Sarah Jensen CHF Canada Board Member-at-Large

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I'm beyond honored to announce that last weekend in Winnipeg I was elected as a Board Director-at-Large from an incredible list of candidates, along with three other incredible directors - Nicole Waldron, Sahara Shaik, and Anne Davidson- that I am so grateful to for their mentorship and inspiration, and that I can't wait to work alongside on the Board for my next term!! I'd like to thank the other candidates as well - it takes courage and conviction to run for the Board and your contributions to the housing co-op sector are so admirable. I'd also like to thank every single member who was in attendance at the AGM - it was an honor to talk to and gain insight and ideas from so many housing co-opers across the country!
I also sincerely want to thank our retiring directors - Isabel Ciok, Don Goss, Coral Heatherington and Tanya Von Idler, it has been incredible serving on the board with all of you the last few years, and I will miss your voices around the board table. I'm so grateful to have learned from you all.
Finally, I want to thank all my Castlegreen Co-op family and friends who were cheering me on from home, especially my mom, Pat Michels. Without you I wouldn't be the person I am today, and it's your inspiration to find community and connection in all I do that's lead me here 🥰
I can't wait to see what the next few years bring as we all continue to work towards our goal of Housing Co-ops for All!!

If elected to the Board, I will INSPIRE:
• YOUTH: so more young members are inspired to get involved in their co-ops, with the CHF Canada Young Members Network, and across Canada, so they can build connection with eachother, other generations, and all members

• DIVERSITY: to encourage equitable, inclusive involvement of co-opers of ALL backgrounds, especially underrepresented and underserved communities, like members who are 2SLGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, and a part of other racialized communities, newcomers, differently abled and neurodivergent people, and many others, by breaking barriers and facilitating training and mentorship.

• LEADERSHIP: leaders create leaders and I want to empower all co-opers to renew leadership, and ensure our existing co-op leaders, including YOU, can create our co-op future!

I have been so honored and blessed to learn from so many incredible co-operators in my time since first becoming a member of my housing co-op's Board of Directors - and I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to share all that I learned with other co-operators, to pay forward the guidance and mentorship I recieved.
I have worked as a co-op educator for the last six years - running co-op summer camps for young folks, facilitating workshops locally, provincially, nationally and internationally - including at CHF Canada AGMs, and working to spread the word about the co-op model in every area of my life, and all I do.
In 2022, I was so honored to receive the Association of Cooperative Educator's ( .educators ) William Hlushko Award to Young Cooperative Educators, for the work I've done as a co-op educator. I can't wait to continue to work to educate all people, all across the country, on how incredible, resilient, community based and equitable the co-op model is!

If elected to the CHF Canada Board I will FACILITATE:
• CONVERSATION between all members, in every generation, from every background, from every area of the country!
• CONNECTION between all cooperatives AND all co-op members across the country to strengthen our network and shared resources
• KNOWLEDGE SHARING between generations to ensure knowledge transfer from experienced cooperators to new cooperators, to ensure we create a seemless transition to the future of co-op housing!

Since I first became involved in CHF Canada I have:

• Attended 8 AGMs, since my first one in Niagara Falls in 2017, and met and learned from so many incredible housing co-opers from across the country!
• Attended the 2018 vision summit as a youth delegate and was a part of the post-summit working group.
• Lead workshops at CHF Canada's past AGMs, including the Green Co-ops workshop.
• Been a champion for the Young Members Network since 2018, as a voice for our young folks across Canada.
• Sat on Ontario Council in 2020-2021 until it's amalgamation with the Board.
• Attended the Global Co-op Innovation Summit as a representative for CHF Canada on a youth panel in Paris, France, 2022
• Was elected in 2021 to serve on the newly reorganized Board of Directors!
• Advocated to government officials for new funding for housing co-ops at numerous government advocacy events.
• was a regional leader for the Vote Housing campaign in 2021.
• Since being elected to the Board, I have sat on the Nominating, Governance, Resolutions committees, and have recently been selected to participate in the Equity Outcomes Working Group.

If elected, I will CHAMPION Housing Co-ops by making sure they are SUPPORTED, PROTECTED, AND RENEWED!
• SUPPORT housing co-ops from across the country in ALL regions to access CHF Canada's resources including direct member support, ensuring members can connect and have their voices heard at the Board table.
• SUPPORT growth of existing housing co-ops to reduce waitlists and create new co-op homes to ensure everyone can have a co-op home.
• PROTECT existing housing co-ops by advocating for continued, increased funding for prpgrams including subsidy programs for low-income housing, and renegotiation of end of operating agreements.
• RENEW housing co-ops by ensuring resources and funding reaches co-ops that need renos and repairs to create sustainability and growth.
• RENEW our Board governance and create continued leadership renewal to make sure every member feels they have a voice at the Board table; that YOU are heard and included in the future of co-op housing!

I've been so, so honored to serve on the CHF Canada Board of Directors for the last three years, and to have served on Ontario Council for a year previous to that. I have so many incredible people to thank for this journey - my fellow board members, the CHF Canada members including all the wonderful, brilliant folks I've met at all the past AGMs I've been to over the last 8 years, my housing co-op friends, neighbours and family back home in Castlegreen, and so many more! I have learned something from every single housing co-oper I've ever met, and I am so grateful to put the knowledge to use as I have served, and hopefully will continue to serve our members. We've done some incredible work the last few years, including securing the first federal budget allocation for co-op housing in more than 30 years, and I couldn't be more excited to see where we take these successes to grow even more into the future!

Come follow me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/votesarahjensenchf?igsh=MXZxcmV2dTZ4bGMwYQ==

Living through the housing crisis means we all know how important it is to create new co-op homes while maintaining existing housing co-ops. I want to see every housing co-op, and every single co-op member across Canada have access to the resources and wider co-op community that enables them to strengthen their own housing co-op while helping advocate and expand new housing co-op development across Canada! Housing Co-ops for All is our vision and I want to see everyone who needs affordable, safe, sustainable and community based housing Call Co-ops Home!