The Northumberland County Housing Corporation (NCHC) is welcoming two new citizen members to its Board of Directors. On Wednesday, Northumberland County Council approved the appointment of Maryam Mohajer-Ashjai and Jacqueline Pennington to fill citizen vacancies in the skills-based Board, which oversees operations related to the NCHC’s portfolio of over 373 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) and affordable rental units across Northumberland County.
The NCHC Board of Directors is comprised of two County Council representatives, the County Chief Administrative Officer, and nine citizen Directors . The Board is responsible for overseeing the NCHC budget, upholding corporate by-laws, agreements and reports, and to lead long-range strategic planning for the organization.
“County Council is pleased to welcome Maryam Mohajer-Ashjai and Jacqueline Pennington to the NCHC Board of Directors,” states County Warden Brian Ostrander. “These individuals bring extensive technical skills and valuable knowledge to the table. Their unique backgrounds and expertise will provide significant value to the important work of NCHC, as the organization seeks to grow the local stock of affordable housing in Northumberland.”
Maryam Mohajer-Ashjai has been practicing law in Ontario since 2002. Maryam started her career in Bay Street and is the founder of the Toronto-based law firm Mohajer Jung LLP. Her practice currently focuses on real estate, property development, condominium and corporate law. Maryam is also a member of the Board of Directors for a number of childcare and private school facilities in Thornhill and Toronto, and is an owner and director of numerous development and construction projects in Northumberland and the Greater Toronto Area.
Jacqueline Pennington is a Realtor and landlord, with a unique skillset and experience in working with tenants and understanding relevant legislation. Jacqueline and her family reside in Grafton. Since her teenage years, she has served on several non-profit boards in the community. Recently, alongside her family, she has chaired Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s first capital campaign, raising money for their Baltimore build project.
“After rigorous review of applications received in fall 2023, these two individuals were selected from a highly-competitive group of well-qualified candidates,” states Chair of the NCHC Board of Directors Victor Fiume. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Mohajer-Ashjai and Ms. Pennington. With an ambitious year of expanded programming and new affordable housing builds ahead of us, we look forward to working with these new members, as well as County Council, staff and our community partners, to build brighter futures for Northumberland residents.”
During today’s meeting of County Council, Council also appointed Councillor Mandy Martin to the NCHC Board, filling the seat being vacated by Brian Ostrander as he takes on new duties as Warden for Northumberland. Councillor John Logel remains on the board as the second representative of County Council.
For more information about the NCHC, visit //Northumberland.ca/NCHC.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
