Michelle Hoar
Michelle is responsible for overall management of the Collective, including strategic partnerships, fundraising and funder relations, financial administration, housing industry engagement and knowledge mobilization.
Previous to this, she did public and stakeholder engagement work, largely on housing issues. She is also the co-founder of The Tyee, where she led the business operations of one of Canada’s most highly regarded independent media companies from 2003 through 2016. From 2016 to 2017 she managed The Tyee’s Housing Fix project, a solutions-journalism and civic engagement project focused on Canada’s housing crises. Throughout the multi-year course of the Housing Fix, Michelle worked with a number of partners to organize and facilitate public and stakeholder events on affordable housing: three in Vancouver, one in New Westminster, and one in Ottawa. She continues to be an advisor to The Tyee.

Michelle’s completion of the SFU Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement in 2017 and the IAP2 Foundations program in 2018 (International Association for Public Participation) cemented an interest in utilizing her emerging skills as an engagement facilitator in areas she’s passionate about: affordable housing, social and environmental resilience, and urban planning.
Michelle is the mother of two young daughters, a renter since age 19, and an avid community gardener and cyclist. One of her favourite hobbies is talking to strangers.
Recent posts
‘Silver tsunami’ or golden opportunity?
Interwoven challenges of aging populations, social isolation, rising housing costs, and climate change are unleashing…
Designing resilient and connected housing: Illustrations and insights from our design jam
This article was originally posted on January 2, 2025 at SFU Renewable Cities. Housing is…
Jean talks about the importance of qualitative research and why he writes poetry
What work are you involved in with Hey Neighbour? I’m working with a key partner…
Hey Neighbour Collective at Housing Central 2024
Hey Neighbour joined hundreds of other delegates at Housing Central in November, to chat with…
Building Social Connections in Practice
Communities across Canada face growing challenges—climate change, housing affordability, escalating construction costs, loneliness and social…
Looking back one year ago: A Place Like Home symposium
Last year, on November 15th, 2023, the Hey Neighbour Collective co-sponsored an all-day student research…