While聽working in community聽organizations聽and policy advocacy, No茅mie Veilleux聽鈥�25, often聽confronted聽a聽persistent challenge of balancing聽immediate needs聽with聽the deeper structural聽causes聽of harm. As a licensed sexologist, her work in sexual violence prevention is rooted in a desire to create enabling environments that bridge strategic policy leadership and community organization.聽聽
The decision to pursue an MPP was less about stepping away from her community-based work, and more about strengthening her ability to do it well. 鈥淭he MPP gives you structure, theory, and skills to move from reacting to reshaping public policy,鈥� she explains. That shift,聽from reaction to intentional design,聽has changed the way she thinks about her role in policy work. It has given her language, frameworks, and tools to think not only about how to respond in moments of crisis, but how to change the conditions that make crises so likely and so unequal in the first place.聽
Having worked in non-profit organizations, think tanks, university research and as a Quebec civil servant, No茅mie has always tried to bring empathy to the projects to which she has contributed. She seized the tools at her disposal to pursue a vision focused on equity and access to a fairer, more聽inclusive聽and safer living environment for all. This is also what she was aiming for when she chose to specialize in sexual and gender-based violence during her undergraduate degree. At the heart of No茅mie鈥檚 work is a commitment to prevention, especially around strategies for violence, which she approaches through the lens of public health and community resilience. She is deeply interested in the affective determinants of collective choices 鈥� how emotions, relationships, and social bonds influence policy decisions鈥� and how to use research to inform policy. This perspective inspires her belief in building stronger, more inclusive communities from the ground up. 鈥淭he program has helped me reflect on my contribution in the policy landscape,鈥� she shares, 鈥渁nd how I can better harness what I know and my skills to really make a difference and serve communities the way they deserve to be served.鈥澛�
One of the things that stands out about No茅mie is the way she talks about community,聽not just as a subject of policy, but as something living, something聽she鈥檚聽a part of. She often speaks about building community capacity 鈥渉ere and elsewhere,鈥� with an openness to place-based knowledge and the idea that聽no one聽solution fits all. This sensitivity to cultural and geographic context runs through her work and gives her a rare ability to think globally while聽remaining聽grounded in people鈥檚 lives.聽
For those considering the Max Bell MPP, No茅mie offers honest encouragement. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e trying to create system-level change and feel like your toolkit has limitations, this place is for you,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he program provides hands-on experience and learning opportunities that really strengthen your ability to address complex problems.鈥澛犅�
That systems-level learning moved well beyond the classroom and resulted in actual policy changes. After examining the links between sexual violence, service-related trauma, suicide prevention, and mental health challenges among veterans through her Policy Lab, No茅mie was invited to speak at the House of Commons. There, she addressed the urgent need for stronger, more coordinated mental health supports and outlined what an effective mental health policy for Canadian veterans could look like. This visit led to a聽聽on private services for veterans,聽where they will聽examine in-depth聽the key insights and policy recommendations from the聽Policy Lab report, and聽will聽listen聽to different voices from across the country who supported the聽report鈥檚聽development.聽
She says that a huge part of her learning happened outside the classroom: 鈥渉aving had access to a great mentor and engaged faculty members and guest lecturers really made the difference. It created spaces for hard yet necessary conversations on a variety of core policy challenges.鈥� However, for her, pursuing this聽master鈥檚聽degree is also about something deeper: finding the courage to imagine something better, and the community to help you get there.聽
