and obtain 3 post-secondary degrees in 3 separate fields. With an undergrad in classical humanities and another in analytical philosophy, he later obtained a master’s in Canadian Studies specializing in Political sciences at the U of A working for the federal government as a student intern in the department of Canadian Heritage. His work and studies brought him to Eastern Canada (Ontario & Quebec), Connecticut, New York City, Cracow (Poland), Rome (Italy), and finally Innsbruck in Austria. Calling Edmonton home once more, Colin later found himself working in community development, in finance, and now works as the Member Services Manager for the brand new organization called Parallèle Alberta, formerly the CDEA, the de facto Francophone Chamber of commerce of Alberta. With almost a hundred thousand Albertans who speak French as a first language (the majority of whom live in the Edmonton Greater Area) and more than a quarter million who can now speak and understand it, Colin works as a trained communicator and professional networker to help manage and expand the French speaking business community of Alberta, with a focus on entrepreneurs and small businesses. On a personal level, he’s a big sports aficionado having played many (especially Hockey), and also has a passion for music as a singer and composer. An avid lover of language, he’s learnt to speak 5 throughout his studies and travels and is currently learning Mandarin Chinese.
