Our Board of Directors

Khulud Baig is the Director of Policy and Community Engagement at the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network (WNHHN). She also serves as the lead on housing and homelessness file with the WNHHN’s key national Indigenous partner Keepers of the Circle. Khulud holds a Masters in Global Development Studies from Queen’s University and has valuable experience in community-based, participatory research, with a key focus on gender-based analysis and Indigenous-led methodologies. Previously, Khulud has led gender-equity and housing files at the City for All Women’s Initiative and Native Women’s Association of Canada. Her key focus in all her work is to create and hold space for lived experience voices in decision-making.

Jovette Fournier joined CHASEO as the Executive Director in September 2019. Before that, she was a Relationship Manager with the Agency for Co-operative Housing. She has over twenty years of co-operative and housing management experience, a degree in social work, and is fluently bilingual. Jovette has a thorough knowledge of Organizational and Occupancy Bylaws, the Tenant Act, Principles and Practices of Co-op Housing, Property Management, and applicable federal, provincial and local laws and regulations.

Glenn Grignon has over 36 years of co-operative housing experience as a member of the Sandy Hill Housing Co-operative. An IT professional, he has leveraged his IT skills and interest in housing as the original programmer and architect for the Ottawa-Carleton Social Housing Register along with Durham, Hamilton and Nippissing regional registries. Glenn is a local community volunteer and long-time advocate for the Canadian and International co-operative housing sectors. A firm believer in Harambee.

Emilie Hayes is the capacity development advisor with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative. In this role, Emilie supports municipal, non-profit and cooperative housing providers in measurably improving the energy efficiency and affordability of existing and new affordable housing units. Previously, Emilie worked in a variety of roles in the non-profit sector over two decades with a focus on community health, community development and affordable housing advocacy.

Lisa Ker is the Deputy Executive Director of the Community Housing Transformation Centre. She has worked in the government and community-based sectors for over 30 years, including in the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services and Toronto Community Housing. More recently Lisa was Executive Director of Ottawa Salus, and is a former active member of the city of Ottawa’s Housing System Working Group, the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness and the Ontario Non Profit Housing Association.

Kiefer Maracle is an Indigenous housing specialist with CMHC and has spent the past 8 years working to help create, promote, and maintain affordable housing in Ottawa. Starting with a research position at Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation and advancing to a role as a Project Manager, Kiefer has developed a network of clients and partners that continue to help deliver new housing solutions. As an Indigenous housing specialist, Kiefer now partners to assist First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and providers with their housing projects.

Ellen McGowan is a Project Manager with Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) and its sister development corporation, Cahdco. Ellen works with non-profit and charitable client groups to develop affordable housing in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. With hands-on experience in the non-profit housing sector, Ellen brings a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities in affordable housing development.

Hilary McVey is a Partner with Deloitte. She is an active community volunteer and has previously held Board roles at Parkdale Food Centre and Fisher Park Recreation Council. She has her Masters in Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership from Carleton University. She helps run Parkdale United Church’s In From the Cold Program. Outside of volunteering in her community, her passions include her love of travel and her pets. She believes affordable housing is critical to Ottawa’s success going forward.

Steve Pomeroy is a housing research consultant and part time lecturer at Carleton and McMaster. Widely recognized as one of the leading housing policy experts and thought leaders in Canada Steve has almost 40 years of experience in the housing sector, initially in the non-profit sector, local government and with CMHC before establishing Focus Consulting Inc. in 1994.Since then he has authored over 240 research studies and policy briefs.  Much of his research and policy work relates to affordable housing and homelessness.

Karla Skoutajan has been involved in the co-operative housing movement in Canada for many years including 25 years working at the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. Her experience includes assisting with the development of over 1,200 units of non-profit and co-operative housing as well as supporting the governance and management of housing co-operatives across Canada. She has served on the boards of many community organizations including a community legal clinic, a community health centre, a social purpose investment fund and various affordable housing organizations. Currently she serves on the board of the Agency for Co-operative Housing. Karla is a Registered Social Worker in the province of Ontario.

Jeff Westeinde is an active investor, entrepreneur and Partner in several companies including Nucor Environmental Solutions, Milestone Environmental Contracting, Envirogreen Technologies, Clearly Solar Energy and the THEIA Partnership – a group of companies that tackles some Canada’s most complex environmental issues and develops some of the country’s most sustainable communities. Has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 by the Globe and Mail, recognized with the Young Alumni Award from the University of Western Ontario, was recognized with a Medal for Entrepreneurship by the Professional Engineers Association and has been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for his distinguished service to Canada. His businesses have been included in Canada’s fastest growing companies and the Top 50 Employers in Canada. Jeff is an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, is the Founding Chairman of Invest Ottawa and the founding vice-Chair of the Bayview Yards Innovation Center in Ottawa, a member of ID Gatineau and serves on the Board of Directors of the Conference of Defence Associations. Jeff is an avid outdoorsman whose passion for mountain climbing (he has summited 3 of the world’s “7 Summits”), skiing, golfing and fishing are but a distant second behind his love for his family.