MHI Board of Directors 2019-2020
Back row, from left: Neil Raynor, Director; Sue Smarkala, Secretary; Bill Austin, President; Christian Kratchanov, Treasurer; John Harrison, Director; Suzanne Le, Executive Director (Ex-Officio). Front row: Awad Loubani, Director; Mike Ward, Past President; Sherill Besser, Director; Kerry Marriott, Director. Missing: Bernard Benoit. Director; Dr. Fran Klodawsky, Director; Dr. Bruce Marshall, Director; Christa McIntosh, Director.
Back row, from left: Neil Raynor, Director; Sue Smarkala, Secretary; Bill Austin, President; Christian Kratchanov, Treasurer; John Harrison, Director; Suzanne Le, Executive Director (Ex-Officio). Front row: Awad Loubani, Director; Mike Ward, Past President; Sherill Besser, Director; Kerry Marriott, Director. Missing: Bernard Benoit. Director; Dr. Fran Klodawsky, Director; Dr. Bruce Marshall, Director; Christa McIntosh, Director.
Bill Austin
President
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Executive Committee, Governance Committee
Member - Executive Committee, Development Committee
Bill enjoyed a long career in several Departments and Central Agencies in the Public Service rising to the level of Senior Executive. After his retirement he was invited on two missions with the OECD in Poland and UAE. He was an External Advisor for several Strategic Reviews, and he was appointed by the Treasury Board to Chair two Departmental Audit Committees. He has experience on several other boards including Harmony House, Rivergate Condominium Corporation, and Help Lesotho.
President
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Executive Committee, Governance Committee
Member - Executive Committee, Development Committee
Bill enjoyed a long career in several Departments and Central Agencies in the Public Service rising to the level of Senior Executive. After his retirement he was invited on two missions with the OECD in Poland and UAE. He was an External Advisor for several Strategic Reviews, and he was appointed by the Treasury Board to Chair two Departmental Audit Committees. He has experience on several other boards including Harmony House, Rivergate Condominium Corporation, and Help Lesotho.
Bernard Benoit
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Housing Management Committee
Bernard Benoit is a member of the Ottawa Baha’i Community, serving on the Baha’i Centre Management and Planning Committee since the property was purchased in 2005. In 1996, Bernard and his family moved to Panchgani, India where he volunteered as Project Manager for the construction of new buildings at an adult vocational school. Since becoming a Baha’i in 1979, Bernard has served as a member of Baha’i Spiritual Assemblies (local governing body) in Gatineau, Aylmer and Chelsea, where he and his family have lived.
He is currently president of Bernard Benoit Project Management (BBPM), which he founded in 1999. BBPM is an Ottawa-based project management firm providing planning and management services for all phases of renovation and construction projects, primarily serving public sector clients. The client list includes Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), the City of Ottawa, Algonquin College, the University of Ottawa, Le Centre Multi-service Francophone de l’Ouest d’Ottawa (CMFO), the James Bay Cree and Montford Renaissance among others. Projects of note include student residences, affordable housing, First Nations housing and community centers.
Bernard has been serving on the Board of Directors of the Condominium Corporation where his business is located since 2009 and has been its president since 2011. Bernard joined MHI’s Housing Management Committee in November 2014.
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Housing Management Committee
Bernard Benoit is a member of the Ottawa Baha’i Community, serving on the Baha’i Centre Management and Planning Committee since the property was purchased in 2005. In 1996, Bernard and his family moved to Panchgani, India where he volunteered as Project Manager for the construction of new buildings at an adult vocational school. Since becoming a Baha’i in 1979, Bernard has served as a member of Baha’i Spiritual Assemblies (local governing body) in Gatineau, Aylmer and Chelsea, where he and his family have lived.
He is currently president of Bernard Benoit Project Management (BBPM), which he founded in 1999. BBPM is an Ottawa-based project management firm providing planning and management services for all phases of renovation and construction projects, primarily serving public sector clients. The client list includes Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), the City of Ottawa, Algonquin College, the University of Ottawa, Le Centre Multi-service Francophone de l’Ouest d’Ottawa (CMFO), the James Bay Cree and Montford Renaissance among others. Projects of note include student residences, affordable housing, First Nations housing and community centers.
