City Councillor since 2014 and Board of Health member who helped merge three local health units into the Southeast Board of Health; four years on the Kingston Police Services Board. In his first term, Jeff led reforms that strengthened KEDCO and Sustainable Kingston.
With 20+ years in property management, he brings a practical lens to affordability, food security, social isolation, and climate/energy resilience. As founding Chair, he leads LCCH as a cornerstone of Kingston’s Dignified Housing Strategy—pairing co-operative housing with vertical farming to address housing affordability, food insecurity, and to build community together.
Dennis Fernandes
Vice Chair
With 16+ years in banking and administration, Dennis brings disciplined financial oversight and operational acuity to LCCH. As Vice President and Vice Chair, he focuses on transparent reporting, prudent budgeting, and long-term sustainability.
He champions co-operative non-profit housing—where residents share resources and responsibilities—to improve affordability and build a stronger sense of belonging. He also supports integrating on-site vertical farming so communities can produce fresh, nutritious food locally, strengthening food security and healthier living.
Unoma Mercy Onwuliri
Director
Unoma Mercy Onwuliri is a licensed pharmacist with over 10 years of experience across clinical and public-health pharmacy. She is also a counselor in behavioral health with extensive experience in research and documentation, and just graduated studying Healthcare Administration at St. Lawrence College.
At LCCH, Unoma brings an evidence-based, resident-centred lens to program design, health outcomes, and continuous improvement.
She believes co-operative housing can meaningfully reduce household costs and, through this project’s integrated food systems, strengthen everyday family nutrition and long-term well-being.
Louise Tremblay Matchett
Secretary
With 40 years of experience in small-business administration and bookkeeping across the textiles, printing, construction, and e-commerce sectors, Louise brings rigorous financial controls, governance discipline, and dependable record-keeping to LCCH.
She studied Liberal Arts and Women’s Studies at Concordia University and worked with the Worker Ownership Development Foundation, contributing to revisions to Ontario’s co-operative legislation and spending two years as an outreach worker promoting worker co-operatives in Toronto.
A lifelong advocate for women’s leadership and economic inclusion, Louise believes co-operative ownership strengthens family budgets, community resilience, and democratic participation. As Board Secretary, she supports board effectiveness through clear minutes, compliant policies, and transparent documentation.
Pedro Oliveira
Director
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 Brazil. He brings clinical rigor, crisis-response discipline, and a strong patient-safety mindset to LCCH’s governance.
Pedro supports LCCH’s mission to deliver high-quality homes at attainable prices for both newcomers and long-time residents. The project’s sustainability commitments—integrating resilient design and responsible resource use—are what first drew him to the initiative and continue to fuel his advocacy.
Bob Putzlocher
Director
Bob Putzlocher recently retired from the Ontario Public Service after a 25-year career as an environmental engineer, where he managed multiple multi-million-dollar projects remediating contaminated sites across the province. He also served on the Board of Directors of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), bringing governance and public-interest oversight to the profession.
Bob has lived at Kingston Co-operative Homes since 2001 and served on its Board for 20 years, including terms as Treasurer and President. During that time the co-op expanded in partnership with the City of Kingston—adding units in 1995 and 2015—and most recently completed a three-storey, 38-unit apartment building in spring 2024 with support from all three orders of government.
A long-standing advocate for affordable housing under the co-operative model, Bob remains active in the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada’s Peer Support Network. He brings proven project stewardship, financial discipline, and a commitment to scaling successful co-op solutions to LCCH.
Zachary Typhair
Director
A resident of the Lakeside District, Zachary Typhair is a licensed insurance agent with deep expertise in insurance and risk management. He brings practical experience assessing property and financial risks, adding disciplined, real-world analysis to LCCH’s governance.
Zachary’s perspective helps the co-op understand how today’s affordability pressures can push households toward risky cost-cutting—such as reducing essential coverage—and informs approaches that protect members’ assets while keeping costs predictable.
Aligned with LCCH’s values of democratic governance, mutual support, and community resilience, he is committed to fostering a stable, inclusive community and advancing affordable, secure, and sustainable housing for all members.
Robert Gibson
Director
Robert Gibson brings 10+ years’ experience in community governance and policy to LCCH, including board and leadership roles with the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (Peterborough) and service as Archivist for the Kingston Field Naturalists.
He designed a pandemic protocol for the Garbage to Garden program in 2020—still in use—and developed a similar protocol for a Free Market initiative. Robert has contributed to policy development with the Trent Central Student Association, submitted recommendations to Peterborough’s Official Plan through Reimagine Peterborough, and participated on the Oshawa Environmental Advisory Committee.
Robert’s track record in policy design and board stewardship supports LCCH’s sustainable growth, strengthens compliance with evolving legislation, and helps embed practical, community-driven solutions across the co-op.
Mercedes Cobham
Director
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Co-op Building, Construction, Maintenance, and Management Committee
Gary Bennett
Committee Member
Gary Bennett brings 50+ years in property management, entering the field in 1973 and founding Bendale Property Management in 2003, which manages a diverse portfolio across Ontario. He also served six years as a Kingston City Councillor and six years as Mayor—the first mayor of the newly amalgamated City of Kingston.
Gary’s community leadership includes service with the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, the Canadian Condominium Institute, the Institute of Housing Management, and board roles with the Ontario Trillium Foundation, United Way of Greater Kingston, Community Foundation of Greater Kingston, Kingston Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation, and the Kingston General Hospital Foundation.
At LCCH, he contributes to the Co-op Building, Construction, Maintenance, and Management Committee, applying governance, lifecycle asset management, and practical operations expertise to help deliver durable, well-managed, and affordable homes.
Steve Miller
Committee Member
Steve Miller is a retired Chartered Professional Accountant with 25 years in Ontario’s health sector, including a decade as CFO at Hotel Dieu Hospital (Kingston) and service as CFO at the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. He brings disciplined financial stewardship, capital planning, and audit-ready reporting.
With deep experience in large capital projects and fundraising, Steve supports LCCH’s mission to deliver attainable non-profit co-op housing—aligning prudent budgets with durable, community-serving outcomes.
Owners' Representatives
Chuck Smith (A.T.)
Owners' Representative
With 40+ years as an architectural designer, builder, and developer, Chuck has delivered leading-edge building technologies across Canada and South America. A long-time leader in public engagement for urban spaces, he has contributed to several community boards and guided multi-stakeholder projects from concept to completion.
His current focus is intelligent, sustainable, and attainable prefab design for the vertical farming sector—aligning innovative building methods with LCCH’s goals for resilient, affordable housing.
Richard Gibson (B.Sc., B.S.A., M.Sc. in Plant Pathology)
Owners' Representative
Richard brings 30+ years of agricultural innovation spanning private, multinational, and government R&D. He has led field research programs and held leadership roles across enterprise and digital software architecture, marketing, product, and business development.
At LCCH, he applies controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) expertise to integrate reliable, data-driven vertical farming with co-operative housing—improving food security, lowering operating costs, and strengthening year-round resilience.
An amateur astronomer and space enthusiast, Richard is a committed advocate for advancing CEA in remote and resource-constrained environments.
LCCH Staff
Alyssa Miller
Administrative Co-ordinator
Alyssa Miller is a law clerk with 13 years of experience across legal and administrative roles. She supports governance, contracts, records, and procedural compliance at LCCH, and is currently completing a Certificate in Business Leadership from the University of Waterloo.
A lifelong learner, Alyssa is pursuing property management certifications next. She’s focused on clear documentation, responsive member service, and dependable back-office operations that keep LCCH running smoothly.
