Board of Directors and Staff
LCCH Board Members
Jeff McLaren
Jeff McLaren is a Kingston City Council member and Board of Health member since 2014. He has served on the transition team that merged 3 local boards of health into the new Southeast Board of Health. He has also spent 4 years on the Kingston Police Services Board. Jeff has been involved in property management since 2001 and has identified housing affordability, housing insecurity, food insecurity, food sovereignty, loneliness and isolation, the climate crisis and the energy crunch crisis coming to North America as major problems that can be in part addressed through co-operative non-profit housing and vertical farming. Jeff serves as the Chair of the Board.
Dennis Fernandes
Dennis Fernandes with over 16 years of experience honing his skills in both banking and administration he feels housing affordability is a critical issue that affects many individuals and families. Rising rents and home prices often outpace income growth, leading to increased financial strain. Cooperative non-profit housing offers a sustainable model where residents share resources and responsibilities, creating a sense of belonging and reducing isolation. Dennis believes integrating vertical farming into these housing developments, communities can produce fresh, nutritious food locally, addressing food insecurity while promoting healthy lifestyles. Dennis also serves as Treasurer.
William McLaren
William McLaren is a second-year nursing student at Queen’s University. Having moved out of his parents’ house, his future housing is a concern that this co-op project can help provide for him and many others of his generation. William contributes a perspective from a generation not often heard in board rooms.
Pete Egnatoff
Pete Egnatoff is a popular local comedian and actor who recognizes that precarious work creates challenges for people in finding good housing. He sees our co-op as a way to help overcome these challenges for a larger number of people.
Louise Tremblay Matchet
Louise Tremblay Matchet is a professional with 40 years’ experience in small business Administrator & Bookkeeper who has worked in the textiles, printing, construction & e-commerce sectors. She is also devout feminist with a passion for history & politics. She studied Liberal Arts & Women’s Studies at Concordia University. Following her education, she worked for the Worker Ownership Development Foundation contributing to revisions in Ontario’s co-operative law and spent two exciting years as an outreach worker promoting worker co-operatives in Toronto. Louise serves as the Board Secretary.
Steve Miller
Steve Miller is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He has served 34 years with hospitals in Ontario. For 19 years he was the CFO at Hotel Deu Hospital and with University Hospital Capital Foundation. Having experience with large capital projects, he feels that he can assist in making attainable non-profit co-op housing a reality in our community.
Pedro Oliveira
Pedro Oliveira is a physician with 18 years of experience, including 11 years as a specialist in anesthesiology, and 9 years in military medical service in his home country, Brazil. He believes that this co-op housing project can provide quality housing at attainable prices for both newcomers and locals. The sustainability of the project has captivated him since he first learned about it.
Unoma Mercy Onwuliri
Unoma Mercy Onwuliri is a qualified pharmacist of over 10 years of experience in clinical and public health pharmacy. A counselor in behavioral health with wide experience in research and documentation. currently studying healthcare administration at St. Lawrence College. She believes that the benefit of co-operative housing is huge to families’ budget and in this project to families’ nutrition.
Co-op Building, Construction, Maintenance, and Management Committee
Gary Bennett
Gary Bennett entered the profession of property management in 1973. In 2003, he founded Bendale Property Management which currently manages a diverse portfolio of properties across Ontario. Gary also served six years as a Kingston City Councillor and six years as the Mayor of Kingston and the first mayor of the new amalgamated City of Kingston. Gary also serves or has served with the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, the Canadian Condominium Institute, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the United Way of Greater Kingston, the Institute of Housing Management, the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston, Kingston Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation, and the Kingston General Hospital Foundation Board. Currently Gary serves on LCCH’s Co-op Building, Construction, Maintenance, and Management Committee.
Bob Putzlocher
Bob Putzlocher has recently retired from the Ontario Public Service where he had a 25-year career as an Environmental Engineer. In that role, he managed multiple multi-million dollar projects cleaning up contaminated sites in the province. He also was a member of the Board of Directors for the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
He currently is a member of Kingston Co-operative Homes where he has lived since 2001. In his time there, he served on the Board of Directors for 20 years holding positions of Treasurer and President of the co-op.
Kingston Co-operative Homes was founded in 1985 providing 87 townhouse units of 2,3 and 4 bedrooms. The co-op partnered with the City of Kingston to increase the number of units on multiple occasions. In 1995, eight one-bedroom were added. Another eight one-bedroom units were opened in 2015. Most recently, the co-op undertook the development of a three-storey, 38-unit apartment building. This project received support from 3 levels of government and was completed in the spring of 2024 after 5 years of planning and construction.
Although now retired from the Board at the co-op, Bob continues to be an advocate for affordable housing under the co-operative model. He remains an active member of the Peer Support Network for the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.
He currently is a member of Kingston Co-operative Homes where he has lived since 2001. In his time there, he served on the Board of Directors for 20 years holding positions of Treasurer and President of the co-op.
Kingston Co-operative Homes was founded in 1985 providing 87 townhouse units of 2,3 and 4 bedrooms. The co-op partnered with the City of Kingston to increase the number of units on multiple occasions. In 1995, eight one-bedroom were added. Another eight one-bedroom units were opened in 2015. Most recently, the co-op undertook the development of a three-storey, 38-unit apartment building. This project received support from 3 levels of government and was completed in the spring of 2024 after 5 years of planning and construction.
Although now retired from the Board at the co-op, Bob continues to be an advocate for affordable housing under the co-operative model. He remains an active member of the Peer Support Network for the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.
Owners Representatives
RC (CHUCK) SMITH
For over 40 years Chuck’s interest in leading-edge building technologies has taken him across Canada and South America as an architectural designer, builder and developer. His 4 decades as a leader in urban space public engagement have led him to contribute to several community boards. Chuck’s recent focus is on intelligent, sustainable, attainable, modern prefab design for the vertical farm sector.
RICHARD GIBSON
Has over 30 years of agricultural innovation experience in private, multi-national and government R&D organizations with leadership roles in field research, enterprise and digital software architecture, marketing, product and business development. An amateur astronomer and space enthusiast, Richard is an enthusiastic supporter of advancing controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in remote environments.
LCCH Staff
Alyssa Miller
Alyssa Miller, Administration Coordinator, is currently working as a law clerk with 13 years of experience within the legal and administrative field. Her personal aim is to always be learning and seeking out new ideas and perspectives. A life-long learner, she is currently working on a Certificate in Business Leadership from the University of Waterloo. After that she plans to get certifications in property management. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, listening to music and reading.