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Ottawa Board of Trade Adds Two Influential Women to Growing List of Leaders Who Have Volunteered for More Than a Year for Small Business

For Immediate Release: On March 24th, Ottawa Board of Trade (OBoT) welcomes Lise Sarazin, Executive Director of Le Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale (RGA), Ottawa Gatineau’s francophone chamber of commerce and Michelle Groulx, Executive Director of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA) to new roles.

Sarazin and Groulx, already active with OBoT, will move to the SME Council (small and medium sized enterprises) effective immediately, joining other influential business leaders (list below) who have spent more than a year advising CEO Sueling Ching on what was needed during a crisis.

“As we start to look to Ottawa’s rebound because of the vaccine distribution, I can’t say enough about the tremendous volunteer efforts of some of our community champions who not only kept running their own businesses but dedicated themselves to quietly helping others,” says Ching.

As OBoT is the Voice for Business, Ching has taken that input to help influence policy decisions at every level. Other OBoT groups, like the CEO Council and the Talent Recruitment Council have also been working diligently, even before the COVID-19 crisis. As a key connector and collaborator, Ching has also worked with other Ontario chambers, Ottawa Public Health, Invest Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism and the City of Ottawa, to name just some.

Says OBoT Board Chair Ian Sherman, “At a board level, the eyes and ears of our volunteer leaders have been invaluable for us to make informed decisions about how we could help. We made an important decision when COVID-19 hit to not just assist our members but to advocate for all businesses.”

Here are those volunteers:

 

Ottawa Board of Trade, Board of Directors:                             Ottawa Board of Trade, Economic Growth  Council:  

Craig Bater                                                                                      Amanda-Lyn Smith

Wayne French                                                                                Ingrid Argyle

Shelley True                                                                                    Karen Butterfield

Priya Bhaloo                                                                                    Rob Campbell

Greg Skotnicki                                                                                 Nick Quain

Mark Nisbett                                                                                    Kumar Saha

Brendon McGuinty                                                                         Jeff Snyder

Sally Douglas                                                                                  Peter Van Roon

Erin Crowe                                                                                       Rob Woodbridge

Erin Benjamin                                                                                 Carole Anne Piccinin

Megan Wallace                                                                              Shawn Hamilton

Karla Briones                                                                                  Brian Simpson

Andrew Arnott                                                                                Nathalie Pulcine

David Coletto                                                                                  Karen Brownrigg

 

Ottawa Board of Trade, SME Council:                                       Ottawa Board of Trade, CEO Council:   

Andrew Scott                                                                                   David Ross

Shelley True                                                                                     Francoise Gagnon

Andrew Penny                                                                                 Greg Hiscock

Dave Donaldson                                                                              Hugh Gorman

Jarrod Goldsmith                                                                             Ian Sherman

Jessica Zhang Chapman                                                                John Liptak

Karla Briones                                                                                    John Proctor

Kimothy Walker                                                                               Julie Taggart

Lee Underwood                                                                               Kevin Ford

Lise Sarazin                                                                                       Lise Sarazin

Lynn Johnston                                                                                  Mark Gouldie

Margo Crawford                                                                               Michael Waters

Michelle Groulx                                                                                Neil Malhotra

Nancy Morris                                                                                    Paul Wood

Rick Chase                                                                                        Rob Woodbridge

Warren Wilkinson                                                                            Ross Meredith

Shawn Hamilton

Steve Gordon

Ottawa Board of Trade, Talent Council:  Wendy Trudel 

James Baker

Ingrid Argyle

Karen Butterfield

Roddy Bolivar

Brent Moore

Cathy McCallion

Sharon Rowan

Julie Bélanger

Andrea Greenhous

 

To speak to CEO Sueling Ching about this, or anything related to issues impacting businesses of any size:

Kimothy Walker

613.859.3753

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