Lisa Helps was a 2006 Trudeau Scholar. She was co-president of the Alumni Committee and also served on the Foundation Board of Directors from March 2020 to November 2021.
Lisa is currently working as Executive Lead, Project Acceleration at BC Housing. Prior to this, as Executive Lead BC Builds Project Origination, she co-led the development and implementation of BC Builds, a housing funding, financing and acceleration program that uses public land, low-cost financing, and other innovative tools to get more housing built more quickly for working people in B.C. Previously she was the Housing Solutions Advisor to British Columbia Premier Eby. Prior to that she was a two-term Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia. As Mayor, Lisa worked hard to create deep collaboration across the community to get Victoria ready for the future. She also built strong connections across the province as founding Co-Chair of the BC Urban Mayors Caucus to advance shared priorities for cities. Areas of focus included economic development and prosperity, housing, climate action, resilient infrastructure, and reconciliation.
Lisa is also a Canadian Urban Leader the University of Toronto School of Cities and teaches Leading Urban Change at the University of Toronto. She is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Urban Institute. She is also chair of the board of the Fernwood Community and Arts Association which runs the Little Fernwood Building, a neighbourhood-scale arts, culture and performance venue and community gathering space.
