mEET OUR bOARD OF DIRECTORS

MOBILE FOOD MARKET BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair of The Board and Acting Treasurer

Nancy Mansfield

Nancy is Chartered Professional Accountant and former entrepreneur…

  • A Chartered Professional Accountant and former entrepreneur, Nancy has over 25 years of experience in accounting and finance. She has worked with a variety of organizations – spanning diverse industry sectors such as retail and service based entities to non-profits and manufacturers.

    Providing outsourced CFO/Controller Services since 2012, Nancy is a detail oriented problem solver, with a demonstrated track record in monitoring organization performance and highlighting significant trends. Other areas of expertise include cash management, compliance filings (HST/Payroll/WCB and Tax), month end close process, budgeting, cost

General Member

Robert McMichael

Robert is passionate about finding innovative ways to address social challenges…

  • Robert is passionate about finding innovative ways to address social challenges in his community. At the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, he leads projects that focus on improving access to care and advancing health equity across the province. In his work, he emphasizes the role of frontline employees, cross-sector collaboration, and long-term thinking to create meaningful and lasting change. He recently completed a master’s in Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge where he explored how the Nova Scotia School Lunch Program was developed and implemented across the province. Robert is eager to help strengthen Mobile Food Market’s ties to the community and support its efforts to deliver fresh, affordable food in ways that are sustainable, equitable, and responsive to local needs.

General Member

Arvind Babajee

Arvind is a multi-skilled professional in various industries…

  • Arvind Babajee is a multi-skilled professional who commands more than 20 years of experience in various industries. He has held different leadership positions in various companies, including management consulting, financial services, corporate & offshore banking, tax planning, M&A, corporate & transactions advisory.

    The most exciting aspect of his job is that it covered all sectors and enabled him to work with various sector specialists all around the globe. This global connectivity and collective knowledge added tremendous value to his professional skills, eventually benefiting his clients. 

    AB is a qualified Fellow Chartered Management Accountant - FCMA & CGMA from the CIMA, UK & AICPA, USA. He is also a jurist and has an LL.M /Master of Laws from King’s College London, UK. He completed his MBA International from the Univ of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France. He is a Senior Executive Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge USA, and an Associate of King’s College (AKC), UK. 

General Member

Crystal John

Crystal is a Social Worker with a passion for community development…

  • Crystal John is a Social Worker with a passion for community development. She is the proud mother of two. Crystal is an advocate for women’s empowerment and is trained as a birth and post-Partum doula for over 30 years supporting women and families in their childbirth choices. Crystal earned a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work degree from Dalhousie University. She is currently employed as a Social Work Coordinator at Adsum House for Women and Children. Crystal experience spans across areas of Afrocentric interventions, Gendered and Sexualized Violence, Research, Adult and Parenting Education, Housing and homelessness, therapeutic counseling, parenting support, resource, food insecurity and service advocacy. Crystal has been involved with the Mobile food Market since it’s inception and lead the North End team as a host organization through The Mulgrave Park Caring and Learning Centre. A passionate advocate for food security and urban renewal. Crystal has worked closely as a community advocate and liaison with many levels of government, including health, community services, and education.

General Member

Lynda Rankin

Lynda has over 25 years experience in the public sector in policy and program…

  • Lynda has over 25 years experience in the public sector in policy and program development, and stakeholder engagement with large institutions, small business and the non profit sector. She began her career with the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture after earning a BSc in Agriculture and an MSc in Microbiology. After a few years she moved to Nova Scotia and switched focus to work on environment and sustainability files, managing various risk reduction projects and later providing leadership related to the Province’s sustainable procurement initiatives.

    Lynda remains passionate about food and the food supply including nutrition, food security and food waste reduction. As a long time community volunteer, she focuses on food issues, healthy sustainable communities and youth sport and development. In her free time you can usually find her playing outdoors - walking or hiking, or kayaking in the coastal waters of NS.

Vice Chair

Rozina Saeed

Rozina is extremely passionate and enthusiastic about working with community…

  • Rozina is extremely passionate and enthusiastic about working with and supporting a building a thriving community that provides programs, services and supports for families, seniors and community members. A strong visionary leader and manager who motivates others to be the best they can. A strategic planner and passionate volunteer, Rozina has been an active community member supporting organizations such as common roots urban farm, the mobile food market and CSCNS to name a few.

    In her day to day work Rozina has helped managers work to build workplace cultures that celebrate learning; where people use their own creativity to perform their jobs better and freely share their ideas with others across the organization.

General Member

Brian Posavad

Brian is a well-versed community leader with a proven track record…

  • Brian is a well-versed community leader with a proven track record of initiating transformational change for YMCAs across Canada. In 2015, Brian joined the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth as the President and CEO where he supports a purpose driven team of more than 400 staff and volunteers in creating healthy communities, through the power of belonging.   Brian has a value driven approach that focuses on inclusion, health, wellness and youth development.

