Co-operative Housing Association
of Eastern Ontario

Media Centre: Board of Directors

CHASEO's Board of Directors 2011-2012

The Board of Directors is elected annually to oversee the Association’s operations. There are 7 directors: 6 are elected by housing co-ops and one is appointed by the staff association.

President
Tim Larmour, Coopérative d’habitation Voisins
Term: 2010-2012
Biography: Tim is a recently retired father of two teenagers. He has over 40 years experience in gathering, analyzing and reporting production data, managing people and projects, and supporting HR processes. He has been an active volunteer in a variety of charitable organizations since his teens and has consulted to or served on the Boards of several non-profit organizations. Tim moved into Co-op Voisins in Ottawa in 2000 and has served two terms on their Board. He has participated in 8 of the last 10 CHFC AGM’s and has served as the delegate for his co-op before joining the CHASEO Board in 2008.

Director
Helen Friel, Westboro Housing Co-op
Term: 2011-2013
Biography: Helen Friel recently retired from a 54 year career which included work in the private sector, the voluntary sector, the public sector and in the labour movement. As well, Helen has had an extensive involvement in diversity issues. She was a member of the Treasury Board of Canada’s Interdepartmental Committee for Persons with Disabilities, and one of the founders of Correctional Service Canada’s Women’s Committee, and is currently a member of the Diversity Committee of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. She is also a trained facilitator having delivered sessions on Anti-Harassment, Labour-Management Consultation and other topics to management and union members. Three years ago, Helen moved to the Westboro Housing Coop (WHC), and served as a member of the Maintenance Committee, until her election to the Board of Directors of WHC. Helen is currently the President of the WHC Board, and remains focussed and dedicated to working with CHASEO and with members of WHC to ensure that the Coop provides affordable, well-maintained housing, reflective of the needs and efforts of its members. Her proudest achievements are of being a mother of two, a grandmother of three and a great-grandmother of two.

Staff Liaison
Catherine Lee, Ideal Village Co-op
Term: 2010-2012
Biography: Catherine has been involved with Co-operative Housing since 1986 and has enjoyed living at the Ideal Village Co-operative for the past 15 years, where she raised her grandchildren. She has raised her two of her grandchildren at Ideal Village Co-operative and has organized and participated in many activities over the years. Catherine is faithfully involved with the Member Selection Committee and Pet Committee after sitting on the Board for two terms. Catherine is a founding Board Member of the Funeral Co-operative of Ottawa and sits on the Glebe Non-Profit Housing Co-operative as a non-resident Board Member. When time permits she volunteers for the Ottawa Humane Society mostly visiting Seniors Homes with her dog!

Corporate Secretary
Daniel Monoogian, Catalpa Housing Co-operative
Term: 2010-2012
Biography: Daniel Monoogian is a professional Proposal Writer and Vice-President of the cozy Catalpa Co-op in the heart of Ottawa’s Downtown. Daniel is a recipient of a Fine Arts Certificate in Theatre and is a Dean’s List graduate from the Public Relations program at Algonquin College. Through his strong ties to the local community and his positive attitude, Daniel brings a high level of energy and enthusiasm to CHASEO’s Board of Directors.

Director
Karen McQuarrie, Dovercourt Housing Co-operative
Term: 2011-2013
Biography: I have lived in a housing co-op for the past 17 years. During this time I have been active in the administration of my co-op and have been chair of finance, membership, subsidy and the board as well as treasurer. I am an advocate of all co-operative endeavours and have been a member of a credit union since my early 20's. I am a social worker and still work about 25 hours a month at Carlington Community Health Centre but am heading toward retirement. During my years of work I have been involved in setting up tenants associations and helping people with housing issues. My stance on housing is that it is a basic determinant of health and ought to be considered a human right.

Treasurer
Michelle Bainbridge, Association of Co-op Housing Employees of Eastern Ontario (ACHEEO)
Term: 2011-2013
Biography: Michelle Bainbridge has worked in the Co-op sector as a staff person since 1991, starting as a part-time administrator at Cardinus Co-op. Over the years, she gained experience and knowledge by working at many Co-op's in the Ottawa area including Elmvale Co-op, Sequoia Co-op, Eagleson Co-op, Tompkins Co-op, and Dovercourt Co-op. Presently, Michelle is working at Blue Heron Co-op in Kanata and joined the CHASEO board as the representative for the Association of Co-operative Housing Employees of Eastern Ontario (ACHEEO) in April of 2009.

Vice President
Angie Blais, Carillon Co-op
Term: 2010-2012
Biography: Angela Toth-Blais, mother of 5 beautiful girls and loving wife, has been active in the co-op sector for the last 5 years. Her activity started in Fairlea Park Housing Co-operative where she was a member of a number of committees as well as serving on the board. Approximately 2 years ago her family moved to Carillon Co-op where she is currently serving her second term on the Board of Directors as President. Teamwork and complete transparency are very important to her. She is the driving force behind the latest project at Carillon: the implementation of the CMHC Renovation and Retrofit program to improve the cladding and air sealing in their aging homes.

Angela became a member of the CHASEO Board in 2010 and has become completely involved in the movement. She is working hard at making herself as knowledgeable as she can in our ever changing Co-op Housing community.

Angela's plans for the future include ensuring that the co-op be the best possible place for her family to live, ensuring that CHASEO lives up to its responsibilities within the Co-op Sector, and pursuing a career in counseling.