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2024 AthletesCANBoard Of Directors Election Now Open

Voting for AthletesCAN’s three (3) new Directors is now open!

The election period runs from Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 9 a.m. ET – Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET. All members of AthletesCAN as of 5 p.m. ET on Monday, October 7, 2024 are eligible to vote for up to three (3) candidates.

The newly-elected directors will be announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 6, 2023

2024-25 AthletesCAN Board of Directors Candidates

Hana Furumoto-Deshaies‬ ‭(She/Her)

Sport: Karate
Primary Place of Residence: Gatineau, Québec
Athlete Status: Current Senior National Team member

Bio : Hana recently won gold at the Pan American Karate Championships, her third medal at that competition. She also added two Series A medals to her international resume. Selected for the World Championships and the senior Pan American Games, she is among the best in her sport.

After experiencing a mental block during the qualifying process for karate’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, Hana devoted herself to sports psychology. She now devotes her time to helping athletes develop their mental capacity to maximize their performance in competition.

Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors? As an active athlete, I experience the challenges and realities of our sports journies every day. I want to represent the voices of the senior national team athletes on the board of AthletesCAN because I understand how important it is to have someone who represents us. Many of us don’t have the time or interest to ensure our concerns are heard but I’m here to be able to make that link. I believe it’s essential for every athlete, regardless of their background, to feel included and heard. I want to ensure our diversity is reflected and that we all have a voice in the decisions that affect us. Together we can create a sport system that truly meets our needs and celebrates who we are.

What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member? My vision for AthletesCAN is an organization that truly represents the voice of all Canadian athletes. By promoting an inclusive, respectful and athlete-centered sport environment. I believe it is crucial to strengthen transparency and encourage the active involvement of athletes in decision-making. This would not only better meet our needs, but also cultivate a sport culture that values every voice. As a Board member, I’m committed to promoting inclusion. So I want to make sure that all those voices are heard and considered in the decisions that affect us. Also, supporting mental wellbeing. So I’d like to advocate for resources and programs focused on mental health and mental performance to help, but not overcome the mental challenges we all face. And finally, to encourage athlete leadership. I’d like to contribute to initiatives that develop leaders capable of influencing policy and being role models for future generations. By working together, we can build a sports system that not only meets our expectations, but also inspires us to excel. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make this vision a reality and strengthen our sports community.

Andrea Proske ‭(She/Her)

Sport: Rowing
Primary Place of Residence: Victoria, British Columbia
Athlete Status: Recently Retired Senior National Team Athlete for less than 8 years

Bio: A retired rower, I brought home Olympic Gold from Tokyo 2020 in the Coxed Women’s Eight. Now, as Vice President of AthletesCAN, I champion causes close to my heart like pregnancy and parental rights for athletes. When I’m not hyping up Canoe Sprint, Kayak, and Rowing as a sports broadcaster at the World Championships or the Paris Olympics, you’ll find me managing Alumni Relations at Royal Roads University, helping drive a $60 million philanthropic campaign—while navigating the chaos and joys of motherhood.


Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors?: I’ve been on the board of directors for three years. Two of them as vice president. And, how the board work often gets done is in between, moments, you know, in, in our office, our desk. But it’s something that I’ve been super passionate about. And to be able to see the change that we’ve made on the federal level over the past three years has just been really inspiring and is inspiring me to do, another three years of that. I am a retired rower. I was lucky enough to get gold in Tokyo, with my women’s eight team. And now on to my next Olympic sport. Being a mom, which is also why I’m super passionate about the pregnancy and parental rights committee for athletes and driving that forward. 

What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member: There are a couple of things that I bring to the board, from my real world. I’m a sports commentator, so I love sports. I’m involved in multiple sports, going to and speaking at World Championships and even the Olympics. I also have my 9 to 5 work at Royal Roads University. I manage their alumni relations department, and it’s really exactly the same thing we’re doing at AthletesCAN. Building community, making sure our members are taken care of, understanding what their needs are, creating pathways to leadership, and material mentorship. But then there’s also understanding strategic thinking. There’s making sure that we know how to advocate for ourselves to create those funds for our athletes. Right now at, Royal Roads, I’m part of a $60 million philanthropic campaign. So trying to learn how to access funds so that that can go to our membership and, make a real change, a real meaningful difference. I’m really excited to continue the good work, and hopeful that I’m able to do that for another three years. 