Bernard has been serving on the Board of Directors of the Condominium Corporation where his business is located since 2009 and has been its president since 2011. Bernard joined MHI’s Housing Management Committee in November 2014.
Sherill Besser
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Resident Relations Committee
Sherill Besser was a senior counsel with the Department of Justice whose practice consisted of regulatory and administrative law until she retired in 2013.
Since retirement, Sherill has volunteered at the Royal Ottawa Hospital and Royal Ottawa Place on a weekly basis. She is a member of the Board of Directors of House of Hope, which is a non-profit, community residential facility that promotes community safety by providing client-centered support and services necessary to assist those convicted of offences with responsible reintegration and lifestyle change. Sherill is also a member of Adath Shalom Congregation and on its Board of Directors. Sherill is the chair of the Resident Relations Committee.
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Resident Relations Committee
Sherill Besser was a senior counsel with the Department of Justice whose practice consisted of regulatory and administrative law until she retired in 2013.
Since retirement, Sherill has volunteered at the Royal Ottawa Hospital and Royal Ottawa Place on a weekly basis. She is a member of the Board of Directors of House of Hope, which is a non-profit, community residential facility that promotes community safety by providing client-centered support and services necessary to assist those convicted of offences with responsible reintegration and lifestyle change. Sherill is also a member of Adath Shalom Congregation and on its Board of Directors. Sherill is the chair of the Resident Relations Committee.
John Harrison
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Fundraising Committee
Member - Governance Committee
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, John Harrison is a long-time resident of the National Capital Region. After graduating from the University of Ottawa, John spent 14 years as a manager in the Research Branches of Agriculture Canada and National Defence and with the Department of the Secretary of State. Since leaving the federal government, John has been a management consultant specializing in results-based management and a co-founder of Canadian Government Executive Magazine and Vanguard Magazine. Active in his community, John is a former trustee with the Carleton Board of Education, former President of the South Nepean United Soccer Club and Founding Board Member of the Ottawa South United Soccer Club. By faith John, his wife Karen, and their sons Christopher and Trevor, are Anglicans.
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Fundraising Committee
Member - Governance Committee
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, John Harrison is a long-time resident of the National Capital Region. After graduating from the University of Ottawa, John spent 14 years as a manager in the Research Branches of Agriculture Canada and National Defence and with the Department of the Secretary of State. Since leaving the federal government, John has been a management consultant specializing in results-based management and a co-founder of Canadian Government Executive Magazine and Vanguard Magazine. Active in his community, John is a former trustee with the Carleton Board of Education, former President of the South Nepean United Soccer Club and Founding Board Member of the Ottawa South United Soccer Club. By faith John, his wife Karen, and their sons Christopher and Trevor, are Anglicans.
Dr. Fran Klodawsky
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Membership & Outreach Committee
Member - Governance Committee
Dr. Fran Klodawsky is a long-standing member of Temple Israel Ottawa, serving most recently as Chair of the 50th Anniversary Panel Series on “Thinking Social Action/Justice: The Next 50 Years”. She is a Full Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University (retired at the end of June 2017). Her areas of expertise include: public policy and social inclusion/exclusion in cities, especially in relation to housing, and feminist perspectives on cities, on community organizing, on housing and on homelessness. Her work utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods within a collaborative, community-based framework. She is a founding member of and Academic Advisor to City for All Women Initiative (2004- ) and has been the Secretary of the Board of Women and Cities International since 2006. In the past, she also served as Chair of the Research and Evaluation Committee of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa and as President and Vice-President of Multifaith Housing Initiative (between 2003 and 2014).
