Deirdre Freiheit to receive honorary degree from Algonquin College

Posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

While mom is her favourite role, Deirdre Freiheit leads one of Ottawa’s largest organizations for individuals who are experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed. As the president and chief executive officer of Shepherds of Good Hope and the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation, Freiheit strives to ensure appropriate services and housing options are available to adults with complex needs who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

Shepherds of Good Hope has developed innovative solutions that reduce harm in Ottawa by supporting vulnerable individuals through specialized services, programs and partnerships. In addition to operating the largest adult shelter and the only one in Ottawa for individuals of all genders, Shepherds of Good Hope offers a range of services to those in need and is one of the largest supportive housing providers in our city.

“We feed a lot of people in the community who experience food insecurity, these individuals might be able to pay for their rent, but they may not be able to make their cheque stretch far enough to be able to pay for food,” explained Freiheit.

Shepherds of Good Hope’s meal program provides hundreds of meals and thousands of sandwiches and snacks every week, all year round. The strong partnership with Algonquin College’s culinary department plays a large role in the creation of these meals.

“Algonquin College culinary students prepare about 750 sandwiches a week for us, and three to four lunch meals per week as well,” said Freiheit. “Algonquin College is a valuable partner for us and helps us address food insecurity in the Ottawa community.”

Freiheit’s incredible leadership is one of the main reasons Shepherds of Good Hope can support the range and volume of clients that it does today. She accredits much of this success to her ‘servant leader’ and ‘player’s coach’ leadership styles, which creates a healthy and collaborative work environment for employees. She is proud to work with an exceptional team of people throughout Shepherds of Good Hope.

“I hire people with skills that complement mine. Our diversity of thought and skills make the organization stronger,” she explained. “I like to hire people who share the same values to achieve alignment with the vision, mission and organizational values. This allows us to provide our services in the best way possible for the people who require them.”

Freiheit encourages her colleagues to lead in their own roles and gives them the freedom to do so.

“I think people become great leaders when they have great mentors,” said Freiheit. “You have to be willing to seek out people you admire and then connect with them to learn how they lead, how they inspire their teams, what their values are, and what sort of education and training they have.”

“Great leaders can come in many forms. It’s important for you to get to know your team and hire from within when you can. Pay attention to those little golden nuggets that flow from people who may not always be the most exuberant or extroverted but have excellent leadership qualities,” explained Freiheit. “You could overlook a great leader if you aren’t looking out for that.”

Freiheit knows good leaders are lifelong learners. New graduates have the benefit of recent learning and education and should seek leadership opportunities in the workplace.

Learning also comes in many forms such as staying on top of current subject matter literature, webinars, conferences, on-line and in class learning. She encourages graduates to seek out mentors, to find people they admire and respect and discover new ways to learn from them as well.

“Don’t limit mentorship to one person,” said Freiheit. “Like leaders, mentors come in many forms and have diverse skills. You can also be a good leader and mentor yourself. You can demonstrate this to others in any role you undertake, from an entry level position straight through to the C Suite.”

To conclude, Freiheit shared three pieces of advice for Algonquin College’s Class of 2023.

“First, don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know everything. People will respect you for being honest and demonstrating humility in your approach to work,” said Freiheit. “Second, be willing to try new things, don’t be afraid of failure. Any mistake I’ve ever made has been a learning opportunity and has helped me to grow as a person and leader.”

Lastly, Freiheit encouraged Algonquin College graduates to continue being curious.

“Be a lifelong learner, embrace trying something new and try it again if it doesn’t go as planned. Learning doesn’t stop when you get your degree or diploma; in fact, it’s just the beginning.”

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