Joyce Potter has been involved with housing and homelessness issues for over 40 years, as an executive with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Special Advisor on Social Housing with the Region of Ottawa-Carleton, Director of Housing with the City of Ottawa, and consultant in public policy. As a volunteer, Joyce served as President of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, Vice-Chair of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, and Board member of Cornerstone Housing for Women and Gloucester Non-Profit Housing Corporation. Now retired, in addition to her role on CAHDCO’s Board, she continues her commitment to affordable housing and ending homelessness, serving as Secretary of the Board of the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa and participation on the Anglican Diocese’s Working Group on Housing and Homelessness. She has been an active Cahdco Board member since 2022.
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Benjamin Gianni
Professor Benjamin Gianni’s research interests focus on the areas of housing and urban development. Of particular interest are 1) the development and redevelopment of public housing constructed in the decades following WWII in Europe and North America, 2) urbanization, suburbanization and the study of large-scale housing ensembles in contemporary China, 3) the redevelopment of informal settlements, using design as a form of research to explore adaptable, culturally resonant, and market-friendly approaches to redevelopment, and 4) housing affordability as it cuts across a broad range of demographic categories. He is currently finishing a book on pre-WWII suburbanization in Pittsburgh, PA.
Prof. Gianni teaches courses on housing and urban history, as well as leading the housing studio in the 4th year of the BAS program. A former Director of both the School of Architecture and the School of Information Technology at Carleton, he coordinates the School’s Urbanism major.
Catherine Boucher
Catherine Boucher was the Executive Director for Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC). Catherine worked at CCOC for over 30 years and has experience in developing and managing social housing under most programs available from federal, provincial and municipal governments. She retired from this position in October 2009.
She has been on the Cahdco Board since 2016. She sat on the Board of Directors of CHRA from 2006 to 2012 and received the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She also volunteers as the President of her local Community Association to make trouble for bad developers and encourage good ones.
George Phiri
George Phiri is originally from Malawi and owns HR Audit and Solutions in Canada and different businesses in Malawi. He has lived in almost every continent. At the moment, he lives in Ottawa with his wife and two sons. George has extensive experience in public relations, cultural exchange programs, media relations and managing information resource centres. Having worked as Human Resource Director particularly in scheduling, assigning, and reviewing the work of employees and volunteers, authorized and coordinated vacation and overtime requests. He is a humanitarian who has received 5 awards from Lions Clubs International because of his work. He has been an active Cahdco Board member since 2022.