“There was this side of having a close personal relationship with teachers. When I compared with friends in other Cegeps, they were in these big classes. I was in classes where we were 20-30 students,” she said.
“All my interest came from college and the generous teachers who took the time to talk with students,” she said. “I adored Champlain.”
Studying Social Science at Champlain offered Lefebvre the chance to take classes in anthropology, sociology and psychology.
“Studying social sciences, I knew that I wanted to contribute to help people be happier working together. I was very interested in human interaction,” she said.
Propelled by the “profound interest in psychology” she discovered at Champlain, Lefebvre pursued a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication at UQAM followed by a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Université de Sherbrooke.
Following her graduation, she taught for a year at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit and worked as an independent consultant. She began working with the SQ in 2000 and became the head of the training department in 2005.
At the provincial police force, Lefebvre did things like facilitate team building, conflict resolution, training development, PTSD intervention and more. As she rose within the organization becoming
Director of the Strategy and Performance Office and later head of internal communications, Lefebvre also taught at Université de Sherbrooke supervising doctoral interns in organizational psychology from 2008 to 2020.
Between leaving the SQ and starting at UPAC, Lefebvre worked for three years at the office of the Public Curator of Quebec where she held the title of Director of Planning, Policy and Research and later Director of Innovation and Performance.
Lefebvre said she missed working in the police environment and began her current role at UPAC not long after the unit’s creation.
“It’s a milieu that is very action-oriented and very warm and welcoming,” she said.
In her day-to-day, Lefebvre manages public relations, communications and institutional affairs as well as the dossiers that fall under legal affairs and governance.
“To influence an organization’s future, to help to transform and make an organization evolve, that’s my motivation now,” she said.
Lefebvre’s advice for current students and recent grads: “Be curious. Don’t stress. At this time of your life, just open your eyes and ears to everything that interests you. Enjoy the time you have to learn. Don’t be rushed to choose a career right away. Experiment, travel, try things. Open your wings and be curious.”
