STAFF

Fiona Kerr (she/her)
Executive Director
fiona@halifaxpride.com

Fiona began working with Halifax Pride in 2017 as Logistics Coordinator, eventually moving into the Operations Manager role, before her departure in 2022. She spent her time away from Pride working with Events East Group. Fiona grew up on Cape Breton Island, before moving to Halifax in 2014, where she began working in events as a student at Saint Mary’s University. She is enthusiastic about creating events that are community based and accessible. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her orange cat Gildy and making friendship bracelets.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Connor McKiggan (he/they)
Board Chair
connor@halifaxpride.com

Ignited by their passion for the queer community, Connor has worked to create safer spaces for 2SLGBTQI+ people and support queer entrepreneurs through his work as the Business Development Manager for Rainbow Registered at the Canadian 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce. Connor lives in Kjipuktuk, loves chocolate chip cookies and is
obsessed with Selling Sunsets and Tabitha Takes Over.

Carmel Farahbakhsh (they/them)
Board Vice Chair
carmel@halifaxpride.com

Carmel Farahbakhsh is a community educator, arts maker, and youth worker. They have collaborated on the Khyber Centre for the Arts board for five years, and hold a position as co-director of local music festival EVERYSEEKER. In 2020, they transitioned from a five-year term coordinating South House Sexual and Gender Resource Centre to working as the Executive Director at the Youth Project, seeing a direct link between this community work and access to creative spaces and the arts community. As the Executive Director of the Youth Project, Carmel holds a youth-centric approach to organizational movement and support. Carmel builds their vision from their community education background and aims to apply an anti-racist and trauma-informed framework to their work. They also collaborate and organize with local initiatives, artist-run-centres, and community partners with an aim to create wider 2SQTBIPOC community and support systems within the province.

Justin Greek (he/him)
Board Treasurer
treasurer@halifaxpride.com

Born in K'emk'emeláy̓ (Vancouver) and living in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) since 2013, Justin is passionate about community-building and fostering inclusion and believes deeply in Pride's ability to be a force for equity. Currently working in the non-profit sector, Justin is an experienced operations management professional with 10 years of experience in finance, operations, and human resources. His event management background includes coordinating large-scale events and handling detailed logistics, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University. Having recently reignited his passion for the work of Halifax Pride, Justin is eager to contribute his skills to the organization.

Brady Reid (he/him)
Board Secretary
secretary@halifaxpride.com

Brady is a grad student at the University of Waterloo - BUT has spent as little time in Ontario as possible, living and working mostly on the east coast of Canada for the last decade. Most recently he moved back to Halifax after spending the pandemic at home in western Newfoundland. He spends his time outdoors riding his bicycle, climbing rocks, snowboarding, cross country skiing, and generally engaging in merriment in nature.

Adam Reid (he/him)

Adam is a community organizer, proud queer east coaster, and the former Executive Director of the Halifax Pride Society. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Studies from Acadia University and a Diploma in Cultural Administration from HEC Montreal. As Festival Director of the Queer Acts Theatre Festival, he presented local and national queer identified performing artists in the HRM. With fifteen years experience as a cultural administrator, he worked with such organizations as the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, the 2011 Canada Winter Games, and Eastern Front Theatre. He is passionate about employing culture and event celebration to create and build 2SLGBTQIA+ community cohesion. Currently Adam works for the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration supporting the planning of international and domestic recruitment events, and he has recently returned to Halifax Pride, serving as Board Chair for 2023-24 year.

Kathleen King (she/her)

From Wolastoq (Fredericton), Kathleen is now proud to call Kjipuktuk (Halifax) her home. She has a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University, and a post grad diploma in Event Management from Niagara College. She has worked in the event industry for 6+ years, and is excited to share her love of live events volunteering with Halifax Pride. She is passionate about continuing to learn diverse perspectives within the queer community. In her spare time, she loves to bake vegan treats, travel, and talk endlessly about her collection of 110+ board games.

Kay Macdonald (they/them)

Kay Macdonald was born and raised in Halifax, NS. Kay is proudly African Nova Scotian. They studied Performance Acting at Ryerson University in Toronto, ON. Out of their desire to make a change they Founded and Co Created The Magic Project, which focuses on bringing marginalized brilliance to the forefront of social media using the arts. Kay is also a Community Facilitator and Youth Programmer. They hope to continue creating workshops, holding space for community discussions and empowering youth through celebration.

Scott Gillard (he/him)

Scott is a proud LGBTQI+ business owner based in Halifax, he is originally from Cape Breton. He has had a varied career including non-profit work with youth at risk and on environmental issues and in communications and marketing for over 20 years. Scott is politically inclined with activist roots and both work and volunteer experience in government and with political parties.

Melody Rae Lumen (she/they)

Melody has been proud to call Halifax her home since September 2019, and this year has been especially significant for her as she has embraced her true self as a non-binary, trans-leaning, queer, pansexual individual. After years of self-discovery, I’ve begun my transition journey, and it’s been incredible to grow my connections within the trans, non-binary, and broader queer community. She is currently working on creating a non-binary drag persona with the support of the local drag community. She is passionate about expanding the resources available to our queer community, working with others on the board to build on existing efforts, and finding new ways to engage and educate the public.

Onna Young (she/they)

Onna is a long-time Halifax resident, journalist, and community organizer. She spends most of her time writing about the lively intersections of queer politics and spirituality. When that gets a bit too heady, she clears her mind with fashion, fiber arts, or a good few kilometres in the pool.