Congratulations to former Business for the Arts Board Director and Arnold Edinborough Award Winner, Mélanie Joly, who today was appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
(courtesy of Businss For The Arts)

Mélanie Joly is a lawyer, entrepreneur, writer, politician and speaker. She was elected MP in the recent elections for the Liberal Party of Canada nomination in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville riding.
Mélanie was also a candidate during the Montreal Mayoral elections held on November 3, 2013. She was unknown to the general public initially, however managed to finish second place and obtained, through an innovative campaign, 26.5% of the votes, which was 123,000 electors in her favor. She also was able to see  eight of her team councillors elected.
In October 2014 she published her first political essay named “Changer les règles du jeu”. This essay is a heartfelt appeal to reform the political world in order to make it better suited to address the most important challenges of her time, namely climate change, the digital revolution and growing inequities.
From 2009 to 2013, Mélanie was the Managing Partner at the Montreal office of the international communication agency Cohn & Wolfe. After three years at the head of Cohn & Wolfe, she left behind her a portfolio of prestigious clients and a team twice as big as when she arrived.
 Mélanie also practiced as a litigation lawyer in two national law firms: Stikeman Elliott and Davies Ward Philipps & Vineberg.
According to Mélanie, business without philanthropy has no meaning. As a woman of conviction, Mélanie has always given back to her Montreal community. She is the spokesperson for Logis Rose-Virginie, an important women’s shelter in Montreal. From 2008 to 2013, she sat on a dozen of advisory boards where she was able to contribute to nurturing causes that interested her.  
Mélanie also held positions on the boards of the Régie des Rentes du Québec, the Canadian Club, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the Conseil supérieur de la langue française and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.
Her presence on the boards of Montreal cultural institutions such as the CHUM Foundation, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (MACM) and the Bach Festival, allowed her to contribute actively to the reputation of Montreal and its community. Her prolonged support was rewarded in 2009 when she was the first female Quebecer to receive the Arnold Edinborough Award by Business for the Arts/le monde des affaires pour les arts, which recognizes philanthropy within the Canadian arts scene.
Melanie’s desire to positively transform society is not a new development.
Two think tanks have been born under her leadership: Génération d’idées, a political think tank whose goal is to inspire Millennials to get involved in politics, as well as M-19, a think tank concentrated on the future of Montreal.
Mélanie was privileged to be named by ELLE Québec as one of the women of the year in 2008 and 2013, was recognized in October 2009 as one of the “15 women changing Québec” by Les Affaires.  She was nominated to Power of One from CTV in 2008 and chosen in 2013 as “Female role-model for tomorrow” by La Presse.   She was also elected 2013 municipal personality of the year by the listeners of Radio-Canada morning show C’est pas trop tôt.
Mélanie holds a degree in law from Université de Montréal and is the former president of the Law Students’ Association. She also completed a Masters in European and comparative law at Oxford University as a Chevening scholar. She is a member of the Quebec Bar.