The Hub Halifax

As vice-president of ESANS, Adam helps achieve the association’s mission of being the premier resource for the environmental industry in Nova Scotia.

Adam serves to enhance benefits to members of ESANS by organizing and promoting events and activities to facilitate sustainable evolution of industry.

Anna is the founder and designer of Deux fm, a line of clothing for the woman who broadcasts both style and ethics. Her mission is to inspire ethical and environmental awareness by implementing sustainable action through timeless yet innovative design.

Anna was raised in Nova Scotia and studied fashion at F.I.T. in New York City and Polimoda in Florince, Italy. She worked in Montreal as a designer for Buffalo, Dalia and matt & nat before returning to NS to start Deux fm in 2006.

Christian is a lawyer, focusing primarily in the areas of taxation, corporate / commercial, estate planning and, increasingly, intellectual property. Chris studied philosophy in Calgary, law in Edmonton and obtained his MBA from Dalhousie.

He has completed Level II of the CICA In Depth Tax Course and has successfully challenged the Level II exam for the CFA designation. He sits on the Board of Governors of Churchill Academy, the Atlantic International Busker Festival, and Stepping Stone.

Inspired by the Hub, its founders and users, he left a job that he loved to cost effectively focus on start-ups by opening his own law office.

Dale is a mobile software developer interested in using innovative technologies for social change. As a true believer in dharma, he is excited to use his past experience to help contribute to Ushahidi and the Extraordinaries projects.

Dale was raised on a farm in southern Saskatchewan, spent the last year in London England, and now lives in Halifax. After graduating from University of Saskatchewan with a Software Engineering Bachelor’s Degree, Dale has spent the past six years developing mobile and web applications for companies like Caterpillar, Ritchie Bros and Pitney Bowes. He has recently dived deep into the iPhone SDK and is excited to publish his first application in the coming weeks.

Dan is the Executive Director of the Halifax Regional C@P Association (HRC@P), an established not-for-profit delivering quality service to communities through 40 locally operated Community Access Program (C@P) sites in HRM. C@P is a government of Canada initiative to provide Internet access to those who would not normally have it due to economic, social or geographic barriers.

Dan is an efficient and effective manager, spearheading strategic marketing efforts, structuring organizational boards, and overseeing administrative functions across diverse organizations within the arts and cultural industry. He is deeply engaged in his community, has been active in community radio for years and hosts Trois Beaux Canards on CKDU and CHMA Radio.

STR Consulting is a an international development consulting firm with a network of associates located all around the world. Our work focuses on developing our emerging market economies with a legislative reform mandate to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SME’s). Our projects take us anywhere from the South East Asia to the Caribbean.

Our mission is to support humanitarian efforts through economic development initiatives incorporating good governance practices as well as sustainable approaches to solutions through capacity building and knowledge sharing.

Emily Haynes is the General Manager of SNAP Halifax, your definitive monthly source for a captivating view of the many community events, celebrations, business gatherings and general daily life in the HRM. SNAP uses photojournalism to capture people, who are the essence of the events and of this vibrant city.

Born and raised in Halifax, Emily is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s Bachelor of Science Program. She spent 12 years in the field of recreation and after having her second child decided it was time for a change. Unexpectedly, she found herself managing a community paper and is thrilled to be part of something that celebrates all that is good in our community. She can be found all over town with her camera in hand snapping photos of everyday people participating in making this city a better place.

Dr. Hal is an explorer and problem solver who helps large organizations forge the link between learning, performance and results. He has provided services to provincial and federal governments in Canada, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Kingdom of Bahrain. He has also served large inter-governmental organizations (the United Nations Development Programme), bi-laterals (the Canadian International Development Agency, SNV – the Dutch Development Agency), not-for-profits (RTI International, the Wellcome Trust), systems of higher education (the University of North Carolina, Yale University School of Nursing) and corporations (Citicorp, Health Care Partners).

Hal is also a partner in Bfreehomes Design Ltd. in Halifax. Bfreehomes provides consulting, design and project management services for new homes and renovations that include deep energy reduction strategies, barrier-free floor plans, user-friendly details and preplanning for renewable energy systems.

Jesse graduated from NBCC in Moncton with a Diploma in Computer Science Technology. He learned how to code in Basic in grade 5 and has been fascinated with technology and problem solving ever since. While at Spheric, he hasn’t stopped learning. As the Resident Hippie, he tries to make Spheric as Green as possible.

