Board of Directors

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Alex Roussakis, President

Alex Roussakis

Alex is a retired federal public service employee.  For the majority of his tenure with the Federal Government he was responsible for various training programs, including managing a national learning program in the National Capital Region that had a focus on improving labour management relations.

Alex, served as Vice President of the Centretown Community Health Centre Board.  In addition, as a Board member for nine (9) years he worked on various initiatives that impacted the diverse community of Centretown and greater Ottawa.

He holds, on MA in Human Systems Intervention from Concordia University, a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University and a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from the Flourishing Center of New York.

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Chandra Hapuarachchi, Treasurer

Chandra Hapuarachchi

Chandra is a CPA, CGA, and holds a B.Comm (Hons) degree in Public Policy and Public Finance Management from the University of Ottawa and also a B.Comm (Hons) degree in Accounting.  Chandra has been a dedicated volunteer since she came to Canada from the UK in 1981. She has volunteered preparing income tax returns for seniors, students, newcomers, and those with low income. Chandra has held several board positions and has acted as treasurer and volunteer auditor for numerous organizations.  She has served on the selection committees for the Prime Ministers’ Award for Teaching Excellence and the Carol Thompson Memorial Fund Scholarship for students with learning disabilities.  She is a founding director of the Sri Lanka Association of Manitoba and the Association for New Canadians in St. John’s. More recently, she is a founding organizer of the seniors’ group providing services to Sri Lankan Canadian seniors which is supported by the Social Planning Council of Ottawa.  Chandra has worked in the charitable sector as a controller and director of finance and for two crown corporations as an internal auditor.  She was the winner of the 2019 Seniors Volunteer Ottawa - VOscar award which was presented by Volunteer Ottawa to a senior citizen who made a meaningful impact on the community with outstanding volunteer efforts

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Nicole Robert, Past President

Nicole Robert

Nicole Robert graduated as a registered nurse from the École d’infirmières of the University of Ottawa. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing, with a concentration in public hygiene, as well as a Master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the same institution.

Nicole has worked many years in the health sector, more specifically in the mental health sector at the hospital and community levels. She was also the executive director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Community Services of Ottawa for more than two decades. As a member of various local and regional boards and committees, she actively promoted the delivery of services targeted to numerous groups and minorities in a constantly changing environment, collaborating with several partners.

Her professional path has also given her the opportunity to act as a citizen judge, working closely with a multicultural community to defend the principles inherent in Canadian citizenship.

Now a retiree, Nicole pursues her work as a capacity assessor at the Capacity Assessment Office of the Ministry of the Attorney General. She is also a member of the Council on Aging, an organization focused on building an “age-friendly city”.

Nicole has many hobbies: she plays tennis, golf and bridge, attends a reading club and likes cross-country skiing. In a nutshell, she is a very busy woman, as well as a loving grandmother.

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Sandra Murray, Secretary

Sandra Murray

Sandra has held senior management positions in Customer Service and Human Resources across a number of industries and has worked in numerous cities in Canada as well as Texas, California, and Paris, France. 

She obtained her MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University.  Sandra has previously served on the Boards of Steelbridge Solutions Inc., a Human Resources consulting firm and the Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario (now Spinal Cord Injury Ontario), and was a founding member of Beaches Speeches in Toronto, a chapter of Toastmasters International. 

A recent transplant to Ottawa, Sandra enjoys Nordic walking, cycling and snowshoeing on the many trails in the area in addition to gardening during the summer months.

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Trèva Cousineau, Vice-President

Trèva Cousineau

A former teacher and dietitian, Trèva Cousineau has devoted herself to the advancement and protection of the” francophonie” at the local, provincial, national and even international levels for more than 50 years. She has served as counsel, coordinator and director of many franco-ontarien and French Canadian organizations, such as President of the provincial ACFO, Chair of the Ontario School Trustees’ Council and Executive Director of the National Federation of the French language school boards (FNCSF). While Vice-President of Richelieu International and Administrator of the local district, she was responsible for the sponsorship of the six first Monuments de la francophonie d’Ottawa. She was President of the Committee for the Monument at Ottawa University, her alma mater. She is Vice-President of the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques, President of MIFO and President of Dialogue Canada since 2011.