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Membership & Outreach Committee
Member - Governance Committee
Dr. Fran Klodawsky is a long-standing member of Temple Israel Ottawa, serving most recently as Chair of the 50th Anniversary Panel Series on “Thinking Social Action/Justice: The Next 50 Years”. She is a Full Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University (retired at the end of June 2017). Her areas of expertise include: public policy and social inclusion/exclusion in cities, especially in relation to housing, and feminist perspectives on cities, on community organizing, on housing and on homelessness. Her work utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods within a collaborative, community-based framework. She is a founding member of and Academic Advisor to City for All Women Initiative (2004- ) and has been the Secretary of the Board of Women and Cities International since 2006. In the past, she also served as Chair of the Research and Evaluation Committee of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa and as President and Vice-President of Multifaith Housing Initiative (between 2003 and 2014).
Christian Kratchanov
Treasurer
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Finance Committee
Member - Executive Committee, Governance Committee
Christian Kratchanov has a strong interest in interfaith and multicultural initiatives focused on helping people overcome life challenges and succeed. He is a member of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Isidore in Kanata. On the professional level, Christian has acquired a rich experience as a private sector management consultant and executive in the Government of Canada. Christian has a B.Comm. and an MBA and is also a Certified Management Consultant and a Certified Internal Auditor.
Treasurer
Voting - Independent Director
Chair - Finance Committee
Member - Executive Committee, Governance Committee
Christian Kratchanov has a strong interest in interfaith and multicultural initiatives focused on helping people overcome life challenges and succeed. He is a member of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Isidore in Kanata. On the professional level, Christian has acquired a rich experience as a private sector management consultant and executive in the Government of Canada. Christian has a B.Comm. and an MBA and is also a Certified Management Consultant and a Certified Internal Auditor.
Kerry Marriott
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Communications Committee
Born in Surrey, UK, Kerry Marriott is a British national, currently in Canada with her RN husband, the incumbent British Naval and Air Attaché. A 20-year military spouse herself, Kerry comes to MHI through the British High Commission’s involvement in Veterans’ House, and in 2017 took a place on the Communications Committee. A postgraduate alumnus of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing, Kerry began her career in Public Relations for UK dotcom start-ups before spending the next 10 years in senior Marketing and Communications positions in the UK IT industry. In 2011 Kerry founded an award-winning baby care business. A military move in 2014 coincided with sale of the business and took Kerry and family to Paris, France where she spent 3 years mentoring a community network of female entrepreneurs in business development and growth strategy.
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Communications Committee
Born in Surrey, UK, Kerry Marriott is a British national, currently in Canada with her RN husband, the incumbent British Naval and Air Attaché. A 20-year military spouse herself, Kerry comes to MHI through the British High Commission’s involvement in Veterans’ House, and in 2017 took a place on the Communications Committee. A postgraduate alumnus of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing, Kerry began her career in Public Relations for UK dotcom start-ups before spending the next 10 years in senior Marketing and Communications positions in the UK IT industry. In 2011 Kerry founded an award-winning baby care business. A military move in 2014 coincided with sale of the business and took Kerry and family to Paris, France where she spent 3 years mentoring a community network of female entrepreneurs in business development and growth strategy.
Dr. Bruce Marshall
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee
Dr. Bruce Marshall is a member of St John the Evangelist congregation and has spent several years on the Parish Council at St John's, three of them as a member of the church corporation. He has been retired since December 2008. Prior to that, he was a physician in general practice and heavily engaged in managing HIV disease, addiction and chronic pain. Within the context of HIV disease, he was a member of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network board of directors for several years and was co-chair for two years. He was also chair of the Ottawa HIV Primary Care Group for fifteen years.
That was all after he had retired from thirty years in the Canadian Forces, initially as a mechanical engineer, where he gained much experience both in contract writing and related legal matters, and later as a medical doctor. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He had served as Deputy Command Surgeon and Command Flight Surgeon for the Canadian Forces in Europe from 1982 to 1988 and was subsequently posted to Ottawa to serve in the Surgeon General’s Directorate of Preventive Medicine from 1988 to 1991. For fun, Bruce is now an ultra-light pilot and instructor.
