Meet Our Governance Champions:

Nicole Nameth, Board Director

What’s your full time job?

I work as a Manager at KPMG (which is a big 4 accounting firm) in the Risk Consulting Practice. I am technically an accountant/CPA but spend most of my time these days working on advising organizations about risks as they undergo digital transformation.

How long have you been on the COR board for?

I’ve been on the COR board since June 2018. This is my second term on the board.

How did you first get involved with COR?

I was introduced to COR by Bruce Anderson, who is a faculty member at the U of R that I was a teaching assistant for back when I was a student there. His business strategy class did a project with COR, he later heard COR was looking for board members and thought I might be a good fit, so he reached out to me.

At the time, I was actually working on a project that had me learning a lot about the CBO (Community-Based Organization) sector in the province. Through this project, I was really impacted by some of the stories I was hearing about in terms of lack of access to service, multiple touch points to get proper services, etc.

It’s super cheesy, but the stars essentially aligned with perfect timing. I had just learned about some of these challenges and then was introduced to COR, an organization doing incredible things to overcome these challenges in order to serve people in need. I met with Michael Lavis and John Bailey to learn more and was totally sold on helping out in anyway possible. I applied to the board and the rest is history.

“I love this organization and everything it does in our community! Being even a small part of such an incredible organization is extremely rewarding. I want to see COR continue to succeed in our community and anything I can do to help make that happen is why I am here.”

What are your skills and passion as they relate to being on the COR board?

Generally, I’m passionate about using my skills/education to help people. That’s my approach to my work with my clients on a daily basis and it’s the same as it relates to being on the COR board. My skills generally relate to the business side of things – accounting, governance, risk management, strategic planning, etc. This is the less glamorous stuff, but it’s still so important, and I think in combination with the proper perspective, this stuff can become really valuable and in a way, fun! Maybe that’s a stretch – but thinking about the future direction and opportunities for any organization can be really exciting.

I think being involved in the community is such a rewarding opportunity, and also, selfishly, I get so much fulfilment from being involved with organizations like COR.

What’s so fulfilling about being involved with COR?

It gives me energy and a sense of purpose to be involved in an organization making such a positive impact in our community. I find satisfaction in that feeling of making a small difference, adding value, and doing something positive with my extra time.

What’s the most rewarding part about being on the board?

On the “business” side of the board, it’s continuing to see COR grow and succeed (quite rapidly). Growth for COR is great because it means more people are able to access services and support through COR which is always amazing. On a more personal front, it’s getting to meet people (pre-COVID), learning about the folks COR supports, the supports and teams, etc.

“One of my favourite days being a board member was when Michael took me on a tour to about 10 different COR houses and every house we stopped at, I met a bunch of new smiling folks and could really see the impact COR was making.”

How does your full time job help in your role as a board member?

Part of my full time job is being a Chartered Professional Accountant, which helps me a lot, particularly as it relates to being on COR’s Audit & Finance Committee. More generally, my full time job entails risk consulting and I think this mindset is also of value to COR as it relates to sustainable growth and complex decision making.

Is there anything in particular you would like to see COR do or accomplish in the next 5 years?

Soon I’ll get to be involved in my second round of strategic planning with the COR board. I’m excited to work together to set a direction for the organization for the next 3-5 years. Simply – I would love to see the organization continue to grow and succeed in serving people experiencing disability in our province/city. While growth isn’t the only factor of importance for the next 5 years (maintaining quality is also super key), I do believe that the more people COR can help, the better.

What do you tell people about COR that don’t know anything about the organization? 

Usually I start with how awesome the organization and people are. Then explain what makes COR different (gentle teaching, holistic approach to care, etc.) and why it’s such a difference maker in this sector.