Alexandra Wilson, the Agency’s founding Chief Executive Officer, will retire at the end of March. She ends a 47-year career in the co-operative housing movement, including 16 years leading the Agency.
The Agency’s Board of Directors undertook a wide search to find the right CEO for the next phase of the Agency’s life. An executive-search firm vetted dozens of applicants from the co-operative and non-profit housing sectors across Canada. A board committee interviewed a shortlist of the very best. In the end, the most highly qualified candidate was found within the ranks of the Agency’s senior staff: Olga Tasci.
Fluently bilingual, Olga was among the first staff members hired as the Agency prepared in 2005 to open its doors. Through the start-up period, as Director, Information Services and Best Practices, Olga led a diverse team that, among other things, oversaw the development of the Agency’s information system. In 2010 she became Director, Operations. In that role, she oversaw the work of the Agency staff who deliver our services to housing co-operatives on Canada Mortgage and Housing’s behalf. Before coming to the Agency, Olga was well known to CMHC, the regional federations and the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada during her ten years as Executive Director of the Co‑operative Housing Association of Eastern Ontario. She currently serves as President of Taiga, an Ottawa non-profit, and as Ontario Director with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. For six years Olga was a board member, and then president, of Rooftops Canada, the international development arm of Canada’s not-for-profit housing sector.
CMHC’s new Rental Assistance Program is bringing many changes to the Agency and our co-op clients. But with Olga as leader, one thing will not change: our steadfast commitment to serving as a partner in your success.