RADIOPROTECTION - Key Persons

Manon Rouleau

Job Titles:
  • Vice - President of Operations and Quality Control
Currently leading Radioprotection Inc. with Stéphane Jean-François, Manon joined the team as Vice-President of Operations and Quality Control in 2017. A physics engineer by training, Manon began her career at the Gentilly II nuclear power plant, then became an inspector with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. She then became responsibility for radiation protection at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) hospitals. She took a 15-year break from nuclear power and radioisotopes to take on the world of X-rays, first as a radiation protection physicist and then as acting head of the radiation protection program at the Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec (LSPQ), which oversaw private radiology laboratories, including the Québec Breast Cancer Screening Program. Manon also served as interim director of the Centre d'expertise clinique en radioprotection, which, during its tour of Quebec hospitals, significantly reduced patient doses in CT imaging programs. To improve her managerial skills, Manon completed an Executive MBA in 2021 through the prestigious McGill-HEC program. Her extensive and varied experience in radiation protection, ability to manage multidisciplinary professional teams, as well as her considerable rigour and integrity are a great help to the experts at Radioprotection Inc., which will celebrate 40 years in business in 2022.

Michel Deschamps

Job Titles:
  • Founder and First President
  • Founder and Former President
Founder and former president of Radioprotection Inc., Michel Deschamps left the company for a well-deserved retirement. Michel Deschamps founded Radioprotection Inc. in 1982 as a company specializing in radiation protection consulting. With strong roots in X-ray equipment compliance assessment and a loyal and diversified clientele, the company grew and developed to become the main player in radiation protection in Quebec. Michel was recognized in the field for his extensive experience in radiation protection and his customer-friendly approach. Over time, he hired three physicists to help him offer a full-range of services in radiation protection. An active traveller, Michel is officially retired, devoting his attention to his family and hobbies. He stayed on with Radioprotection Inc. for a few months in 2012, to ensure a smooth transition and to say goodbye to some of his customers.

Stéphane Jean-François

Job Titles:
  • François
  • Protection Specialist
Well known in the Canadian radiation protection community, Stéphane Jean-François has been a certified radiation protection specialist since 1998. He has led Radioprotection Inc. since 2012 and now serves as co-president alongside Manon Rouleau. The year 2022 will mark Stéphane's thirtieth year in radiation protection, which includes his 10 years at Radioprotection Inc. A physicist by training, he began his career in 1992 at the Atomic Energy Control Board (later to become the CNSC) before moving into the private sphere to work as the radiation safety officer (RSO) for Merck Frosst's Centre for Therapeutic Research in 1995. There, Stéphane was responsible for a vast radiation protection program, including a containment-level laboratory, a few intermediate and several basic laboratories, about 50 radioisotope users and four x-ray machines. He was the second radiation protection specialist in Quebec to obtain, in 1998, his Health Physics certification in radiation protection from the American Board of Health Physics. He has since renewed his certification five times. In 2005, he was appointed environmental manager in addition to his radiation protection duties. Always striving to provide his coworkers with quality service, he completed a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management while chairing the Canadian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA). Drawing on his expertise and extensive involvement with the CRPA, he founded GammaSapiens Inc., a radiation safety consulting firm specializing in customized radiation safety training. The quality of GammaSapiens' courses and programs have convinced clients in the oil industry, construction, hospitals and basic research to trust in its dynamic, customized training for the management of certain aspects of their radiation protection programs. Innovative and passionate by nature, Stéphane was among the first RSOs to use cutting-edge solutions, for example, as early as 1996, when he implemented a centralized online repertory to manage licenses and radioisotopes, and then when he began interactive computer-based radiation protection training in 1998. This experience prompted Stéphane to present his results at SMAU EduNet forum, an exhibition on new technologies in Milan, Italy. His theoretical and practical courses were also very popular among participants from a wide range of backgrounds, from maintenance to high-powered laser researchers to construction workers. Stéphane also served on a first-level industrial emergency brigade specialized in HAZMAT response and rescue. He has shared his approach to radiation protection with several fire departments in Montréal's West Island and other suburbs and, most recently, in Québec City. He demystifies the risks of radiation and took a holistic approach to HAZMAT intervention involving industrial or academic radioactive products or road accidents. A leading specialist manager, Stéphane recently led the decontamination and dismantling of Merck's Kirkland facility. He then went on to finalize the merger GammaSapiens Inc. of Radioprotection Inc. The two joined forces to form a full-service radiation protection company offering high-quality professional services. What could be better for your radiation protection program than to put your trust in an expert who has been a top-notch RSO for over 25 years? Stéphane's goal is to maintain Radioprotection's leadership position in Quebec as an integrated service provider in radiation protection and to bring the company to the top rank in Canada. To do so, he offers personalized service and innovative regulatory-requirement solutions that include key program aspects, put people at the heart of the solution and are based on scientific rigour.