Bruce is a member of the St. John’s Affordable Housing Committee, which developed the Somerset Gardens project and also was a member of the Somerset Gardens Condominium Board for eighteen months. He has been an MHI Board member for the past five years and served on the Development Committee during this time.
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee
Dr. Bruce Marshall is a member of St John the Evangelist congregation and has spent several years on the Parish Council at St John's, three of them as a member of the church corporation. He has been retired since December 2008. Prior to that, he was a physician in general practice and heavily engaged in managing HIV disease, addiction and chronic pain. Within the context of HIV disease, he was a member of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network board of directors for several years and was co-chair for two years. He was also chair of the Ottawa HIV Primary Care Group for fifteen years.
That was all after he had retired from thirty years in the Canadian Forces, initially as a mechanical engineer, where he gained much experience both in contract writing and related legal matters, and later as a medical doctor. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He had served as Deputy Command Surgeon and Command Flight Surgeon for the Canadian Forces in Europe from 1982 to 1988 and was subsequently posted to Ottawa to serve in the Surgeon General’s Directorate of Preventive Medicine from 1988 to 1991. For fun, Bruce is now an ultra-light pilot and instructor.
Bruce is a member of the St. John’s Affordable Housing Committee, which developed the Somerset Gardens project and also was a member of the Somerset Gardens Condominium Board for eighteen months. He has been an MHI Board member for the past five years and served on the Development Committee during this time.
Christa McIntosh
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Housing Management Committee
Christa has a strong belief that housing is an essential human right and that everyone deserves an affordable place to call home. Christa is the Senior Manager of Housing and Administration for Ottawa Salus, one of the largest supportive housing providers for people with severe and persistent mental illness in Ottawa. In addition, she is a new board director, chair of the Property Committee and member of the former Housing Management Committee for MHI.
Christa has 20 years of experience in the community mental health and supportive housing sectors, with the last 12 years focused on development and management of affordable housing for vulnerable populations. The latest new development project, Karen’s Place, won multiple sustainability and innovation awards, achieved LEED Platinum certification, was the first Passive House certified multi-residential affordable housing project in North America, and the first in the world in a cold climate using steel frame construction.
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Housing Management Committee
Christa has a strong belief that housing is an essential human right and that everyone deserves an affordable place to call home. Christa is the Senior Manager of Housing and Administration for Ottawa Salus, one of the largest supportive housing providers for people with severe and persistent mental illness in Ottawa. In addition, she is a new board director, chair of the Property Committee and member of the former Housing Management Committee for MHI.
Christa has 20 years of experience in the community mental health and supportive housing sectors, with the last 12 years focused on development and management of affordable housing for vulnerable populations. The latest new development project, Karen’s Place, won multiple sustainability and innovation awards, achieved LEED Platinum certification, was the first Passive House certified multi-residential affordable housing project in North America, and the first in the world in a cold climate using steel frame construction.
Neil Raynor
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee/Veterans' House Working Group
Neil Raynor is an aeronautical engineer and business strategist. He is an airforce veteran and attended both the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell and the RAF Staff College. Since retiring from the RAF, he has held senior executive positions in Canada in the aerospace overhaul and manufacturing industry, airport authorities, and for the past 15 years has consulted to the aviation industry. His clients have included all levels of government, airports, airlines and aviation service providers. Currently he is Managing Director of the Lindbergh Group Inc., an Ottawa-based consultancy.
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee/Veterans' House Working Group
Neil Raynor is an aeronautical engineer and business strategist. He is an airforce veteran and attended both the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell and the RAF Staff College. Since retiring from the RAF, he has held senior executive positions in Canada in the aerospace overhaul and manufacturing industry, airport authorities, and for the past 15 years has consulted to the aviation industry. His clients have included all levels of government, airports, airlines and aviation service providers. Currently he is Managing Director of the Lindbergh Group Inc., an Ottawa-based consultancy.
