Recently Siloam Mission's CEO, Tessa Blaikie-Whitecloud took on a new position working for Manitoba's premier which has their previous director stepping into the interim position.
Julianne Aitken has been with Siloam for the past eight years working as the Director of Services. She is currently the interim CEO as the board looks for someone to fill the position permanently.
"Tessa has been amazing to work with," says Aitken. "She's been an excellent leader, she's got a lot of passion and is just an amazing human being. I've learned a lot from her in my own professional development. I think she's set us up in a really good way. We've got lots of structures and pieces in place, with our strategic plan, our housing plan, and our commitments to truth and reconciliation."
Aitken says as she looks to the future of Siloam and helping people needing their services, the housing plan will be the main focus during her time as interim CEO.
"I grew up in a family where it was really important to match your actions to your faith. That sort of set me on a trajectory, whether it was my education and then getting into social work, and being in CFS and the work that I did there. Understanding our role as Christians and as people in society to stand up for injustice and speak out when things aren't right."
Aitken says she doesn't know how long it will take to find someone to take over as a permanent CEO, but that the board at Siloam is committed to finding the right person for the job.
"I think what's really important to the board, to me, and to leadership, is that nothing is rushed. As an organization, they want us to run smoothly and continue doing what we already started."