Born in a francophone community in Manitoba, Darrel Nadeau grew up on the family dairy farm. He worked as a Foreign Service Officer in Ottawa with the Government of Canada, gaining insight on the public service as well as international affairs and children’s rights before returning to Manitoba to complete a master’s degree in business administration and a Certified Management Accountant designation.

He was Manager in Finance and Administration of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, a Winnipeg-based national charitable organization, for six years. This is where he discovered his passion for working in the non-profit sector while utilizing his business training. In October 2017, Darrel was appointed Executive Director of Festival du Voyageur, merging his passion for the non-profit sector, his education, and experience, as well as his Francophone heritage.