Welcome to the Community Power Fund
The Community Power Fund (CP Fund) was established in 2007 to support project development activities of Ontario-based community organizations pursuing local renewable energy projects, through the provision of a number of financing instruments to support community power, including grants, loans and investment equity.

Corporate Structure
The Fund is incorporated as a non-profit, co-operative corporation. The Community Power Fund is governed by a 10 member Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for hiring and managing the CPF Executive Director, selecting the Technical Evaluation Committee members, and making the final approval decisions on the applications received.

The Executive Director manages the daily operations of the CPF and works to promote the CPF. She is assisted by staff members who are responsible for daily office administration and for helping fund and grant applicants.

Community Power Fund Directors

Eugene Ellmen Chair of the Board, has served as Executive Director of the Social Investment Organization, a national association for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), since 1999. He is one of Canada's leading experts on SRI. Author of the critically acclaimed Canadian Ethical Money Guide, he has an extensive background in journalism, and in communications and public affairs with the financial industry, government and in private consulting.

Beth Coates Vice-Chair of the Board, has seventeen years experience as the Financial Manager of CAIC (Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative), a faith based investment fund that has been providing financing to the non profit and charitable sector across Canada since 1984. Beth is a chartered accountant who also has extensive experience as a financial analyst and corporate risk manager. 

Jens Lohmueller, the CPF Treasurer, is a founding partner in Community Partners Group and CU Consulting Group. His expansive 20 year background in finance covers the German and Canadian Credit Union system, as well as years with Deutsche Bank in Canada. With Community Partners and CU Consulting it is his goal to partner community financial capacity building with an enhanced market reach for community owned financial institutions. He has studied Economics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, the University of Western Ontario and concluded his studies with a Masters degree in Environmental and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph.

Denyse Guy is the Executive Director of the Ontario Co-operative Association. She holds a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Waterloo (B.E.S.) and a diploma in Business Management from Humber College. For close to 30 years, she has worked in the fields of community development and private consulting with co-operatives, mutual insurance companies, and non-profit organizations across Canada and overseas in Africa and India.

Ed Hale has been a leader in the establishment of renewable energy co-operatives in Ontario. In 1999 as the Executive Director of TREC, he directed the difficult process of planning, permitting and constructing a wind turbine in downtown Toronto. Ed has served as a Director on the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association Board and has worked to promote the establishment of community owned energy initiatives across Ontario. Ed is also the President of Lakewind Power, which is developing a 10 MW wind venture on the Lake Huron shore near Kincardine, Ontario.

Richard Corley is a Partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto. His practice is focused on the intersection of law and technology, with a specific focus on the clean technology (CleanTech) and information technology industries. Richard has more than 25 years of experience in structuring and negotiating creative solutions to complex commercial arrangements and assisting entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. He has acted as lead counsel in advising corporations on complex outsourcing transactions, joint ventures, CleanTech and other technology acquisitions, technology-related competition law matters, and other commercial and corporate law matters. He is a partner in the Firm's CleanTech, Information Technology, Business and Competition Groups and co-head of the Information Technology Group.

Peter Korth is President and founder of Lake Point Energy, which develops clean tech businesses, renewable power projects and raises associated financing. Lake Point also advises companies, utilities, cities/towns and regional governments in the establishment and growth of their renewable projects and programs. Prior to Lake Point , Peter lead the initial public offering and management of several energy investment funds including Transalta Power LP and, as CFO, the Clean Power Income Fund, one of the first and largest pure play renewable investment funds in North America. He has developed a broad range of conventional and renewable power projects including wind, solar, biomass, biogas and hydro and has raised over $2 billion in associated financing. In addition, Peter created and managed a number of Joint Ventures and Partnerships, including an $800M offshore private equity fund for US institutional investors. Earlier in Peter's career, he was responsible for business development at Magna International, and mergers and acquisitions at Indal limited, one of Canada's largest holding companies. He has also served as Director on the National Board of the Canada China Business Council.  

Special Advisors to the Board

Edward Waitzer is a Partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto, where he served as chair from 1999 to 2006. His practice focuses on complex business transactions, acquisitions and restructurings, as well as advising in respect of various public policy and governance matters. He has also been very active on accounting and corporate governance issues and leads our Corporate Governance Group. He has served as a member of the firm's Executive Committee and Partnership Board. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Waitzer was vice-president of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Community Power Fund Past Directors
Jed Goldberg is the President of Earth Day Canada, a national environmental communications organization mandated to improve the state of the environment by empowering Canadians to achieve local solutions. He has significant expertise in solar energy through his involvement with WISE (the West end Initiative for Solar Energy) and the Toronto District School Board solar initiative.

