OUR TEAM

CEO of HomeSpace Society since 2016, Bernadette has more than 20 years of experience within the affordable housing development and property management sector. She has held leadership positions at several organizations within the sector. Bernadette helped create Calgary’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and played a key part in the creation of the HomeSpace Society. Her strong background in leadership, strategic planning, and building collaborative business relationships have enabled her to lead HomeSpace to become one of Calgary’s leading affordable housing providers.

Our Chief Financial Officer Karen Chen brings over 20 years of accounting experience to HomeSpace. She is responsible for overseeing our finances, Information Technology, plus the administration of our Legal and Insurance activities. Karen says she’s passionate about HomeSpace because she loves helping people and finds the work challenging.

Matt Vermunt is Director of Acquisitions and Development at HomeSpace. His role is to help us grow our portfolio of affordable housing by overseeing the acquisition, due diligence, approvals, design, and construction of HomeSpace developments from start to finish. Prior to joining HomeSpace Matt worked in multi-family condo development and loves getting structures built. Transforming a vacant piece of land into a development or taking an existing structure from old to new is made even more rewarding because at HomeSpace, we help some of our City’s most vulnerable citizens. Matt brings incredible energy to the team and is a great advocate for the work that we do.

Emily is the Communications Director at HomeSpace. Emily handles internal and external communications for HomeSpace including our media and government relations strategy, social media strategy, and our website! A former journalist, Emily brings expertise in public messaging, media relations, video and audio production, as well as public presentations. She’s passionate about community building, telling important stories in a beautiful and creative way, and hopes to use the HomeSpace platform to encourage empathy for Calgarians of all walks of life.

Vania is Senior Financial Accountant for HomeSpace, Her background as an accounting firm auditor lends Vania expertise in reporting requirements. She enjoys analysis, spotting trends in numbers, and is an efficiency geek! She’s constantly learning new processes and software (EXCEL!) to make our lives easier. Vania loves our team at HomeSpace, the vision of our organization, and is grateful to serve the community in a way that tangibly improves so many lives.

Marvin is Project Manager at HomeSpace, assisting with the acquisition of sites, due diligence, community engagement, and construction management of our new development portfolio. He has experience as a paralegal and has worked for over 10 years in Property Management within the sector. Marvin has lived experience with childhood poverty and is grateful to help people from all walks of life, building homes for the less fortunate.

As Financial Accountant with HomeSpace Yuming provides full cycle accounting, financial reporting, as well as preparation and analysis of management and compliance reports for our organization. As a Chartered Professional Accountant Yuming uses his expertise to find efficiencies and ensure the credibility of our financial operations. He’s passionate about providing affordable and specialized housing to our vulnerable community members.

Jay is an Account Receivable/Payable Assistant with HomeSpace, assisting with our accounting team to ensure smooth transaction for these accounts. As a passionate Business student, Jay says he is honoured to gain valuable experience in his field at an organization that provides homes for those in need. Jay is a team player and brings experience working in highly collaborative environments. He says that this experience has taught him the value of teamwork and effective communication which he is excited to bring to the HomeSpace team.

Hanna is a Communications Assistant with HomeSpace assisting with internal and external communications including government relations and social media strategy, website design, and other exciting projects. As a political science and urban planning student, Hanna is passionate about inclusive city building. She brings experience in graphic design, policy, and social media to HomeSpace and is always excited to learn and take on new challenges. As a 2nd generation Canadian, Hanna is grateful to be joining a team that is reducing barriers for those that need a place to call home. Housing is a human right!

Jacqueline is our Director of Property Management at HomeSpace. She oversees the operations of our properties, including Asset Management and Resident Relations departments. She brings over 20 years of property management experience to the team from several different roles and organizations. Jacqueline was fortunate to receive support and safe housing at a time of need and is glad to return that support to others in difficult circumstances and works hard to ensure our residents can sustain their housing despite the hurdles they face. She is glad to provide opportunities and build community through safe, stable housing.