Sue Smarkala
Secretary
Voting - Independent Director
Sue Smarkala’s career spans over 35 years: as a software development manager in a variety of Ottawa IT companies, and, latterly, as a coach/facilitator. Her passion is working with people, helping them to achieve their goals, business project goals and/or personal life goals. As a professional and life coach, Sue offers coaching to individuals and groups. Coaching topics include developing communication and leadership skills, increasing effectiveness in a particular area of life. In a facilitator role, Sue works closely with clients to customize leadership/ communication training programs for organizations that recognize a need for leadership skills and improved internal communications, better positioning them to bring out the best in their employees. Sue has a keen interest in developing strong communities through her volunteer work with her church community, Leadership Ottawa, Northern Lights Vocational Service – Experica and the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa — a network of entrepreneurial, management and commissioned sales women
Secretary
Voting - Independent Director
Sue Smarkala’s career spans over 35 years: as a software development manager in a variety of Ottawa IT companies, and, latterly, as a coach/facilitator. Her passion is working with people, helping them to achieve their goals, business project goals and/or personal life goals. As a professional and life coach, Sue offers coaching to individuals and groups. Coaching topics include developing communication and leadership skills, increasing effectiveness in a particular area of life. In a facilitator role, Sue works closely with clients to customize leadership/ communication training programs for organizations that recognize a need for leadership skills and improved internal communications, better positioning them to bring out the best in their employees. Sue has a keen interest in developing strong communities through her volunteer work with her church community, Leadership Ottawa, Northern Lights Vocational Service – Experica and the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa — a network of entrepreneurial, management and commissioned sales women
Mike Ward
Past President
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee, Fundraising Committee, Executive Committee
Mike Ward has worked closely with various religious organizations, including as a result of assignments to a number of overseas locations during a career in Canada’s Foreign Service. For example, during a posting at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago in the late 1990s, one of his objectives was to build U.S. support for the Canadian government’s initiative to ban the international use of landmines. To this end, he established The Chicago Interreligious Campaign to Ban Landmines, a coalition of 25 religious denominations, which also included representatives from the local medical community and civil groups. One outcome of this “grass roots” initiative was The Chicago Weekend of Prayer to commemorate the implementation, at that time, of the Ottawa Convention to Ban Landmines. The Weekend of Prayer succeeded in reaching over 4 million Chicago area residents through the work of individual parishes in the region. Political support came in the form of separate proclamations issued by the Governor of Illinois and by the Mayor of Chicago. Mike currently serves as a facilitator with The Oasis in Kanata, a community outreach program of Glen Cairn United Church dedicated to providing support for caregivers of people with mental illness. Over the years, he has been closely involved with the work of various Buddhist organizations and is longstanding practitioner of Vipassana Meditation.
Past President
Voting - Independent Director
Member - Development Committee, Fundraising Committee, Executive Committee
Mike Ward has worked closely with various religious organizations, including as a result of assignments to a number of overseas locations during a career in Canada’s Foreign Service. For example, during a posting at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago in the late 1990s, one of his objectives was to build U.S. support for the Canadian government’s initiative to ban the international use of landmines. To this end, he established The Chicago Interreligious Campaign to Ban Landmines, a coalition of 25 religious denominations, which also included representatives from the local medical community and civil groups. One outcome of this “grass roots” initiative was The Chicago Weekend of Prayer to commemorate the implementation, at that time, of the Ottawa Convention to Ban Landmines. The Weekend of Prayer succeeded in reaching over 4 million Chicago area residents through the work of individual parishes in the region. Political support came in the form of separate proclamations issued by the Governor of Illinois and by the Mayor of Chicago. Mike currently serves as a facilitator with The Oasis in Kanata, a community outreach program of Glen Cairn United Church dedicated to providing support for caregivers of people with mental illness. Over the years, he has been closely involved with the work of various Buddhist organizations and is longstanding practitioner of Vipassana Meditation.
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With your generous support, hundreds of less fortunate people will gain access to safe, affordable housing and hope for a better future.
With your generous support, hundreds of less fortunate people will gain access to safe, affordable housing and hope for a better future.
©2015 Multifaith Housing Initiative.