Michael Sametz (He/Him)

Sport: Para-Cycling (Road)
Primary Place of Residence: Calgary, Alberta
Athlete Status: Current Senior National Team member

Bio: ​​I am a road cyclist competing for Canada in the Para-cycling C3 classification. Throughout my ten years competing internationally I have won a Paralympic bronze medal and two consecutive World Championships. While competing, I have earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary. I have had to rely on my discipline and resilient work ethic to return to competition after a four-year hiatus from injury. From this experience, I redefined my beliefs about high-performance sport and because of this, I am dedicated to contributing to a safer and more accessible Canadian sport system. 

Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors?: I’m excited to be applying to the AthletesCAN Board of Directors. As the currently appointed treasurer, I would like to just stay involved, ensuring that the organization remains financially viable and that we can continue to offer the great services and programs that are in place to you all, as well as potentially expand them in the future. 

What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member: My vision for AthletesCAN is to ensure the organization remains financially viable in the future and continue funding initiatives to support and service our Canadian athletes. In addition, I feel given the financially, uncertain times in the sport system that we look for and source alternative revenue streams, to ensure that we continue funding initiatives but also expand our service offerings for athletes. This ties into the last one which, given this changing Canadian sports system it’s important that our voice isn’t drowned out. That means increasing our membership base and raising more awareness for AthletesCAN so that we as an organization, are taking seriously when consulting important stakeholders.

Susanne Wereley (She/Her)

Sport: Rowing
Primary Place of Residence: Victoria, British Columbia
Athlete Status: Recently Retired Senior National Team Athlete for less than 8 years

Bio: ​​Susanne Wereley (Grainger), an Olympic rower from London, Ontario, began rowing at age 13. While on an athletic scholarship at the University of Virginia, she won the NCAA Championships in 2012. She also claimed gold for Canada at the U23 World Championships in 2011 and 2012. After university, Susanne returned to Canada to train with the Senior National Team and earned a master’s degree at Western University. She competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing fifth, and won gold with the Women’s Eight at Tokyo 2020. Now retired from rowing, she is the Communications Manager for Rowing Canada Aviron and a proud mom!

Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors?: I rowed for 17 years before retiring in November of 2021. Most notably, I competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics. And I’m proud to say that I was a member of the women’s eight that competed at the Tokyo 2020 games and won a gold medal. I really felt that it was important that I stay connected to sport in a way that continues to support athletes from outside the boat. There were times in my rowing career where I didn’t feel like my voice was being heard, and I didn’t feel like I was the driver of my journey, and I would love the opportunity to be on the board of directors again and continue to amplify your voices, help you be heard, push forward this positive movement that we’re seeing in sport to continue to make things better for current and future athletes. 

What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member:  I would love for AthletesCAN to just be a household name. I truly think that we’re on this path, and we’re at a tipping point right now where people are listening, people are watching, people are engaged in sport. And I think that AthletesCAN is right there with it. I would really love for us to be the first call for every athlete who feels like they don’t know what their resources are, they need support, or they want to connect with other athletes and have that network of support around them and positive situations just as much as the negative ones when they need help.

Charity Williams (She/Her)

Sport: Rugby 7s
Primary Place of Residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
Athlete Status: Current Senior National Team member

Bio: Charity Williams is a 3x Olympian and 2x medalist, with over 10 years of experience on the Canadian Rugby team. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, she is an activist, creative, and entrepreneur, currently serving as president of her non-profit, The Function Arts and Cultural Association. Charity is also a varsity student-athlete attending the University of British Columbia.

Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors?: I think that I would be a great addition to the AthletesCAN board because I have a strong voice and I come with a lot of experience. Representing the country for, for as long as I have. I know what it feels like to be an athlete and not feel seen or heard or not feel like you know the right avenue to go to. To share whatever you’re going through, with your team and, and with your organization. So I would love to be a bridge for athletes like my teammates and teammates across the country, to feel like they have a voice and they have a say in the policies and, how, athletes in Canada are being taken care of.

What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member: My vision for the AthletesCAN board is to really connect all of the athletes around the country to AthletesCAN. I know that’s a part of our strategic plan for 2025, to have every athlete know what we’re doing here. And I think that’s really important. With my ten years of experience and also with being a black athlete, I think I have a really diverse perspective on what’s going on with black athletes in Canada. And I think I can bring a lot of those voices to the forefront, which I think is really important. I think a lot of athletes don’t know what AthletesCAN is and how much they actually support us. So I think bridging that gap is really important to me, and probably would be the thing that I’m most passionate about and something that I would really want to focus on, starting out if I were elected, to the board. My vision would be to bring AthletesCAN to the athletes, especially ones who aren’t in all games, who don’t go to Panams or who don’t go to the Olympics. I think a lot of those athletes don’t always know a lot of the resources that are available to them.