Boyden's Kevin Gregor and Morgan Campbell co-led the recruitment of new CEO, Jennie Deneka
Written by David Parker. This article was originally published by Calgary Herald. Click here to view the original article.
The retirement of CEO Lawrence Braul in December, after more than 20 years serving Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta (TPFA), meant the board under chair Susan Mullie had to find a replacement quickly to lead the organization during a time of real growth.
With the assistance of the executive search team at Boyden, Jennie Deneka was hired as interim CEO. With extensive experience in the sector she was able to hit the ground running, and has now been appointed the foundation’s permanent CEO.
Deneka graduated as a registered nurse in Winnipeg. After moving to Calgary she began her career in seniors care, working at an executive level with a wide variety of service providers including Rivera, responsible for Alberta and B.C. operations, with Pacific Reach Seniors Housing Management in Vancouver, and as executive director for Carewest’s Forest Grove Care Centre on 8th Avenue S.E.
During her more than 20 years working with seniors, Deneka earned her master’s in leadership training and graduate certificate in project management from Royal Roads University, as well as spending time with Alberta Health Services in leadership and organizational development positions.
She took a break last year to be with family, but when Boyden came knocking she was easily convinced to accept the interim position at TPFA. Deneka settled in quickly and, enjoying the challenges, decided to apply for the permanent post.
The board was thrilled with her decision and she took over her new position April 1.
It is an exciting time for TPFA, which is still settling into new offices in the Beltline Ribtor building along 11th Avenue S.E., since moving from its home of many years in downtown’s Carter Place.
Now, all of the leadership team of 10 are conveniently located on the main floor.
TPFA has hired a new director for the under-construction, $35-million Templemont facility in the northeast; completion this fall will mean TPFA will offer homes in all four quadrants of the city.
The two buildings, designed by Zeidler Architecture and built by Graham Construction, have a common courtyard over a 76-vehicle parkade, plus surface parking complete with electric vehicle plug-ins.
Templemont will provide 50 one- and two-bedroom suites with kitchens in a four-storey building, and 70 units for supportive living in the other, with a dining room on each floor to encourage social interaction.
There will be a medical clinic on site, and the central meeting hall will be a worship space for St. George’s Anglican and Prince of Faith Lutheran churches.
Marketing for the new property will be launched May 1 when a show suite will be available to tour prospective tenants.
More supportive care has meant hiring an educator to provide specialty mental-health and addiction programs for both Templemont and its Peter Coyle Place, a 70-unit supportive-living facility at 5700 3rd Street S.W.
Along with the board, Deneka and her team are also busy discussing a potential partnership with the Kerby Centre for it to provide programs for its Murdoch Manor tenants to address isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic — programs that might help them benefit from the use of Wi-Fi and iPads to reduce loneliness.
Established in 1974 in response to a need for subsidized housing for seniors in Calgary, TPFA now boasts 18 buildings within the city. But the organization offers much more than housing as it strives to provide safe and stable environments in which residents are connected with a network of services to meet their individual needs.
Notes:
The Calgary Philharmonic’s Ad Astra capital campaign kicked off in October with a magnanimous $1-million donation from Dr. John Lacey, the campaign’s honorary chair. Over the past few months, it has received almost $1 million more and, recently, longtime arts and CPO supporter Mary Rozsa de Coquet and the Rozsa Foundation endowed the orchestra’s resident conductor position through a major gift to the foundation. The goal of the foundation is to grow the endowment by $25 million over the next five years, which will provide a stable source of revenue allowing the orchestra to plan ahead with a focus on providing quality performance, education and outreach programs.
David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at info@davidparker.ca.