Tawanda is Manager of Building Operations at HomeSpace. He’s responsible for planning and oversite of operations for all of our buildings including developing strategic direction and policies for the property management department. He leads our maintenance techs to ensure we provide consistent and reliable service to our agency partners and residents. Tawanda brings 13 years of Property Management experience to HomeSpace from both the private and non-profit sectors. He’s passionate about making a difference in the lives of our residents through providing great service and upkeep of their homes.

Leslie Lewis is a Housing Liaison with HomeSpace. She helps residents understand and sign their leases, conducts inspections, and communicates with our partner agencies to ensure our residents are supported with the goal of retaining housing long-term. Leslie brings 25 years of experience in the homeless serving sector to HomeSpace with great knowledge of how shelters, housing, and support agencies can work together to help our residents succeed. She joined HomeSpace because she loves the organization, culture, mission, and the sense of compassion we bring to housing vulnerable Calgarians.

Rhea is a Housing Liaison with HomeSpace. She handles unit care, resident move ins, and connects our partner agencies with our residents to ensure they have the supports they need. Rhea brings 7 years of experience in property management to HomeSpace and is guided by her great sense of compassion for our residents and their well-being. She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of our residents by ensuring they have the support and care to transform their housing into a place they can gladly call home.

Lini is a Housing Liaison with HomeSpace. She offers lease guidance; handles move ins and unit care while working closely with our agency partners to ensure that our residents are supported with the goal of long-term housing. Lini brings over 7 years of front-line experience in supporting vulnerable members of our community in the social-serving sector to HomeSpace. She says she grateful to work with HomeSpace because she gets witness the impactful difference that access to safe and stable housing makes in the lives of our residents.

Kayla is our Tenant Relations Office Assistant. She provides a high level of support to the Housing Liaison Team while helping with any crossover within Operations and Property Management. Kayla has concierge experience in property management and ensures the day-to-day administration of the HomeSpace team goes smoothly! She says she’s proud to work with HomeSpace because sees first hand the gap we are filling in the housing market for the most vulnerable.

Tony is our lead Maintenance Technician at HomeSpace. He manages his own set of buildings while also overseeing preparation of units for new tenants. HomeSpace relies on Tony to train new techs to the team. Tony built his skills in restoration and innovation and is passionate about his work because he believes in our vision: A home for everyone in our community.

Paspuraj is a Maintenance Technician with HomeSpace taking care of HomeSpace properties and performing day to day repairs. He has experience starting off in the hospitality industry, doing maintenance in hotels. Raj brings knowledge and kindness to his role at HomeSpace, and loves to help people. He is passionate about taking care of our residents.

Kushodhaj Datta is a Maintenance Technician at HomeSpace. He takes pride in fixing things and making homes better for people who have experienced homelessness. He has worked in the non-profit sector serving homeless Calgarians for over 7 years doing maintenance work in shelters and believes everyone in our community deserves a home. He’s proud to provide permanent housing for people with so few resources.

Sisay Ejigu is a Maintenance Technician with HomeSpace. After 10 years in the construction industry doing general carpentry Sisay brings specialized skills to the HomeSpace team including drywall, electrical, asbestos and mold management skills. He joined HomeSpace for the healthy work environment, welcoming community, and takes pride in connecting with our residents.

Bishwo Bhandari is a maintenance technician with HomeSpace. He handles minor plumbing and electrical projects as well as repairs at our properties and takes pride in having great communication with our residents. Biswho has experience from the non-profit and private sectors and joined HomeSpace to serve the community. He believes everyone needs some help occasionally and takes satisfaction in contributing to the greater good.

Matt Sparks is a Maintenance Technician with HomeSpace. He brings compassion and lived experience to the HomeSpace team, loves problem-solving and it a bit of a perfectionist! Matt has several years of experience working in non-profits and says helping families like his who are struggling is rewarding.

Ireneo is a Maintenance Technician with HomeSpace, taking care of HomeSpace properties by providing preventative maintenance and housing repairs. He is a jack of all trades and brings experience in construction, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and fabrication to HomeSpace!. Ireneo says he enjoys the challenge of solving complex repairs and troubleshooting technical issues. He is passionate about his work at HomeSpace because it allows him to tackle these challenges while giving back to the community.