    Prior to joining the Halifax YMCA, Brian was Vice President of Operations and Facility Development with the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford where he was responsible for building community partnerships, developing new facilities, and creating innovative programming for the diverse communities he served.

    Brian lives in Halifax with his wife Jodi and their two sons Ben and Carter.

General Member

Agamani (Mani) Chakrabarty

Mani is an economist and founder of ASBB Consulting…

  • Mani is an economist and founder of ASBB Consulting and research and economic advisory based in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Mani grew up in Yellowknife, NWT, where she found her desire to develop rural and remote communities. She holds a business degree and a master’s degree and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Alberta and a master’s in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Mani’s work experience spans both the public and private sectors. She was an economist with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and, most recently, a Senior Consultant with Deloitte. Mani is pleased to call Yarmouth her current home.

General Member

Jessica Meagher

Jessica is a highly skilled senior administrative professional with over 13 years of experience…

  • Jessica Meagher is a highly skilled senior administrative professional with over 13 years of experience providing comprehensive administrative support at the executive level. Jessica has a strong background in human resources and payroll, with expertise in payroll management, benefits administration, full-cycle recruitment, and employee relations.

    Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Business Administration Diploma from the Nova Scotia Community College. Currently, Jessica serves as the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO at CUA in Halifax, where she is dedicated to ensuring seamless executive operations and contributing to the overall success of the organization. Her role also involves delivering exceptional customer service to both internal and external stakeholders.

    Outside of her professional life, Jessica enjoys staying active and spending as much time outdoors as possible. Jessica joined the Mobile Food Market Board of Directors in September 2024 and began volunteering with the weekly markets in November 2024. Jessica is excited to continue supporting the community in this capacity.

    A lifelong resident of Halifax, Jessica currently resides in Timberlea with her son, Liam.

Secretary

Leticia Smillie

Leticia is a food systems planner with the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM)…

  • Leticia Smillie is a food systems planner with the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), co-chair of the Halifax Food Policy Alliance (HFPA), and steering committee member of the Food Communities Network. Leticia has been the municipal representative for the Mobile Food Market since it began in 2016. Leticia graduated from Dalhousie with a Master of Urban and Rural Planning, with a particular focus on community engagement in planning practice. Her recent work has focused on increasing community involvement and impact in designing communities that promote arts, culture, and health. Leticia is working to bring the Region's first food strategy to life, JustFOOD Halifax: an action plan for the Halifax Region, which is being co-developed by HRM and the HFPA.

General Member

Eryn Murphy

Eryn Murphy is an Associate Lawyer with DCL Law specializing in Real Estate Law…

  • Eryn Murphy is an Associate Lawyer with DCL Law specializing in Real Estate Law (Residential and Commercial), Estate Planning, and Probate. She grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and attended Dalhousie University (BA '15) and the University of New Brunswick (JD '21). She is a proud supporter and board member of the Mobile Food Market where she sits as Co-Chair of the Governance and Strategy Committee, assisting the organization with its goal of advancing healthy, sustainable, and affordable fresh food to all communities in Nova Scotia. She enjoys providing free legal education to the public and often speaks to community groups or at libraries regarding estate planning and probate, first-time home buyers, downsizing, or real estate investing. Eryn is fluent in English and is constantly improving her French to work in both languages.

Board Consultant

James MacGowan, FCPA, FCA, TEP

Jim recently retired as the senior tax partner in the Deloitte Atlantic practice…

  • Jim recently retired as the senior tax partner in the Deloitte Atlantic practice. Prior to retiring, he was one of the leading private company tax practitioners in the firm serving high net worth clients across the country. Previously, Jim spent five years in Calgary as the Managing Partner of the Alberta Private Company Services practice. In this capacity, Jim oversaw the delivery of all professional services to some of the largest private companies in Western Canada. During the same period, Jim was also the national leader of Deloitte’s Private Company Service Tax practice, the largest of its kind in the country. Before his time in Calgary, Jim was the Director of Operations of the Atlantic tax practice of Deloitte and a member of the National Tax Executive Committee of the firm. In retirement, Jim continues to serve high net worth clients across the country. In particular, he specializes in providing advanced tax planning for private companies and the shareholders, tax and estate planning for high net worth clients with a special emphasis on life insurance planning.

General Member

Nury Rivas

Nury Rivas brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for making a positive impact…

  • Nury Rivas brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for making a positive impact to our board. As a Senior Consultant at Pivot Consulting Inc., an Atlantic-based management consulting firm, she works on exciting initiatives for government and other agencies. With a background in Change Management and Education (both K-12 and postsecondary), Nury has contributed to various technology projects in the Education, Healthcare, and Energy sectors. She is passionate about promoting a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and staying active, having volunteered and participated as a runner in the Bluenose Marathon race weekend activities for the past four years. Nury is excited to contribute to the MFM mission and help guide the organization towards bringing healthy food options to more communities in Nova Scotia.

Interested in joining the Board? Learn more.