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Jolene Livingston, CM (she/her)
Founder & President
Calgary
One of the best parts of Jolene’s day is having dinner at home with her husband and two sons and their dog, Luna. This simple pleasure grounds her and fuels her at the same time—and she is keenly aware that not everyone in Canada has the same opportunity to share a meal in a place they call home.
Jolene believes that the growing housing crisis in Canada needs significant action on a national scale now. She also believes in the power and potential of the social profit sector. In 2021, she, with support from the Bespoke and Ramp Communications teams,...
One of the best parts of Jolene’s day is having dinner at home with her husband and two sons and their dog, Luna. This simple pleasure grounds her and fuels her at the same time—and she is keenly aware that not everyone in Canada has the same opportunity to share a meal in a place they call home.
Jolene believes that the growing housing crisis in Canada needs significant action on a national scale now. She also believes in the power and potential of the social profit sector. In 2021, she, with support from the Bespoke and Ramp Communications teams, founded Partners for Affordable Housing with a seed investment from the Government of Alberta. The charity seeks to ensure affordable housing for everyone in Canada.
Partners for Affordable Housing is a social profit organization that will accelerate and amplify the Canadian housing sector’s actions through the availability of centralized, maximized resources, resulting in a massive positive impact on the affordable housing crisis.
Jolene is uniquely qualified to lead this ambitious effort, integrating her experiences as an entrepreneur, board member, corporate community partnership builder, and prolific fundraiser. Energetic and innovative, she coaches social profit organizations on engagement, strategy, revenue generation, governance and ambassadorship. She helps clients weave these essential qualities into the DNA of their organizations to ensure their long-term sustainability. She has led capital campaigns ranging from $25 million to over $1.4 billion. She is a team builder, an idea generator, a champion of women leaders, and a guest speaker on transformation in the social profit sector.
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Steffan Jones (he/him)
Chief Executive Officer
Ottawa
Home is central to Steffan Jones’ health and well-being, and to that of his family. And after a 25-year career in the housing sector, he understands that not everyone shares his good fortune to have a safe, secure place to call home.
Believing that everyone has a right to safe housing that they can afford, Steff is propelled every day to find innovative solutions to accelerate our response to the growing affordable housing crisis in Canada.
In 2023, Steff helped create a new social profit organization, the Partners for Affordable Housing Foundation. The Foundation seeks to connect private, public and...
Home is central to Steffan Jones’ health and well-being, and to that of his family. And after a 25-year career in the housing sector, he understands that not everyone shares his good fortune to have a safe, secure place to call home.
Believing that everyone has a right to safe housing that they can afford, Steff is propelled every day to find innovative solutions to accelerate our response to the growing affordable housing crisis in Canada.
In 2023, Steff helped create a new social profit organization, the Partners for Affordable Housing Foundation. The Foundation seeks to connect private, public and philanthropic funding with community housing providers more effectively, to provide additional affordable housing choices for everyone in Canada.
Steff brings deep experience in the housing sector to his role as Chief Executive Officer. Based in Ottawa, he retired from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in 2023 after 25 years of service. He also has advisory roles with several organizations in the housing sector, including Peakhill Capital, Sparrow Living, Horizon Legacy Solutions, and Key Living.
Steff’s idea of a perfect day starts and ends at home—breakfast with his wife and daughters, followed by a round of golf, and a games night with friends.
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Shelley Mayer, CM (she/her)
Chief Marketing Officer
Toronto
Shelley Mayer, CM is a passionate and visionary leader, committed to the intersection of purpose and profit. Shelley believes that collaboration is at the heart of all success and is well-known as an industry connector and matchmaker.
With deep business experience and extensive knowledge of the social profit space, Shelley has advised hundreds of organizations in their quest for transformational change. A trusted industry expert, coach and advisor, Shelley has a reputation for challenging the status quo and solving problems creatively.
Shelley holds a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Chartered Marketer designation with the Canadian Marketing Association, and is...
Shelley Mayer, CM is a passionate and visionary leader, committed to the intersection of purpose and profit. Shelley believes that collaboration is at the heart of all success and is well-known as an industry connector and matchmaker.
With deep business experience and extensive knowledge of the social profit space, Shelley has advised hundreds of organizations in their quest for transformational change. A trusted industry expert, coach and advisor, Shelley has a reputation for challenging the status quo and solving problems creatively.
Shelley holds a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Chartered Marketer designation with the Canadian Marketing Association, and is a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional and a member of Social Value Canada.
With more than 20 years of combined client and agency experience, Shelley is a trusted strategic advisor to organizations committed to sustainability and leading social change. Since founding Ramp Communications in 2011, Shelley has partnered with over 100 social impact organizations and purpose-driven companies, helping them showcase their impacts across all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Shelley’s expertise includes branding, storytelling, impact reports, awareness campaigns and a range of other communication tools to help organizations engage with communities, share their great work, attract funders and inspire change.
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Jeni Piepgrass (she/her)
Chief Development Officer
Calgary
Jeni Piepgrass gained nearly 20 years of experience in the social profit sector prior to her role as Chief Development Officer with Partners for Affordable Housing. Her mission is to drive success by helping clients achieve their visions for making the world a better, more vibrant and more supportive place. She is a passionate advocate for the social profit sector as a whole.
Jeni's career includes successful capital campaigns, project management and levering innovative social finance tools to deliver community impact. Based in Calgary, she led the Glenbow Reimagined Campaign, which has raised over $173 million to date. She also headed...
Jeni Piepgrass gained nearly 20 years of experience in the social profit sector prior to her role as Chief Development Officer with Partners for Affordable Housing. Her mission is to drive success by helping clients achieve their visions for making the world a better, more vibrant and more supportive place. She is a passionate advocate for the social profit sector as a whole.
Jeni's career includes successful capital campaigns, project management and levering innovative social finance tools to deliver community impact. Based in Calgary, she led the Glenbow Reimagined Campaign, which has raised over $173 million to date. She also headed the team that raised over $135 million for the construction of Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.
Friends and colleagues appreciate Jeni’s wide-ranging trivia knowledge almost as much as her baking skills. A voracious consumer of ideas, she loves perusing bookstores and listening to thought-provoking podcasts—her current favourites are Literature and History, Radiolab, and the Criterion Institute.
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Jessica Freeman (she/her)
Director of Development
Calgary
Jessica Freeman brings more than 14 years of fundraising and engagement experience in Canada, the U.S., China and Hong Kong to her role as Director of Development for Partners for Affordable Housing.
Jessica is inspired by her clients and the positive changes they are making in the world. With a deep belief in their causes, she seeks to help them understand and maximize their social impact. She is equally passionate about shifting the narrative surrounding the social profit sector—a $192-billion industry in Canada—away from a focus on overhead costs and toward a focus on community impact.
Born and raised in...
Jessica Freeman brings more than 14 years of fundraising and engagement experience in Canada, the U.S., China and Hong Kong to her role as Director of Development for Partners for Affordable Housing.
Jessica is inspired by her clients and the positive changes they are making in the world. With a deep belief in their causes, she seeks to help them understand and maximize their social impact. She is equally passionate about shifting the narrative surrounding the social profit sector—a $192-billion industry in Canada—away from a focus on overhead costs and toward a focus on community impact.
Born and raised in Calgary, Jessica earned an Arts degree at the University of Calgary. Her career has included the development and implementation of multi-million campaigns as well as donor engagement and stewardship for the United Way of Calgary and Area, the University of Calgary, and the University of Toronto.
She shares her life with her two children and husband, who inspire her every day to do the right thing.