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Carol Clemenhagen, Chair, Volunteers

Carol Clemenhagen

Carol Clemenhagen is a retired health care executive. She was the first female President & CEO of the Canadian Hospital Association and was Executive Director of the Medical Research Council of Canada (now the Canadian Institutes of Health Research). Carol holds a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Ottawa and a bachelor of arts degree in political science & sociology from Carleton University. Born in Buckingham, Québec, she lives in Ottawa’s Civic Hospital neighbourhood and volunteers with the Environment Committee of the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association.

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Alex Cullen, Chair, Transportation

Alex Cullen

Alex Cullen has a proven record as a progressive active in his community, from local community activist to Ottawa City Hall and Queen`s Park, and in the non-profit sector.

An economist by training, Alex has worked in both the private and public sectors while finding time to be a school council chair, community association president, service club president, and raise a family.

He has served as a school board trustee, city & regional councillor, M.P.P., and more recently has worked on Parliament Hill as an assistant to an M.P. Alex is familiar with the Council on Aging as he served as Executive Director in 1999-2000, prior to his re-election to Ottawa City Council. Alex is married and grandfather to 4 young boys.

 

 
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Patrick Curran, Member at Large

Alex Cullen

Patrick Curran has managed organizations that require change management and innovative solutions. He has served as the National Executive Director for Independent Living Canada and has worked for Statistics Canada permitting him to visit Northern Ontario First Nation reserves.

Patrick’s career has enabled the transfer of his knowledge and experience for the benefit of private, public, and non-government organizations (NGOs). He worked more than a decade for the City of Ottawa responsible for marketing transit fares in excess of $100 million. Patrick implemented the popular Taxi Coupon program and helped implement the multifaceted electronic fare system, PRESTO®.

Patrick worked for many years as Marketing Manager for Ontario’s largest credit union. In addition to participating in several entrepreneurial endeavors himself (Hallmark and InfoMET®), Patrick has proven particularly adept in the areas of Strategic Partnerships, Project Management, and Finance.

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Miriam Fry, Chair, Committee Development

Miriam Fry

Miriam Fry has recently left her position after 6 years as the executive director of Families Matter Co-operative, a family support organization for those supporting loved ones with developmental disabilities.   Appropriate supported housing is one of the key concerns of these families.  Miriam was one of the authors of “Ending the Wait” which led to the province’s Innovative Housing Task Force.  Before that, Miriam spent over 25 years at the CBC, as a journalist and a journalistic manager.

Miriam is the president of Ottawa Carleton Lifeskills, an organization that provides housing and support for adults with disabilities.  She sits on the advisory committee of Doors Open Ottawa and has been a long-time volunteer English language tutor for newcomers.

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Brian Tardif, Chair, Resource Development

Brian Tardif

Brian Tardif’s career experience in community service organizations, spanning 42 years, has been broad and exceptionally varied. Over the years, he has developed superior skills in the areas of leadership, financial and human resources management, administration, governance, fund-raising, communicating, negotiating, networking and facilitating.

Committed to excellence, he has embraced change and worked closely with Boards of Directors to effectively manage the operations of high caliber community service organizations. In addition, Brian has done consultancy work for over 25 local, national and international community service organizations.

He is the recipient of numerous awards of recognition.   As alumni of Carleton University, Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work.  His is also an alumnus of St. Mary’s and Dalhousie Universities in Halifax. Retired after 33 years as Executive Director of Citizen Advocacy Ottawa, he continues to provide consultancy work and is currently a volunteer with Compassionate Ottawa. 

2021 Yves Leduc Chair of Community Engagement

Yves Leduc, Chair, Engagement

Yves Leduc

Yves Leduc graduated from the University of Montreal. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics (M.Sc.) specializing in public finance and international trade. Yves is a dynamic, engaged, and dedicated senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the associative world/lobbying promoting and defending the interests of farmers, notably the Dairy Farmers of Canada. His expertise and experience in facilitating, advocating and influencing the development of acceptable consensus in a highly politicized and complex environment, both domestically and internationally, represent a strong asset for the Council on Aging.  Yves also has extensive experience working with a multidisciplinary staff, and has developed strong relationships with elected officials, senior officials and political staff. Yves lives in the downtown area with his wife Pascale and their young daughter LiCan-Marie.  

Members whose term ended in 2021, thank you for your service.

Caroline Bergeron, Luc Bigras, Nancy Garrard, George Hartsgrove, Diane Hupé, Linda Meek, Kimberly Peterson, and Dr. Russell Robinson.