Many will know Donna Charbonneau as a long-time member of the team at the Agency for Co-operative Housing. Donna’s co-op roots run deep though, right back to 1987 when she moved with her husband, Mike, and two children to the GTA from Montreal. They found rents in Toronto high and so when they learned of Ramer’s Wood Co-operative Homes, a three-year-old co-op in Markham, they seized the chance to live where the price was better and where they would have some say over their own community. This was the first time either Donna or her husband had experienced co-op life, but they both came from families of renters and the idea of having no landlord was attractive.
Both Donna and Mike jumped in with both feet. Donna was on the newsletter and welcoming committees; soon after moving in, she was elected to the co-op’s board. The board president at the time took an interest in developing Donna’s understanding of co-op governance and it wasn’t long before she was the delegate to attend the 1989 CHF Canada AGM in St. John’s, Newfoundland. There she saw first-hand how her co-op fit into the bigger movement. The experience solidified her commitment to the co-op sector.
Donna began to help out here and there in the Ramer’s Wood office. The work appealed to her, so she took a job as co-ordinator at Newmarket Co-operative Homes and then, after a couple of years, was hired by Rainbow Circle Co-operative Inc., which was closer to home.
In the early 90s, Donna was elected to the CHFT Board where she stayed for three years, two years as president. She also served on CHFT’s land trust boards during this time. That was a tough period when federal and provincial governments withdrew from housing development. CHFT was forced to downsize its staff as a result. Donna was board president, an experience that’s helped her empathize when other governing bodies make hard decisions.
In 1994, Donna’s family decided to purchase a house. Because she’d moved out of her co-op, she resigned her CHFT board position, although the by-laws allowed her to stay on. Of course, Donna remained tied to the sector professionally. When the co-ordinator job opened up Ramer’s Wood, Donna applied for the job and was delighted when she was hired. She could maintain the community relationships she’d developed and continue to work in co-op housing where her heart lay. She worked there from 1999 to 2006.
Charbonneau was elected to CHF Canada’s board as the Ontario Regional Director in 1994 and stayed on for eight years, serving as treasurer from 1999 to 2002. Her years in co-ops and being exposed to national housing co-op issues through CHF Canada made her a good fit when the newly created Agency for Co-operative Housing staff up in 2006. Donna was first hired as a Relationship Manager, was promoted to management, and now holds the position of Director of Operations.
When asked about the secret to successful co-ops, Donna named a few: do your part; be on time; keep your obligations; don’t take yourself too seriously; and being a director shouldn’t give you special privileges. In her professional life, Donna has worked with a lot of boards, so she knows the particular importance of this last one – directors need to set aside their own concerns and act in the best interests of the co-op. Charbonneau also lives by the words of the late long-time co-oper and former CHF Canada President, Wes Hosler: “if you give them the information boards need to make the right decision, they will.”
Donna’s favourite co-op principle is number 5, Education, Training and Information. While she has some regrets about not having the chance to pursue post-secondary education, she credits her success in co-op housing to the importance Ramer’s Wood placed on the workshops and courses offered by the sector. She proudly says she went to co-op school! She encourages all co-opers to follow her lead.
Charbonneau is a big proponent of mixed income communities and hopes that the sector will soon benefit from a new subsidy program and a government program to develop new co-ops. In addition to being an Honorary Lifetime Associate of CHF Canada, Donna Charbonneau joined the ranks of Honorary Board Member of CHFT in 2005. We couldn’t be happier to have Donna in that group!
