Stéphan is the founding executive director of the Centre. Previously, he was president of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) and executive director of the Québec Non-Profit Housing Network (Réseau québécois des OSBL d’habitation). He is currently vice-president of the Habitat International Coalition. He is also a member of CHRA’s Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous working group. Over the last 30 years, he has amassed experiences in Canada, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East as a field agent, organizer, developer, researcher, analyst, academic and as an advisor for local, regional and national non-profits. He’s been involved in the policy-making process at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Stéphan has actively contributed to the development of thousands of new housing units and played key roles in restructuring strategies for big and small NPOs facing significant challenges. He completed postgraduate studies in both law and political science.

Sandra has 30 years of housing experience in the North. Her first 8 years with the NWT Housing Corporation started in the Baffin region of Nunavut, then to the South Slave Region of the NWT and Head office in Yellowknife.

In 1998, Sandra took on the role of Corporate Representative for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. She has been in a variety of roles with CMHC as the work has evolved. She worked as the Northern Housing Specialist for all three Territories. Over the years, she has gained an enormous knowledge of northern housing issues and solutions and is well connected with a network of northern industry stakeholders. She has hosted three tours of the north for the CMHC Board of Directors allowing the opportunity to transfer the unique cultural and logistical aspects of the housing sector in the north to the Board.

Sandra brings a passion for the North and specifically in housing and how critical it is to the well-being of the Northern Indigenous communities.

Ross Chapin, FAIA, is an architect based on Whidbey Island, WA and author of Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small Scale Community in a Large Scale World. Over the last 25 years, Ross has designed and partnered in developing seven pocket neighborhoods in the Puget Sound region—small groupings of homes around a shared commons—and has designed more than 150 communities for developers across the U.S., Canada and the UK. Read more about Ross.