Stuart Thomas
Stuart is a founding principal of Terra Housing and has worked in social housing and community development for over 30 years during which time he has worked as a development manager assisting dozens of community-based organizations to conceptualize and implement affordable housing projects.
Stuart got his start in affordable housing development by joining with other tenants in his foreclosed-on apartment building to convert it to a housing co-operative. From 1982 to 1986 he served as a director and treasurer of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. The Federation later appointed him to terms as a founding director of the Co-operative Housing Programs Administration Agency and as a founding trustee of the Federal Co-operative Housing Stabilization Fund where he served as president and as chair of the portfolio management committee. Stuart was central in the business planning and development of COHO Management Services Society.
Internationally, Stuart has worked with Rooftops Canada Foundation and the Canadian Co-operative Association on consulting assignments in Zimbabwe and the Philippines and has consulted to community organizations and government departments in South Africa, Australia and India.
Stuart has extensive post-graduate training in research design and data analysis and has held several contract positions as a program evaluation research director. He holds a BA in Psychology (1976) from UBC and completed their Mortgage Brokers course. Stuart is a member of the Canadian Association of Business Economists and the International Union for Housing Finance.
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Simon Davie, PMP
Simon joined Terra Housing in 1998 and became a principal in 2003. He is the Chief Operating Officer for Terra. He has been a certified Project Management Professional since 2003, with specialized experience in the areas of seniors assisted living and post-secondary student union development. Simon succeeded in completing the Nikkei Home project in Burnaby, the first ever new construction project for non-profit assisted living in British Columbia. He was the lead principal on student union development projects for UBC Okanagan, Thompson Rivers University and Vancouver Community College and was the project manager for the redevelopment of the Mole Hill site in Vancouver including 26 heritage homes.
Prior to joining Terra, Simon worked in construction management, property management and marketing. Simon has experience with major developers as a construction safety officer, including the City Lights Equity Housing Cooperative, where he was also assistant superintendent and a founding member. As a team coordinator for the Eastleigh Housing Association in England, which owns and operates 5,000 social housing units, Simon provided coordination and support to front line workers, and information and advice to tenants. Volunteer activities include coaching ringette, serving as a strata council treasurer and president, and serving on the City of Vancouver working group for the Broadway Skytrain development. Simon graduated from Queens University with a BA in Urban Geography and holds a Certificate of Real Estate Appraisal from Langara College.
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Jim O’Dea
Jim was a co-founder of Terra Housing Consultants and has been involved in the housing and community sector for more than four decades. His employment portfolio has included several prominent positions. Jim was the first full time Chairman of the BC Housing Management Commission (BCHMC) and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Community Development, which oversaw the Vancouver Agreement. He was President of the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation, Director of the Homeowner Protection Office and Manager of Housing Programs and Operating Agreements in Vancouver at Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Jim’s national and international experience includes providing technical advice to the City of Toronto and to NGOs in India, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and South Africa. He has been a delegate on trade missions to China and India. Jim has participated in conferences worldwide. He was the keynote speaker at National Housing Conferences in Australia in 2001 and 2008 and was a guest speaker at Realizing Our Potential: A Symposium on Human Rights for People with Mental Illness in 2007.
Jim’s numerous board postings have included: Board Director of MPA (Motivation, Power, & Achievement Society), Board Director of the Portland Hotel Society, President of the Option Youth Society and Commissioner of the Board of the Vancouver Civic Theatres.
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photos: tamea burd photography
