Céline Delhaes is a Director at Agropur, one of our member institutions—and as of December 2023, she is the new Chair of SOCODEVI’s own Board of Directors.
We wanted to get to know Céline a bit better, so our team sat down with this inspiring woman to talk about the impressive path that led her to SOCODEVI. Enjoy!
To start off, can you give us a quick overview of your professional and family background?
I went to school to be a computer programmer analyst, but I only worked in the field for two years before I married my husband—and by extension, married into farm life! With my husband, I became an equal co‑owner of Ferme Isabelle Inc., the family dairy farm in Coteau-du-Lac.
It wasn’t long before I got involved in my community and a number of agricultural organizations. I chaired the parents’ committee at school, the regional school board’s executive committee, and the local figure skating club. I was elected to Agropur’s Board of Directors in 2011.
In 2010, our three children and our son-in-law graduated from programs in agricultural business and management, agronomy and engineering. They were all passionate about agriculture and wanted to make a living in it, but in three different areas.
My husband and I put our heads together and came up with a way to have all four of them working with us on the family farm. Now, Julie and Lova have a business selling their locally grown organic vegetables in weekly produce boxes and at the shop they share with La Belle de Coteau-du-Lac, our fruit, market and agri-tourism farm.
Alexandre manages our dairy herd and has developed agri-tourism attractions for La Belle de Coteau-du-Lac’s Festiv’Halloween celebrations. Marc-André manages the crops and the equipment for our two businesses and our agri‑tourism activities.
My husband Luc and I oversee the administrative side of the businesses and the shop. The farm has been running strong for four generations, and we are very proud of what we have accomplished together!
What spurred you to get involved with SOCODEVI in 2020?
My first experience with SOCODEVI was on a consulting project in Ukraine. I met some amazing people who believed in the cooperative model and were working to spread the word to as many people as possible. I was really struck by the dairy farmers we met and how driven they were to succeed.
I realized that SOCODEVI is a pretty amazing organization, and I decided I wanted to be involved in helping our member institutions and the general public understand the incredible work it does.
Can you share a memory that stands out to you from the consulting projects you have done with us?
On my first project with SOCODEVI, in Ukraine, I met a dairy farmer named Svitlana. In her backyard, Svitlana had five cows in a barn about the size of a shed, with no windows or running water. She was a member of a service co-op whose work included collecting dairy milk. She told me that the co-op was struggling; membership had plummeted from 100 members when the co‑op started to just 20. We talked at length about what could be done about this, and she had some good ideas.
I asked Svitlana whether she thought she could convince the co-op board to consider her ideas, but her self-confidence was low. She said the other co-op members were always putting her down and didn’t take her seriously.
That afternoon, we all attended a meeting of the co-op board, and Svitlana was part of the discussion. After the meeting, I turned to her and said, “Svitlana, you embody all the values that a co-op member should, and you have good ideas for addressing the issues your co-op is experiencing. I believe in you—you just have to believe in yourself!”
When I visited Ukraine again the next year, I ran into Svitlana at a seminar for women in agriculture, and she gave me a big hug. She was now the president of her co-op and worked tirelessly to get membership back up to 100. We both shed some happy tears that day!
Is that the message you want to give to the people you meet in this job?
Yes, I want them to know that they can trust in their abilities, and I would encourage them to always be learning and not be afraid to think outside the box. That’s what will build their leadership muscles!
What made you want to be the Chair of SOCODEVI’s Board of Directors?
Everyone on the board is highly driven and hard-working, which makes for productive discussions and positive outcomes. I can tell how dedicated our CEO Jean-Philippe Marcoux and his entire team are to SOCODEVI’s mission.
I have also seen first-hand how many people across the organization have a tremendous amount of expertise. It’s inspiring and will help us achieve many of our goals.
What exactly are your goals as our new Chair?
There are four goals that are particularly important to me:
- I want SOCODEVI to be able to pivot and tackle the issues facing our world today.
- I want us to make a strong case for the cooperative model to both politicians and the communities we provide support to.
- I want our people to approach every project with a creative, solutions-driven mindset.
- I want SOCODEVI to be recognized in Quebec and the rest of Canada as an outstanding international development organization.
What is your vision for SOCODEVI’s future?
I think there are four things we need to do over the next few years to put us in a strong position:
- Continue to evolve and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market
- Grow our communications and philanthropy department and promote their services to our member institutions
- Promote our co-op business model
- Continue to be part of the public conversation by sharing our accomplishments and the meaningful ways we help those who are most vulnerable
Last question: What do you want people to know about SOCODEVI?
That we’re an international development organization with a unique and sustainable model. We help people start co-ops that they themselves own. This not only stimulates the economy, but it also ensures that the co-op members can continue to improve their living conditions long after our work with them is finished.
Anyone can give a person a fish for a day. SOCODEVI has what it takes to teach that person to fish for a lifetime.