GNAG’s executive directors, past and present
Mary Tsai was the first of only two GNAG executive directors, leading for 26 years until Sarah Routliffe took over in 2022.
GNAG’s executive directors, past and present
By Brian L. Cox
The Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG) has had only two executive directors since the first full-time position was established in 1996.
Mary Tsai was the inaugural director, and she led GNAG through a time of significant expansion and growth before stepping down in 2022. She passed the baton to Sarah Routliffe, who has continued to build on the strong foundation Tsai helped establish.
With GNAG’s 50th anniversary approaching in May, Tsai and Routliffe took some time to reflect on where the organization has been, where it’s going and what GNAG has meant to them and the community it serves.
“This place is very near and dear to me,” said Tsai. GNAG “has helped me grow as a person and helped nurture my family.” Both executive directors say the Glebe Community Centre that houses GNAG is often regarded as the “community’s living room” and that it should feel like home.
Before Tsai worked directly for a neighbourhood activities group, she was a program coordinator for the City of Ottawa. This was at a time when the municipal government was actively fostering and encouraging the growth of neighbourhood organizations.
Jack Purcell, McNabb, Glebe and many others were set up or expanded during this time. Tsai recalls that the goal for the City was to essentially “work themselves out of a job” as each community group gradually became self-sufficient.
The first full-time position at GNAG was created around the same time that the municipal Department of Recreation and Culture was restructured. As the inaugural executive director and initial full-time employee, Tsai was hired at a pivotal juncture in the organization’s expansion. For the next 26 years, her unwavering leadership and tireless energy helped GNAG grow to become an integral feature of the Glebe community.
Sarah Routliffe took over as executive director a few months after Tsai’s retirement. Although Routliffe was often told she has big shoes to fill, the pair jokingly point out they have the same shoe size and that Routliffe has literally worn Tsai’s actual shoes!
Before accepting the job at GNAG, Routliffe worked for about 15 years with the Jack Purcell Recreation Association. She started there as a counsellor before advancing to the role of supervisor and then director of children’s programming. Routliffe went on to be hired as the general manager and then, like Mary Tsai at GNAG, she was appointed as the inaugural executive director for Jack Purcell.
After spending so long with Jack Purcell and guiding that neighbourhood recreation association through a sustained era of growth and expansion, Routliffe recalls that she felt “it was time to try something different.” Although the work tempo at GNAG is significantly higher, she says the “great team of full-time employees makes the pace more manageable.”
Routliffe emphasizes that one of her top priorities as director is to identify “opportunities to be creative in the programming we offer” at GNAG. Doing so, she observes, requires “striking the right balance between program costs and community services.”
Another priority that requires considerable time and attention is fundraisers such as Taste in the Glebe, the craft fair and the house tour. Money raised from these and similar events goes toward the Community Development Fund (CDF) that is used for initiatives such as GNAG’s financial assistance program, capital expenditures at the Glebe Community Centre, integration care and outreach projects.
One recent capital venture funded in part by the CDF was the redevelopment of the preschool playground at the community centre. In recognition of the inaugural executive director’s decades of dedication to GNAG, the playground was named Mary Tsai Park, and a plaque was installed to commemorate her extensive record of community service.
Tsai says the community centre “is an extension of my family.” Her tireless efforts building and expanding upon the foundation of the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group played a vital role in ensuring many others in the community share this sentiment.
Routliffe has suggested that GNAG “embodies the beating heart of the Glebe.” As the 50th anniversary approaches, the steadfast dedication of GNAG employees and volunteers, past and present, will help ensure it remains so well into the future.
Dr. Brian L. Cox is a graduate Master of Journalism student at Carleton as well as an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School, a research fellow at the Centre for International Law and Defence Policy at Queen’s University and a retired judge advocate in the U.S. army.