Jaret Henhoeffer was recruited in 2002 to be the founding Manager of the Perth Community Futures Development Corporation. Jaret has played a key role in the creation of Countryside Energy Co-operative and has written and/or spoken on many topics including Renewable Energy Policy, Access to Capital, Community Owned Wind Energy, and Anaerobic Digestion. Jaret has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Brian Iler is a lawyer and partner in the six-lawyer law firm Iler Campbell LLP in Toronto. As a commercial lawyer, he has advised and encouraged many Ontario co-operatives over the past 32 years, and acted as counsel to OnCo-op and its predecessor since 1985. In that capacity, Brian has been centrally involved in negotiating the steady stream of improvements to the Co-operative Corporations Act and the offering statement regime. He also has extensive experience through his work on other boards, including the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association and Greenpeace boards.

Brent Kopperson is the founder and Executive Director of the Windfall Ecology Centre, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to building sustainable communities. Brent is also a founding director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) and the Community Power Fund. He has a significant record of accomplishment in business, organization development, and community service and graduated from York University with an Honours Degree in Business Administration in 1978.

Michael Lewkowitz is an accomplished venture builder with over a decade of experience as founder, manager, professional investor, and advisor to emerging entities with a vision. He has served as a venture partner at an energy and efficiency finance company and has founded a non-profit organization and serveral private sector ventures. He is currently focused on co-creating entities and initiatives in service of restoring balance among people and the planet and sits on the board of directors of Communicopia, Windfall Ecology Centre and the Ontario Community Power Fund.

Community Power Fund Staff
Deborah Doncaster is the CP Fund Executive Director. She was the founding Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association formed in 2001. Under Deborah's leadership, OSEA accomplished the delivery of a Standard Offer Contract Program for Ontario. She was also one of three Project Developers with the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative and worked on their Exhibition Place turbine project on Toronto's waterfront. Deborah holds degrees in Philosophy, Law and Environmental Planning.

 Laurie Arron is Program Director at Community Power Fund for the Community Energy Partnerships Program. Laurie previously served as Executive Director of the Green Party of Canada, the National Coordinator of Canadians for Equal Marriage and the Director of Advocacy for Egale Canada. Before that, he was a lawyer at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and managed real estate development projects for CN Real Estate. Laurie has an MBA from UBC and a law degree from the University of Toronto.

Jenn Gaudette for the past five years, Jenn has led, designed and delivered renewable energy and energy conservation programs including Go Solar, a residential solar education program delivered by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and an energy savings program in rural Newfoundland. Jenn has previously worked as a communications coordinator for the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association and as program manager for the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative. Jenn acquired her BA honours degree in Environmental Studies from Trent University in 2000. These studies took her to the Fallsbrook Centre in New Brunswick and the Universidad de Oriente in Santiago, Cuba to develop her community energy knowledge base. Jenn holds a Masters in Environmental Studies degree from York University focused on organizing and education for community power.

Meghan MacLennan is Program Manager at CP Fund for the Community Energy Partnerships Program. She graduated from Ryerson University with a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration in 2006 and has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Waterloo. She has done significant research on wind power and public policy in the province of Ontario, and worked as an intern for the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association before joining the CPF in August 2007.

Evan Ferrari is Program Manager at CP Fund for the Community Energy Partnerships Program. He has been the manager of a Green Community Initiative and held managerial and leadership positions in the fields of waste management, water conservation and energy conservation, including (Past) President of the WindShare Cooperative - owners of the first North American urban windmill at Exhibition Place in Toronto. As the Director, Parks & Protected Areas for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Wildlands League he took the lead for the environmental non-governmental-organization sector in creating a new Ontario Parks Act in 2007. Evan received the Governor General Canada 125 Award for his work on environmental initiatives.

Laura Tozer is Program Manager at CP Fund for the Community Energy Partnerships Program. She has a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Guelph and a Masters in Geography and Environmental Studies focused on community based renewable energy from the University of Toronto. She has significant experience researching renewable energy, social friction in wind power development, and community power.  Before joining the CEPP, Laura worked as a researcher for a leading climate change adaptation and vulnerability research group at the University of Guelph. Laura has been a speaker on climate change science and politics and an organizer of national conferences for youth on climate change and environmental career development.

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