Jill Atkey is the CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association. She has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for over two decades, focusing over the last decade on research, policy and advocacy on housing and homelessness. Most recently, Jill led the development of the Canadian Rental Housing Index, an interactive web-based tool that has driven media commentary and community planning in communities across Canada, and a 10-year strategy for solving British Columbia’s housing affordability and homelessness crisis.

Jill also leads the strategy for building the community-housing sector’s capacity through education, policy research and direct supports, and works with government partners at every level to ensure a safe, secure and affordable home for everyone. She is a director with Encasa Financial, the Centre and CIH Canada. Jill was appointed to the Canada-BC Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability. She is a Chartered Member of CIH Canada and has an M.A. from the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC.

In a professional career in housing that has spanned over 20 years, Lisa has worked extensively with the Canadian government and the non-profit sector. After having led large-scale projects for program development, legislative reform and housing research for marginalized populations, she is currently a senior housing advisor and consultant at Ontario’s Housing Services Corporation. At the HSC she works with administrators and providers (boards and staff) to plan for their future in a changing environment—end of mortgage and expiry of operating agreements—and for financial viability, governance and restructuring.

Lisa is a firm believer in the role the community-housing sector plays in enabling access to secure, affordable homes. As newcomers to Canada in the 1980s, her family lived in community housing as an affordable option after having faced rental discrimination. This experience fueled her career path in the housing sector and she brings a wealth of knowledge to Centre board of directors.

Michelle is the COO of the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC, COHO Management Services and the Community Land Trust, all based in Vancouver and representing almost 15,000 co-op households. Michelle oversees the day-to-day operations of the team and provides leadership in developing and executing an annual operating plan that supports the strategic direction set by the CEO and board of CHF BC.

Michelle is a passionate about the co-operative business model as an ethical, social and sustainable approach to business. She has been involved in the co-operative movement for 15 years and is the treasurer of the BC Co-operative Association and a non-resident member of WISHS housing co-operative. A Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), Michelle is in her final year of the Masters of Management, Co-operatives and Credit Union, at the International Centre of Co-operative Management at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Ray Sullivan is Executive Director of the Canadian Housing & Renewal Association (CHRA). CHRA is a membership-based association that leads and provokes system-wide action toward the right to housing for all by serving as the national voice of the community housing sector, and creating the conditions for community housing providers to achieve their goals. Ray has worked in the community housing sector since 1999, serving on many boards, working groups and steering committees at the local, provincial and national level. Ray served as Executive Director of Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), a dynamic mixed-income private non-profit landlord, and chaired the board of Cahdco, an innovative non-profit development corporation. While at CCOC, he also founded the Ottawa Community Land Trust, where he remains active as a volunteer. Ray is proud to have begun his career in community housing as a tenant and remains committed to non-profit and co-operative housing as a tool for social and economic justice.

Ren Thomas is an Associate Professor at the School of Planning at Dalhousie University and a Founding Fellow of the MacEachen Institute of Public Policy and Governance. As a consultant, she has conducted research for organizations such as BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Infrastructure Canada, and Institute for Public Policy Research.

Christina is the Executive Director of the Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association, which supports networking, capacity building, advocacy, and sector development so non-profit housing organizations are better able to provide sustainable, secure, affordable housing for all who need it in Manitoba.

Jaimee Gaunce is a member of Pasqua First Nation. She holds degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences with a focus in Indigenous Health. She is currently completing a Double Honors Degree Program in Criminology and Policing at Wilfred Laurier University.

Jaimee’s extensive experience in human resource management and communication with stakeholders, project management and planning has ensured her leadership in the many roles she has occupied as a commercial and community Indigenous consultant. She also sits on the Justice Committee for the Pasqua First Nation. Jaimee is strong in traditional knowledge, providing her with the ability to successfully consult with First Nations and build trusted and successful relationships. In the past, she has worked as a consultant with Ranch Ehrlo working with young women who are aging out of care.

Sandra has 30 years of housing experience in the North. Her first 8 years with the NWT Housing Corporation started in the Baffin region of Nunavut, then to the South Slave Region of the N.W.T and then to the head office in Yellowknife.

In 1998, Sandra took on the role of corporate representative for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. She has filled a variety of roles with CMHC as the work has evolved. She worked as the Northern Housing Specialist for all three territories. Over the years, she has gained an enormous knowledge of northern housing issues and solutions and is well connected with a network of northern industry stakeholders. She has hosted three tours of the North for the CMHC board of directors, allowing the opportunity to pass on the unique cultural and logistical aspects of the housing sector in the North to the board.

Sandra brings a passion for the North, specifically in housing and how critical it is to the well-being of the northern Indigenous communities.

Sandra lives outside of Yellowknife with her Yukon “bush man” and her Alaskan malamute off-grid, and enjoys the outdoors at her cabin in her off time. After 30 years in the North, it will remain her home upon retirement from the CMHC in the summer of 2020.

Tim Ross is the Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. CHF Canada is a national membership association of housing co-operatives, representing over one thousand members, and home to over a quarter of a million people.

Tim is a nationally recognized non-profit, community, and co-operative housing policy advocate. Through his work with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, he’s forged partnerships across the housing spectrum, and has been a leading voice towards the creation of the federal government’s National Housing Strategy. He is also the founding President of the Community Housing Transformation Centre.
Prior to moving to Ottawa, he served as the Executive Director of the New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing Association, and previously led the Community Action Group on Homelessness in Fredericton.