Rob Leforte - Cahdco

Rob has 15 years of government relations experience at the federal, provincial and municipal levels in Canada. Provincial work brought him to Ottawa in 2011. Rob earned his master’s degree from the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University. He followed that experience by working with some of Canada’s best lobbyists at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities where he worked on housing and public safety.

He went on to work at a national public affairs firm where he became Vice President. There he delivered billions of dollars in investments to client sectors, significant provincial and national legislative victories, and major regulatory reforms in sectors as diverse as housing, construction, retail and supply chains, and skills development. Since starting First Lake Solutions in 2021 he has helped clients deliver over $3 billion for their respective sectors and professions. He is proud to be leading a young, energetic and fast-growing team of advocates. Rob is also co-founder of Push Politics (2016) and The Advocacy Coach (2021).

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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.