Board of Directors

Since moving into Ramers Wood Co-operative in 1984, Allison has been involved in the co-op sector. She volunteered on various committees, and credits constant encouragement from others for her motivation to assume leadership roles. After retiring from a career in teaching, Allison had more time to dedicate to the sector. She served as President of Ramers Wood, and sat as a non-resident board member at another co-op. In 2017, her work was recognized with a Brian Burke Community Builder Award. She served as President of CHF Toronto and was made an Honorary Lifetime Board Member in 2019. She was first elected to the Ontario Council in 2015. She also sits on the Governance Committee of CHF Canada.

With a knack for focusing on the big picture, Allison still believes that working at the grassroots level is important, and visits different co-ops to hear people’s concerns, and to bring many voices and perspectives back to the Board. “I give one hundred percent to whatever I’m doing, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time on the Ontario Council. Everyone treats everyone else with respect. I’m a people person, a strong listener. I genuinely care, and people sense that.”

Her top priorities are ensuring that Canada builds more affordable housing and sustains the existing co-operative housing stock. In particular, she wants to see Canada make more of an effort to provide affordable, sustainable housing for Indigenous people.

Member confidence is important to Allison, and she is committed to ensuring that members feel they have equal representation at the national level

Allison also sits on the executive for the Retired Women Teachers of Ontario and the social committee of the Retired Teachers of Ontario. She enjoys travelling to interesting places, and whether she’s en route, or comfortable at home, you are likely to find her absorbed in a good book.

Growing her leadership skills and learning more about the operations of CHF Canada motivated Asha Hersi to join the CHF Canada Board of Directors this year. She believes that having a deeper understanding of how CHF Canada works will help her to be a better advocate for people across the country who are seeking affordable housing.

“I’m very interested in what’s happening with the housing shortage and homelessness. Social justice is big for me, and I want to see if I can make a difference.”

During her 14 years living at Cedar Roots Housing Co-operative in Edmonton, Asha served on the board a total of eight years, including roles as President, Treasurer, and Secretary. She also participated with several committees, and served briefly on the board of the Northern Alberta Co-operative Housing Association (NACHA). Her time with NACHA gave her insights into the challenges faced by other co-ops, but also their success stories.

Asha graduated from MacEwan University with a diploma of social work and spent 15 years working with a registered charity committed to promoting and supporting children, families, and communities in Edmonton.  Now a settlement advisor for new Canadians, Asha works every day to try to help people find or apply for housing. Extremely familiar with the subsidies available in that province and the process for accessing them, she has learned to be very persistent in order to get people the help they need.

“I went into social work because I like to help others. It comes very easily to me. My desire to assist and my empathy make me effective in that role. I have a very holistic approach and feel it is important to empower people to break through barriers.”

Asha hopes to translate her strong people skills into constructive actions that will help CHF Canada in its commitment to sustainability and growth. She also enjoys spending time with family, nature hikes, discovering new places and travelling. In particular, she anticipates a visit to the Northwest Territories as part of her new role.

A Chartered Professional Accountant with over 25 years of experience working with non-profit organizations, small businesses and co-operatives, Cassia brings professional training, skills, and experience to the board table, along with her lived experience, empathy, and commitment to systematic change in Canada’s housing market. Elected as President, she brings invaluable professional expertise to this role.

Over the years, she has learned that the co-operative and non-profit rental market is critical to solving our country’s affordable housing crisis, and that partnerships with the rest of the housing sector will be instrumental in effectively lobbying for change.

Cassia is looking forward to support CHF Canada’s government lobbying and advocacy work at a national level. After six years serving on the Board of CHF-BC, running for a seat on the national board seemed like a natural progression. As President of CHF-BC for three and half years, she supported the implementation of a more rigorous and thorough strategic planning process and an ambitious re-structuring to unify the legal and governance structures. Cassia also servces as Treasurer on the board of TRAC (Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre) and chairs the Capital Planning Committee at Trout Lake Housing Co-operative.

