Richard Monette B.Sc. B.Ed., M.A.
Managing Director
Richard Monette’s career spans over 35 years as an innovator, educator, and leader in the sectors of sports performance, corporate development, and education. A certified teacher in four provinces, he developed the first sport psychology curriculum approved for high school credits in Alberta. Richard is part of the leadership team at B2ten, a privately funded organization that supports Olympic Canadian athletes in achieving success on the world stage. Richard is also a sport psychology consultant to Olympic and professional athletes and consults with corporations and business leaders on the benefits of being purposeful. Richard obtained a bachelor of science and a bachelor of education from the University of Québec and a master of arts in education from the University of Calgary. Married with two children, Richard lives in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in Cochrane, Alberta, where he pursues a very active lifestyle.
Heather Dixon
Managing Editor & Social Media Manager
Heather started her career as a copywriter and spent 10 years working with top ad agencies in Toronto before moving client side and then eventually launching her own business. After successfully running her freelance writing business for several years, Heather moved into the editorial industry and has been both a content writer and editor-in-chief for digital publications before taking on the role as managing editor at Active for Life. In her free time, she volunteers for the local girls hockey association her three daughters play for, spends time with her husband and 90-pound bouvier, and wakes up early in the morning to write. Her work has appeared on a number of established sites, and she is also a published author of fiction.
Jim Grove
Content & Resources
Jim was one of the first people in Canada to bring the concept of physical literacy to public awareness starting in 2006 with Sport for Life. Since that time, he has consulted to different national sport organizations in Canada and abroad on physical literacy and the design of Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) plans and programs, most notably the Canada Soccer LTPD player development pathway and the South Africa Sport for Life framework. In his spare hours, he has been a coach and program director in community soccer since 1998, working with players and teams from U5 to U18 and adult divisions. He has degrees in English and education, and he works as a private communications consultant in health, education, and sport.
Dingo Hart
Art Director
Dingo enjoys developing unique visual design solutions that further business strategies through memorable brand experiences in both print and digital media. From logo design to building an online presence, he helps his clients achieve their communication goals. He has been involved with the creation of user-centred interfaces, websites, and software. His expertise in creating conceptually driven visual design has helped clients reach their target audience and increase brand equity. He has had the opportunity to work with such notable brands as Big Rock Brewery, McDonald’s, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Native Shoes, TELUS, MTS, Cossette Communications, Rogers, Elections BC, Future Shop, and UTStarcom.
Michael Brynjolfson
Production
Michael has been working with Active for Life since 2012. Over this past decade, he has used what he has learned about physical literacy, fundamental movement skills, and multisport to help shape his kids into what are turning into very athletic young teens. When not working on production and tech for AfL, Michael has found a lot of value in sports, completing an Ironman in 2015 and getting his first black belt in shotokan karate in 2022. He hopes many other parents feel inspired by the work of Active for Life and the impact physical literacy has on the overall development of children.
Marta Orellana
French Content Manager
Marta Orellana is an experienced professional copy editor, proofreader, writer, and translator. She is also a French immersion elementary school teacher with over 17 years of experience in the classroom. Marta holds a bachelor in French and Spanish, a bachelor in French education, a master in cross-curricular learning, and a certificate in editing. Marta lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family. Her two young children and high-energy husky keep her busy in the trails and local mountains.
Émilie Roy
French Social Media Manager
Emilie Roy has been working with Actif pour la vie since 2016 as a social media manager to promote French-language resources for Canadian parents. A high-level cyclist, her goal was to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but she retired from the sport in the summer of 2019. Her greatest achievement was the birth of her daughter in November 2020. She has been working full-time for the past eight years to support high-performance athletes in her region and to promote amateur sport. She has recently resumed her training at the new velodrome in Bromont, Quebec., and who knows where it will take her.
Lizbeth Smeaton
Outreach Coordinator
Lizbeth has been the outreach coordinator for Active for Life since its inception in 2012. Liz assists in the creation of print resources and promotional items and coordinates selected resources for clients. She has supported and successfully guided many organizations to promote physical literacy and active living in their networks. Recently and proudly, she has coordinated the translation of popular AFL resources into 12 international languages plus English and French. Liz’s background includes advertising and sport and event marketing, as well as working as vice-president of development for the Banff Television Festival and interim executive director of the Banff Childcare Centre. In her spare time, you can find her at the Pilates studio, walking or hiking with her husband and dog, Charly, and spending as much time as she can with her two children and friends.
Rhiannon Russell
Content Specialist
Rhiannon is the content specialist at Active for Life. When she’s not copy editing articles or writing the AfL newsletter, she works as a freelance journalist and fact-checker. She’s also a graduate of the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University. In Rhiannon’s spare time, she likes to be outside, whether that’s trail running, mountain biking, or hiking in Whitehorse, Yukon, where she lives. Her dog, Zoe, is her favourite adventure buddy.