Short Bio

Chervahun Emilien is Vice-President, Finance and Administration at OCAD University, bringing more than 20 years of leadership across public-sector and post-secondary organizations. She has led large-scale finance and shared-services operations, modernized institutional budgeting and systems, strengthened governance and risk practices, and advised boards, Ministers and senior executives on complex financial, regulatory and public-interest decisions. Her career includes regulatory leadership as Superintendent of Insurance and executive sponsorship of major technology transformation. She has served on a Board and Audit Committee, contributing governance, financial oversight and risk expertise, and mentors and develops professionals through upskilling, modernization and organizational transformation.

Detailed Bio

Voluntary work with CPA Ontario or other professional bodies:

Chervahun became a CPA Ontario member in February 2026 and is seeking to contribute to the profession through Council service.

Career achievements:

Chervahun is a CPA, CA and senior public-sector and post-secondary finance executive with more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership, governance, audit, risk, regulation, public accountability and organizational transformation.

She has been appointed Vice-President, Finance and Administration at OCAD University, effective July 27, 2026. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), where she led a broad finance and corporate services portfolio spanning financial operations, budgeting, procurement, policy, internal audit, capital planning, treasury, systems modernization and executive decision support.

At KPU, Chervahun strengthened institutional planning and financial governance by modernizing the budget process, creating the University’s first formal budget document, introducing more structured multi-year planning, helping establish a Capital Committee, and advancing major initiatives including student housing, an Indigenous partnership daycare facility, revenue diversification and the Banner to Cloud transformation.

Before moving into post-secondary leadership, Chervahun held senior executive roles with the Government of the Northwest Territories, including Assistant Comptroller General and Superintendent of Insurance. Her responsibilities included Public Accounts, government-wide financial reporting, financial policy, treasury, tax administration and audit, procurement procedures, insurance regulation, internal controls, risk management, legislative accountability and broader financial governance.

She worked closely with ministers, elected officials, legislative committees, senior executives, auditors, departments, boards and public agencies. Her broader leadership experience included privacy, shared services, capital and space planning, occupational health and safety, records management, and liquor licensing enforcement under territorial legislation.

Other professional accomplishments:

Chervahun qualified as a CPA, CA in Alberta in 2012 and also holds her CPA, CA designation in the Northwest Territories/Nunavut. She is completing a Master of Public Administration through Dalhousie University.

Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary teams of up to 130 employees and complex portfolios spanning finance, shared services, governance, regulation, systems and corporate operations. Her professional experience also includes enterprise risk, treasury, procurement, capital planning, ERP modernization, data analytics, policy development and executive decision support.

Other voluntary service and recognition:

Chervahun served as a board member and Audit Committee member with Prosper NWT, formerly the Business Development and Investment Corporation. Through this service, she contributed to governance, audit oversight, financial accountability and economic development in the Northwest Territories.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority’s year-end audit to completion within the legislated deadline. Her leadership and delivery of this work were recognized by the Northwest Territories Minister of Finance.

Candidate statement

Why are you interested in joining Council?

I am interested in joining CPA Ontario Council because the profession is at an important point of transition. CPAs are being asked to protect public trust, provide sound judgment in complex environments, and help organizations respond to technological, regulatory and business disruption while maintaining strong ethics, governance and accountability.

That is the work that has shaped my career. I began in audit, spent much of my career in government financial reporting, Public Accounts, financial policy, standards interpretation, legislation, regulation and public accountability, and later served as a senior post-secondary finance executive. I have seen how much the public relies on strong financial leadership, not only for compliance, but for confidence in institutions and better decision-making.

As a new CPA Ontario member, I would bring a perspective shaped by public-sector leadership, post-secondary executive experience, regulatory oversight and governance service. I would welcome the opportunity to contribute to Council’s public-interest mandate and to the continued advancement of the profession in Ontario.

I also understand that Council’s role is not operational. It is a governance role that requires judgment, independence, stewardship, and the ability to ask the right questions on behalf of the profession and the public. That is a responsibility I would take seriously.

How do your experiences align with the following skills, attributes and experiences that have been prioritized for incoming members of Council?

• Strategic and Transformational Leadership
• Emerging Technologies
• Board Experience and Governance
• Business Acumen

My experience aligns strongly with the four priority areas identified for incoming Council members. I would bring these skills through a career spent leading finance, governance, regulation, reporting, and transformation in complex public-sector and post-secondary environments.

One example is my work as Chief Financial Officer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In that role, I led a broad finance and corporate services portfolio and supported institutional decision-making through budget modernization, capital planning, procurement, internal audit, risk, policy and systems work. I strengthened the budget process, introduced more structured multi-year planning, supported capital prioritization, and helped advance major institutional initiatives, including student housing, an Indigenous partnership daycare facility, revenue diversification, and the Banner to Cloud transformation. This experience reflects strategic and transformational leadership, business acumen and technology-enabled change.

A second example is my governance and board-facing experience. I have worked closely with boards, Finance and Audit committees, executive teams, ministries, auditors, elected officials and legislative committees. My experience includes board-level reporting, audit oversight, financial sustainability, capital planning, enterprise risk, internal controls, policy decisions and public-sector accountability. I have also served as a board member and Audit Committee member with Prosper NWT, formerly the Business Development and Investment Corporation.

A third example is my regulatory, legislative and public-sector leadership experience with the Government of the Northwest Territories. In senior roles including Assistant Comptroller General and Superintendent of Insurance, my responsibilities included Public Accounts, financial policy, treasury, tax administration and audit, procurement procedures, insurance regulation, privacy, liquor licensing enforcement, risk management and legislative accountability. I also led shared services and corporate services functions involving service transformation, dashboard reporting, data integrity, systems implementation, and operational oversight across large public-sector client groups. These roles required sound judgment, strong stewardship, responsible use of systems and data, and the ability to balance service delivery, compliance, risk, regulation and the public interest.

What is the greatest opportunity and challenge facing the accounting profession and CPA Ontario?

The greatest opportunity is for CPAs to remain trusted leaders as organizations become more complex, data-driven and technology-enabled. CPAs are well positioned to connect financial insight, risk, ethics, governance, strategy and public trust.

The greatest challenge is ensuring that the profession remains relevant, trusted, inclusive and accessible while expectations continue to expand. CPA Ontario has an important role in protecting the public interest, supporting members, strengthening confidence in the profession, and preparing CPAs to lead through change. I would be honoured to contribute to that work.