Cassia will watch, listen, and learn. She will be watching for any strategy gaps that might require action in order to help CHF Canada continue in its growth and development. She wants to support CHF Canada’s strong voice at the national level whenever housing is on the agenda.

Creativity comes naturally to Cassia, so if you’re looking for a vintage-inspired graphic sweater or combination woolen mittens and drink cozy, she could knit one for you, although you might have to wait until she finishes playing at the dog park with her seven and a half year old old chocolate labrador.

Émmanuelle Proud-Thomson knows the challenges vulnerable people face.  A Senior Citizens’ Service Specialist with Service Canada, she works daily to build bridges between service delivery partners and people who need assistance. Making things easier for people and overcoming barriers are skills that she hopes will translate directly into getting more co-ops built. Familiar with existing federal programs, Émmanuelle knows how to get the right people together, and “make it work”.

“I want to advocate for low to moderate-income people. We need more co-op housing. The only way to get it is to be outspoken and talk to the different players. Whenever I meet developers, I ask them, ‘Have you thought about building a co-op?’”

As a newly single parent, when Émmanuelle moved into the co-op, she knew right away that she wanted to be a voice on the Board for people in similar situations, representing what she felt was an under-represented demographic. She’s been president of Unified Saint John Housing Co-operative for the past four years. Fellow board members recommended that she run for the CHF Canada Board.

“I’m well-spoken, outgoing, and I know what’s going on with housing in the Maritimes. We can build more co-ops. The challenge is to find appropriate developers.”

Past board experience includes Autism Speaks and On Rock in Montréal, as well as the Welcome Committee of the Saint John Local Immigration Partnership.

As a panelist at the 2022 AGM, Émmanuelle spoke to the successful unification of nine small co-ops in Saint John, NB, resulting in more purchasing power and stability. They now have such a healthy reserve that they’re working in partnership with several youth serving agencies to build a trauma-informed designed 14-unit building for homeless youth in Saint John.

Hearing the voices of people from New Brunswick and PEI, and getting their thoughts on what’s holding back the building of new co-ops is Émmanuelle’s primary goal. Whether it’s access to land banks, understanding an application process, or needing assistance from CHF Canada, she’s all about finding solutions.

When she has some downtime, Émmanuelle enjoys painting, creative upcycling, and relaxing with family.

April’s parents grew up in the depression era and she comes from a family of residential school survivors. When visitors arrived, for whatever reason, they were always offered food in case they hadn’t eaten. No matter the purpose of the visit, it wouldn’t go well if people were hungry. That lesson has stayed with April, and she tries to ensure that both physical and mental well-being take precedence in her interactions with others. A former co-op manager and bookkeeper, April was also a licensed funeral director for 15 years, a job which helped her to understand the process of grief, and honed her skills in dealing with strong emotions. She currently serves as Treasurer at First Nations Housing Co-operative in London, Ontario, and works with the non-profit Atlohsa Family Healing Services.

Sitting on the Board of CHF Canada fits into the flow of April’s passions, which include strong advocacy for urban Indigenous housing and co-op housing in particular. Having spent several years lobbying the City of London to allocate resources for more housing, her priorities are to help CHF Canada move forward on its mandate to work towards reconciliation with Indigenous people and to push for more access to funding through the National Housing Strategy.

Family is of paramount importance to April. As a member of the Bear Clan, she grew up in a family that put an emphasis on volunteering, and taking seriously one’s responsibilities to the community. As a result, April feels she brings strength, resiliency, and the ability to provide support and a different perspective to the Board. Her experience reading and understanding financial statements gives her insight into the concrete operating details of an organization.

April is a mother and a grandmother with a strong interest in food security. She keeps her own garden. She’s also an avid reader and enjoys knitting.

John has served on enough boards to know that promises are easy to make and hard to keep. He says he can guarantee that he’ll show up at every board meeting and strive to represent the membership.

John’s firm belief in the effectiveness of co-op housing and its potential to solve problems that go beyond affordable housing drives his passion for seeing more co-op housing built across Canada.

