Board of Directors 2024-25

Ann has lived in Yellowknife since 1986 and has more than 30 years of experience in architectural design, project management, and community planning in the North. Over the years Ann has contributed to a number of local volunteer organizations including Folk on the Rocks, the Old Stope Association, the City of Yellowknife Heritage Committee, the Yellowknife Guild of Arts and Crafts, and the Development Appeal Board of the City of Yellowknife. Outside of work and volunteer activities, Ann produces and teaches pottery, reads and walks a lot, and dreams of traveling to other countries again soon. Yellowknife is home for Ann, and she is honored to be a Community Director with such a dedicated and knowledgeable team who believes that everyone needs a home. 

Matthew is a CPA with a B.A. in History from the University of Lethbridge. He is currently the controller for Aurora Geosciences and worked previously in Yellowknife with both Great Slave Helicopters and the Union of Northern Workers.  He has been in accounting for nearly 20 years and has been dealing with the unique business opportunities and conditions in the north for 14. He has previous volunteer board experience with the Yellowknife Daycare Association and Yellowknife Adult Soccer League. He enjoys cross country skiing, soccer, canoeing, and camping with his wife and two children in his spare time.

Lorne Gushue was raised and educated in Nova Scotia and came north from Acadia University for two months in 1991.  He has worked as an educator and as a territorial public servant.

He has given time and energy to a diverse number of causes.  He was a co-founder, board member and spokesperson for OutNorth, and a board member of AIDS Yellowknife.  He was active on several local and national pride committees within the organized labour movement.  In these organizations he advocated for equality and awareness and promoted social justice.

He is a long-time member of the Yellowknife Choral Society and has been active in several community theatre companies.  He volunteered with the Yellowknife unit of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, providing essential marine search and rescue on Great Slave Lake.

Austin came to the NWT from Ontario in 1983 with his spouse Margaret and their two young children.  After 4 years with the Department of Justice of the GNWT where he served as a legal counsel and then the Director of Legal Division and the Public Trustee, he returned to private practice and built a practice which focuses on labour and employment law and professional regulation. He is active in the committee work of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories and the NWT branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

Austin is a member of the Rotary Club of Yellowknife.  He is a past president and maintains his commitment to service to the community through his work on Club committees and local projects.

Austin’s recreational activities include going for a run to keep himself fit and relaxed, and cross-country skiing in the winter months.  His boyhood experiences of fishing with a family member have turned into a passion for fishing with a fly rod in the summer months. 

Austin learned about the Northern United Place through his membership in the United Church.  He welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the management of NUP affairs as a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Services Corporation.

Barb has been a Yellowknife resident since 1980 and raised two sons here with her husband, Emery. An active member of Yellowknife United Church, she has sat on various standing and ad-hoc committees, chaired the Board for a term and served on the Board for about 25 years. Other volunteer activities include serving on the Boards of the YWCA and the Yellowknife Film Society, coordinating the YWCA Meals-on-Wheels team for 35 years, chairing several school Parent Advisory Councils and doing numerous clean-ups of the Ingraham Trail. Over the years, Barb has worked for the federal government, non-profit organizations, the territorial government, and private industry and done contract work. Now she is happy to contribute her skills as a church member of the CSC to help ensure that Northern United Place can continue to provide affordable housing to the citizens of Yellowknife long into the future.

Gordon is a long-term northerner who enjoys the Yellowknife lifestyle and particularly the access to the land that it offers. He and his wife, Karen, are inveterate travellers and enjoy camping and time at their cabin. Together they have raised 3 children. Since retiring from the government in 2012, Gordon has had more time to pursue various volunteer activities that contribute to the community. He is a past President of this Board and is committed to the Corporation's mandate of providing social housing and community space.

Pertice has lived in Yellowknife since 1990. She has raised her children here and one of her greatest joys is spending time with her grandsons. She has a passion for ways to improve health and well-being in the NWT that has been actioned through her practice as a nurse, researcher and health educator. She was a Board member with the Registered Nurses Association of NT/NU, the Canadian Nursing Association, Western North/Western Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, and the Research Advisory Committee, Aurora Research Institute. She has volunteered within the community with Folk on the Rocks, Polar Bear Swim Club and Yellowknife Quilters. Pertice enjoys walking her dog, chatting with her cat, and quilting. She recognizes the many influences on health and wellness and is honoured to be a part of this Board providing affordable housing for residents in Yellowknife.