Patrick Powers, M.A.
Pat taught French and Humanities at Dawson College in Montreal from 1973 through 2005. As part of the Humanities curriculum, he offered numerous courses in human sexuality, covering everything from basic anatomy to gender relations. In the early eighties, he was a member of the Association pour les Droits des Lesbiennes et Gais du Québec (ADLGQ), and worked specifically on the dossier developing a comprehensive integrative curriculum for human sexuality at the provincial ('national') level. As a member of the editorial board of the organization’s publication, 'Le Berdache', Pat produced an advice column, 'Cher Patrice', with a focus on gay male sexuality. In these contexts, Pat first collaborated with Planned Parenthood, finding their expertise most helpful in terms of public education. Pat joined Planned Parenthood Ville Marie in 1986 as a member of the Board of Directors, just before it officially became Planned Parenthood Montreal. In 1988, he became President of the Board, through to its recent dormancy period. Although it is quite impossible to give a thumbnail sketch of the activities of that era for the purposes of a 'biography', suffice it to say that it involved everything from responding to individual phone messages at our offices, to dealing directly with the media on issues of major concern in the area of sexual health. Currently, in addition to being a member of the Board of the reincarnated Sexual Health Network of Quebec (formerly PPM), Pat is a member of the steering committee of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), which has replaced the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL). Pat honed his skills as a humanistic educator at The New School of Dawson College from 1973 to the present, where he still offers seminars (in existential literature and human prejudice) as a volunteer teacher
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