{"id":54191,"date":"2025-05-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=54191"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:00:00","slug":"joanne-bernard-named-halifax-chamber-chairperson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=54191","title":{"rendered":"Joanne Bernard named Halifax Chamber chairperson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;237&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;238&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HALIFAX:<\/strong> The Halifax Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome its 2025-2026 Chair of the Board, Joanne Bernard, former Member of the house of Assembly of Nova Scotia and CEO of Easter Seals, an award-winning chartitable organization that enhances the independence and quality of life of Canadians living with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Announced at the Annual General Meeting on April 30, Bernard succeeds Past-Chair, Ann Divine, Founder and CEO of Ashanti Leadership and Professional Development Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Halifax Chamber is pleased to welcome Joanne to the Chair of the Board position,\u201d says Patrick Sullivan, President and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJoanne brings a commitment to community impact and inclusive leadership, drawn from her remarkable work in public service and as CEO of Easter Seals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Her longstanding dedication to accessibility, inclusive employment and community leadership aligns strongly with the Chamber\u2019s Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives and will help us continue to create a space where all members can thrive and feel represented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;31&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;6&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bernard is a recognized leader in the not-for-profit sector and a passionate advocate for accessibility and inclusive employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As CEO of Easter Seals and through her years in public service, she has championed opportunities for Nova Scotians with disabilities and women in leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m truly honoured to step into this role,\u201d says Joanne Bernard. \u201cThe Chamber has long been a champion for Halifax\u2019s business community, and I\u2019m excited to build on that momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m looking forward to supporting the Chamber\u2019s efforts to build a business community where inclusion, collaboration, and compassion lead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;71&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;148&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/halifaxchamber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Report-of-the-2025-2026-Nominating-Committee.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Meet the full 2025-2026 Halifax Chamber Board of Directors<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Officers:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joanne Bernard, Easter Seals Nova Scotia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Donna Harding, Engel &amp; V\u00f6lkers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ann Divine, Ashanti Leadership<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kimberly Stephens, High Liner Foods<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Katherine Risley, KBRS &amp; Meridia Recruitment Solutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mahmoud Mirmehrabi, SolidStatePharma<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Members:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heath Moore, Doane Grant Thornton<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ifeanyi Emesih, My East Coast Experience Media Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nancy Foran, ESG Partners<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wade Keller, Labatt Brewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caroline Wolfe Stewart, Nova Scotia College of Nursing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martina Kelades, Life Out Loud \u2013 Mental Health Consulting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mohammad Ali Raza, Cox &amp; Palmer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Denise Daley, Nasore Personalized Wellness<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wyatt White, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi\u2019kmaq<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nadia Middleton, Middleton Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jon Legatto, O\u2019Regan\u2019s Automative Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Captain (N) Annick Fortin, Maritime Forces Atlantic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colleen O\u2019Toole, Lighthouse Transportation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David Randell, Stewart McKelvey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roberto Menendes, BMO Commercial Bank<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Wooden, Dalhousie Management Career Services<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jennifer Parker, Nova Scotia Power<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;188&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;92&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;237&#8243;] [adrotate banner=&#8221;238&#8243;] HALIFAX: The Halifax Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome its 2025-2026 Chair of the Board, Joanne Bernard, former Member of the house of Assembly of Nova Scotia and CEO of Easter Seals, an award-winning chartitable organization that enhances the independence and quality of life of Canadians living with disabilities. Announced [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[957],"tags":[5446,50,935,8319,48],"class_list":["post-54191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-easter-seals","tag-halifax","tag-halifax-chamber-of-commerce","tag-joanne-bernard","tag-n-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}