Jesse enjoys back country camping, biking, black diamond skiing, tea, cooking, music, Linux, KDE, Amarok, Eclipse, Auto didacticism. His technology skills and specialties include AquaLogic Portal, .NET, Java, Ruby / Rails, Javscript Frameworks (Prototype, JQuery), MSSQL, MySQL, Postgres, Oracle, (Anything SQL), Mac Widgets, KDE Plasmoids, *nix, Mac.

Jonathan is a senior consultant with Avalon Consulting, helping companies manage their online assets through improved content management, search, and interface design. Avalon Consulting focuses on enterprise solutions, with competency areas in open source portal, (Drupal, DotNetNuke, Liferay), social networking solutions, and enterprise content management. (Sharepoint, Vignette, Day Software)

Jonathan is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Engineering, with 10 years of enterprise-level system development experience. He is intrigued by the possibilites of wind energy in Nova Scotia. He hopes to leverage collaborative aspect of the hub workspace to hatch new, cool ideas, and potentially, to staff engagements that arise.

Nocturne: Art at Night is a festival bringing art and energy to the streets of Halifax between 6:00 p.m. and midnight on Saturday, October 17th, 2009. The completely free, second annual event showcases and celebrates the exciting arts scene in Halifax. The Nocturne programme, map, bus, and walking tours guide residents and visitors alike to a variety of exhibitions in galleries and public spaces throughout the city. The signature event, designed and planned by volunteers within the community, is an opportunity for everyone to experience the art of Halifax – in a whole new light.

Employed in theatre, dance, and arts advocacy for over 20 years as an administrator, researcher and consultant, he creates predominantly in literary and photographic art forms, while dabbling in others. Formerly HRM’s inaugural Cultural Officer, he worked with the Nova Scotia Cultural Network and Creative City Network of Canada, and now sits on Imagine Bloomfield’s board. Currently employed in life sciences business development, his eclectic interests include city design and planning, the environment, innovation & creativity, cross-sector collaboration and transformative communications.

He enjoys hearing other’s stories and connecting them to contacts and resources. Keith envisions a time when – facilitated by engaged, visionary change-makers – HRM both cherishes its past and embraces its present and future ingenuity.

Mark Davis is the owner of Colovo, a software company that specializes in improving online communication.

Mark is working on numerous software projects and is an experienced iPhone, Mac and web developer. His work has been featured in Macworld Magazine, the Daily News, and CTV news. Mark is a business student at Saint Mary’s University, and the winner of the 2008 What’s the Big Idea competition for Best Student Business. He is very passionate about his work, and is constantly working on new business ideas.

Mark Hobbs currently owns and operates Spartan Innovations; a marketing firm specializing in helping start-up businesses attract new clients and encourage retreat customers. They employ staff in developing countries offering a “living wage” and local talent in Nova Scotia.

Mark has worked for the government of Saskatchewan promoting international trade. He currently studies Political Science at Dal and is developing several initiatives to involve young people in international trade.

Mark Szpakowski is a web social software architect and developer, and aspiring earth cadet, with ongoing interest in combining software with attention to form systems of symbiotic care, both local and global.

In that context Mark is currently studying complementary currencies, telepresence, situation rooms, and sensemaking tools. He codesigned the world’s first computerized bulletin board system, an award-winning visual programming language, a health-care expert system, and several internet collaboration platforms.

Michael Chender is a co-founder of the Authentic Leadership in Action Institute which offers a uniquely integrative model of leadership development for organizations and communities seeking more inspired and dynamic pathways to a bright and sustainable future.

Michael is also the CEO of Metals Economics Group, and has worked with several volunteer projects exploring social change possibilities in Halifax. He plans to use the hub as a writing space, and to see and be part of this exciting way of sharing energy.

Michelle provides unique and creative solutions to businesses and individuals looking for effective visual communication. Her design services include business identity and logo design, promotional print design and interpretive exhibit design. Her photography services include business and personal portrait photography, commercial and editorial photography as well as wedding photography.

During her free time, Michelle is actively involved in several creative community events and organizations. She is a member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, is one of the co-chairs of Fusion’s Arts and Culture Action Team and is an executive committee member of Nocturne: Art at Night. She is passionate about promoting and taking part in Halifax’s vibrant arts community.

tintedGreen is an IT Consulting firm specializing in Green Computing. We help organizations plan for and implement Green Computing technologies to save on operating costs and provide an easier to manage IT.

Mike Lovell grew up in Newfoundland and studied Computer Science at Memorial University. He has had several IT roles in different companies in Atlantic Canada. tintedGreen grew out of Mike’s passion for technology and the environment.

Patrick Hankinson is a serial entrepreneur, web developer, marketer, designer, investor, and technology enthusiast. At the age of 14, Patrick had his first video game published. Later he ran a computer reviewing and retailing website. Afterwards Patrick became a partner in a keylogger detection software firm.

