The 2015 Election for CCEDNet’s Board of Directors is now open and will close on May 11th.
Five candidates are running for four seats on the Board.
Presented below in random order are our five candidates running in the 2015 CCEDNet Board elections.
Christine Landry Winnipeg, Manitoba
Christine Landry has been with Community Futures Manitoba, the association of Manitoba’s 16 Community Futures organizations (CFs), since 2000.
As Project Coordinator, she works with the 16 CF offices to strengthen their capacity to assist rural, northern an Aboriginal communities in strengthening their business sector and build capacity for CED. Christine has been actively involved with CCEDNet, sitting on the annual CED Gathering planning committee since 2004. She was also a member of the planning committee for the 2009 National CCEDNet Conference in Winnipeg.
Christine works with Community Futures offices each year to plan their annual provincial conference, which is promoted to CED service providers across the province. She also handles the association’s marketing and communications activities. Recently she was pleased to be a member of CCEDNet Manitoba’s Interim Governance Committee to develop a model for improving communication and efficiency in the Network.
William (Bill) Ninacs Victoriaville, Québec
My background includes management positions in the public and private sectors as well as wide experience in the community sector where I helped support service and advocacy groups, worker and consumer co-operatives, and other social agencies. I have been active in CED for more than 25 years, notably as Coordinator of the first community development corporation in Québec and as Co-Director of the Canadian CED Network. For more than 20 years, I have been a researcher in the field and on the subjects of empowerment-based interventions, local community development and the social economy, with publications in English and in French. I have taught at the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University and in the CED program at Concordia University. Currently I am also Associate Professor at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Élodie Bedouet Thunder Bay, Ontario
Élodie is Executive Director of the Association des francophones du Nord-Ouest de l’Ontario in Thunder Bay. She has worked in CED with francophone communities in Ontario and the Northwest Territories for several years and has a keen interest in social enterprise. Following graduate work in political science (specialization in international political economy) at the Université de Montréal, she did research for a UN agency in Chile on economic development and education and worked on youth inclusion projects with new technologies in Morocco.
Elspeth McKay Ottawa, Ontario
Elspeth McKay joined the Operation Come Home team in December 2007 with over 25+ years of experience as a senior manager in the not-for-profit sector. Elspeth is a dedicated fundraiser and innovator in CED. She has years of experience in developing programs such as supported employment, education, and social enterprise. Elspeth has devoted her career to imrproving the lives of the disabled and those that are economically disadvantaged. Working collaboratively with a number of private, public sector and social service partners, she provides leadership and consultation to not-for-profit organizations, as well as the federal and provincial governments.
In CCEDNet, Elspeth was a member of the membership committee. Elspeth is a member of the Alliance to End Homelessness, Ottawa Youth Justice Network and various local networks and coalitions, including chairing the United Way Turning Lives Around Taskforce.
Ryan Gibson Halifax, Nova Scotia
I am keenly interested how we can better use community economic development to enhance rural and northern regions. Over the past ten years I have been working with voluntary organizations, communities, and government on CED initiatives focused on rural development, philanthropy, governance, and public policy. I am an assistant professor of geography at Saint Mary’s University and the past-president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation. I have been actively engaged with CCEDNet through a number of board committees and served on the executive. I would like the opportunity to continue my engagement with the Board of Directors to further advance CCEDNet’s mandate, to enhance CCEDNet’s presence in Atlantic Canada, and strengthen our membership engagement.
If you’d like to know more about our candidates, watch the recording of the April 30th candidates meeting to hear about their vision and what they’d like to achieve on the Board.
This year, the Board election process is using a more proportional system. With advice on best practices for civil society organizations from the good folks at Fair Vote Canada, we are using OpenSTV for a ranked choice vote according to the Scottish STV model. We hope you enjoy this step towards a fairer voting system.
How to Vote
All CCEDNet members in good standing are eligible to vote. To vote, visit https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/boardelections2015 and log into your CCEDNet account. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see the link for the 2015 Board Elections / Élections 2015 au Conseil d’administration. If you encounter any issues please contact us at info (at) ccednet-rcdec.ca or call 1-877-202-2268.
Don’t Forget to Register for the AGM
Election results will be announced at CCEDNet’s 2015 Annual General Meeting, which will be held entirely online on May 29th. CCEDNet members who would like to participate must confirm their attendance by registering before May 26.