Along with getting shovels in the ground, John hopes to see an expanded sense of pride within the membership of CHF Canada. From raising children in a safe, family-oriented environment to the benefits that come from living in a mixed-income community that brings people in need into a small network of support, he believes co-ops are places where people thrive, and that every opportunity should be taken to proudly state, “I live in a co-op!”

In 2018, John began his process of retiring from the landscape irrigation contracting business he has since passed on to his son. He’s on the maintenance committee of Misty Ridge Housing Co-op in Burnaby, BC, where he’s lived since 1987, and where he led an $8-million facility upgrade project.

John describes his past experience on several boards, including the Eastern Township Ski Patrol, City Alderman, and the Burnaby Winter Club, as valuable learning opportunities. He also chairs the CHF BC Aging in Place Committee

An outgoing person, John is never afraid to admit a mistake, and always comfortable asking questions to ensure he understands a concept or a perspective. Not threatened by change, and striving to embrace diversity, he hopes to drive discussion, encourage younger people to get involved, and above all, to share his enthusiasm for co-op housing.

Sarah is thrilled to be part of the team at CHF Canada. Elected to the Ontario Council in 2020, they were also chosen as a Canadian representative to the 2022 Global Co-op Innovation Summit in Paris and she worked for the International Co-operative Alliance at the 2021 World Co-op Congress in Korea. Her Ontario Council experiences included an opportunity to attend a campaign and community organizing course through the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. She’s brought the tools and skills she’s acquired from these experiences to the CHF Canada Board.

A member of Castlegreen Housing Co-op since she was seven years old, Sarah’s co-op experiences have contributed to her sense of social justice and her strong belief in the values of community engagement.

Sarah found her passion for advocacy when she had a chance as a member of Canada’s Emerging Co-operators to lobby MP’s to invest in the co-op sector. The dynamics of government intrigued her, and the positive feedback she received from parliamentarians with whom she spoke led her to believe she had found her calling. She hopes to:

• Expand and strengthen the network of co-operative communities across Canada
• Advocate for government support for co-op programs, including support of continued subsidies for low-income housing.
• Facilitate the conversation between emerging co-operators and established co-operators to allow for knowledge sharing and growth of the co-op sector.
• Inspire more youth and people of all generations to join and strengthen the movement to create leadership renewal and growth.
• To serve members by working as a team of co-operators across Canada to achieve the CHF Canada goals and bring the co-op housing movement into the future

Youth engagement holds the key to the future of co-op housing. That’s what Sahara wants everyone to understand, and part of her work on the Board of CHF Canada will centre on finding ways to engage younger members effectively. Sahara herself started her journey in governance as a young member and even ran for the Board of The Cooperative Federation of BC in her twenties. During that time, she learned extensively from seasoned individuals who served as mentors, guiding her toward valuable insights and experience.

Sahara realized that expertise is not a prerequisite for active participation; anyone can acquire the essential skills to excel in a leadership capacity. Her decision to pursue a seat on the Board of CHF Canada was partly inspired by her quest for affordable housing and a deep-seated aspiration to facilitate changes that would spare others from similar hardships. Growing more co-ops and relieving the housing crisis are top priorities.

Sahara, an MBA graduate student, possesses valuable experience in diverse areas such as marketing, finance, and communications. Her active involvement extends to several key committees within the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC, including the Finance and Audit Committee, Governance Committee, Aging in Place Committee, and Enterprise Risk Management Committee. She has an external appointment with the BC Non-Profit Housing Association and has presented workshops focused on younger members at CHF Canada’s AGM.

“I think we need to find ever more effective ways to engage younger members, whether that’s through new video apps, or things like the existing discount for attendance at the AGM. Younger members are the future.”

Sahara is also an artist who enjoys oil painting, calligraphy, and mandala art. She hopes her tenure on the Board of CHF Canada will allow opportunities to collaborate with various levels of government to bring about much needed changes to Canada’s housing market.