Patrick was then involved in 2Peer and a few stealth start ups in Ottawa. He is now located in Halifax and is the current the founder of Ninja Otter and Favtag.

Rachel is a young community designer that is passionate about grassroots innovation. Currently she is part of a team of young designers working to establish a Planning & Design Centre in Halifax. This is a non-profit, collaborative institution dedicated to increasing awareness, generating dialogue, and fostering innovation in matters related to design and planning. The Planning & Design Centre aims to be operating from a street-front space in spring 2009.

Rob Begg is an online and technology marketer with almost a couple of decades of experience in the media, interactive and technology industries. He currently owns Village Communications, a marketing consultancy that works with organizations to grow their audiences, communities and revenue online. Village Communications has clients in a wide variety of industries such as media, finance, consumer goods, higher education and the public sector. Projects often include online media planning , search engine marketing, social media and strategic planning.

Prior to founding Village Communications, Rob was marketing executive at a couple of online media and software startups in Canada and the UK. He began his career as an Internet product manager back in the old days. When he’s not in an airport lounge Rob lives in Bedford with his young and very busy family. Rob loves working from the Hub to see other humans and feel like he’s not the only freelancer on the planet.

Ryan Watson is the Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia. He is working with Nova Scotians to build the best possible government for our province. Green voices in the Legislature will be focused on bringing a prosperous, bright green future the province.

Ryan lives in Halifax with his wife Shannon and their 9 month old daughter Katarina.

Follow Ryan on Twitter.

Sean Williams is the Principal of his own marketing and communications consulting company. With over 15 years of experience, Sean and his extensive partnership network offer company’s innovative, distinct and creative solutions. He’s worked with some of Canada’s and Atlantic Canada’s top brands, and has rolled out initiatives in Atlantic Canada, across the country, and in international markets such as the United States, the Middle East, and Australia.

While originally from Toronto, Sean married a Newfoundlander and moved to Halifax in 2004. He believes in this city, and is involved with the Halifax Chamber, Fusion Halifax, ACIMA, and several other local organizations and events.

Tom is the lead consultant behind GrowthClick, an Internet marketing firm that helps business leaders to grow profitably, sell more, and serve customers online.

Tom consults with clients to define and implement online marketing strategies including search marketing, lead generation, and email marketing. As a consultant and project manager, Tom works with clients and specialized partners to deliver successful projects and marketing ROI.

Inspired to escape his cubicle, Tom started GrowthClick after 13 years of marketing and consulting in Atlantic Canada, Toronto, London, UK and Raleigh, NC, serving clients such as Credit Suisse, Macy’s, and Honeywell.

Tom spends his spare time running, hiking, BBQ’ing, and reading.

Tim Merry supports organizations and communities to reach collective clarity and take wise action to improve their lives and the lives of people in their sphere of influence. Tim’s passion lies in creating collaborative processes where people talk about what matters and take responsibility for their passion in terms of action.

Tim is co-director of a community leadership and social entrepreneurship training centre in Canada called the Shire. This includes being a part time Co-Director of the Split Rock Learning Centre, working with youth in transition. His current passion is in large scale innovation across communities, regions and organisations rooted and responsive to the needs of those most effected. Tim is one of the founders of the Art of Hosting, a board member of the Berkana Institute, and runs his own international business supporting social innovation in non-profit, public and private sectors. Tim is based in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada where he follows his other passions as a musician, slam poet, father and theatre maker.

William Lachance has over 5 years of professional experience as a computer programmer, specializing in library and application development in a UNIX environment. Before helping to found the Navarra Group, a consulting shop specializing in custom software development, William was an operating systems software developer at Net Integration Technologies and IBM. A passionate advocate for free software and data, William releases a healthy portion of his own work under an open license on github. His latest project is hbus.ca, a bus trip planner for the city of Halifax.

A published author by age 22, Zoë is the co-author of ”Global Warming for Dummies”, written with Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada. She sits on the Board of Directors of Sierra Club Canada and is a founding member of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. She has worked with non-profit companies and organizations spanning environmental activism, education and social mobilization. A free-lance writer and blogger, Zoë co-founded Green Content Creation Group.

Zoë has been named among the “Top 30 Under 30? to watch in Halifax and was featured among colleagues in Vanity Fair’s 2007 Green Issue. With an academic background in international development and environmental science, Zoë regularly attends the United Nations Climate Change Conferences and has recently returned from the Students On Ice International Polar Year Expedition to Antarctica.