NICOLAS MICHAUD – Founder & Country Director

Born and raised in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Canada, Nicolas, basketball player for over 15 years and coach for 3, has long cherished the dream of transmitting his passion to others. Through ABaCoDe, Les Petits-Dragons, and other community involvement, Nicolas has been realizing his dream since 2007.   Well respected and well connected in a variety of networks due to his contagious personality and his down-to-earth nature, Nicolas has received the support from family, friends, and acquaintances in order to promote and attain better social welfare.  He is currently completing a bachelor in Athletic Therapy and a minor in Business at Concordia University whilst living in Montréal, Canada. Contact him at nicolas.michaud@abacode.org.

SIMON GILLESPIE – Founder

Immersed in the Basketball world at age 5, Simon has been passionate by the sport and the community revolving around it ever since. In addition to his 18 years as a player and 5 year as a referee, Simon has coached in various basketball camps in Canada and the United States. His interest aren’t limited to the sport; Simon’s curiosity for the world drove him to explore North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle-East. To quench his curiosity and to better understand the different political and environmental issues affecting our time, Simon decided to pursue a triple minor program in History, Political Science and Geography at the Université de Montréal. Contact him at simon.gillespie@abacode.org.

KIM MERCKAERT – Communication Director

Though currently living in Montréal, Kim was born and raised in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. Fascinated by people and their customs and cultures, Kim set off to explore and learn about the world; a journey that lead her to discover Europe, Japan and Canada, as well as obtain a Masters in Eastern Languages and Cultures and a Masters in Multilingual Business Communication. Since graduating from Universiteit Gent, Kim has lived in Montréal and worked along side the amazing people of Adhoc Recherche as a research analyst. She can be reached at kim.merckaert@abacode.org.

JESSICA RUTH-RACINE – IT Director

Currently living in Shanghai, China to complete a foreign exchange, Jessica, a vibrant Haitian-Quebecer, perfectly harmonizes the flavours of the various cultures she represents. Taking an interest in information technologies during her teenage years, Jessica quickly taught herself to code XHTML and CSS to help friends promote their music. As her interests grew larger, Jessica chose to pursue engineering studies in information technology at the ÉTS, which she will complete in 2012.  She can be reached at jessica.rracine@abacode.org

SEAN CULLEN – Advisor

Passionate about design, entrepreneurship, technology, and coffee brewing; Sean balanced freelancing as a graphic designer and strategist with his Commerce studies. After graduating in spring 2011, Sean has completed 2 out of the 3 CFA program exams within 6 months; has launched Creativee, a one stop shop for startups; and has been investigating the repercussions of the infinite growth assumption and the integration of natural services in the economy. He can be reached at sean.cullen@abacode.org