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Board list

Pictou County Roots for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors.  These professionals bring their own individual expertise, experience, and passion for the organization. The Board of Directors focuses on the long-term goals of the organization, establishes proactive policies, and financial management.

 MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Desmond was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and he immigrated to Canada where he joined the Police Service. He is a retired Toronto Police Officer with 32 years of experience. He moved to Pictou County 6 years ago. Desmond recently got involved with Pictou County Roots for Youth because he is passionate about youth and homelessness in our community. He passionate about the social justice issues here in Pictou County and elsewhere. Desmond enjoys travelling, listening to music, and reading about politics.  

 
Born and raised in Pictou County, Will attended St. Francis Xavier University and graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. At that time, Will began working as an accountant and auditor with Grant Thornton LLP while pursuing the Chartered Professional Accountant designation, which he obtained in 2021.In his free time, Will enjoys a round of golf, cooking and, of course, Netflix. 
Will currently serves as the Treasurer of Pictou County Roots for Youth. 
Erica loves writing, calligraphy, and scrapbooking. Based on this combo of interests - it makes perfect sense that she is the secretary for the board. After studying biology and history at Mount Allison University Erica returned home to New Glasgow and started tutoring high school students. The experience led her to the path of education and helped her develop a passion for working with youth. She completed her education degree at St.F.X University and embraced the role of high school biology teacher. Teaching has provided her unique insight into what youth deal with on a daily basis and allowed her to concentrate on creating thoughtful academic, social, and personal learning experiences. She strives to bring this vision and experience to her work with Roots.
 
Nancy was an elementary school teacher for 35 years and the mother of three children. She has served on New Glasgow Town Council for 9 years and is presently in her second term as Mayor.
Nancy learned about Roots for Youth through a conversation with a friend who was involved with an initiative on youth homelessness in Pictou County. She quickly understood the urgent need for the services. She joined the Board in 2011 and served as Chairperson for many of those years.
Homelessness in our community is often not visible. The number of young people over the years that have sought out the services of Roots for Youth is an indicator of the importance and need in our community. The challenges are many in an organization such as Roots for Youth but successes big or small keep us moving forward. The dedication of Board members and staff over the years has been outstanding and much has been accomplished with the help of the greater community.
Ken was an educator throughout his professional career, teaching both in the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia. For twenty- eight of those years, he was a school principal at all levels of education. It was primarily at the high school level that he saw too many of his students who were homeless and, in many cases, through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, at that time, there were no avenues open to homeless youth in Pictou County to assist them and they were left to couch surf at friends’ homes, or sleep wherever they could find shelter, including cars and sheds. When he retired in 2006, he joined the United Way of Pictou County, and he was then asked to look after the portfolio of youth homelessness. He was actively involved in many community meetings to address the urgent need for a youth homeless shelter for Pictou County. He is now one of the founding members of the Pictou County Roots for Youth Society, and for many years was a Co-Chair of the organization. He always considers one of his greatest achievements was being involved in securing a permanent home, Roots House, in 2011, for homeless youth. His fervent wish is that Roots House will always be there to provide the nurturing and supportive environment that homeless youth of Pictou County deserve.
 

 

Board Member Recruitment

Pictou County Roots for Youth is actively recruiting new Board members! 

Pictou County Roots for Youth Society is a rapidly-expanding non-profit organization in Pictou County, Nova Scotia that makes a positive impact on our youngest and most vulnerable communities and individuals. The organization could not do this work without the experience, professionalism, knowledge, motivation, and ongoing support of an incredible Board of Directors who volunteer their time to make this organization the best it can be. 

 

Pictou County Roots for Youth Society is looking for prospective representatives with extensive human service backgrounds, both educationally and professionally, a strong willingness to engage in ongoing learning, ongoing demonstration of personal accountability, a willingness and ongoing practice of continuously improving the organization, supporting and honoring its representatives in a wholesome and holistic way, and being a leading voice and change agent for our youngest and most vulnerable communities.  

 

If you are interested in getting involved with our organization, please fill out the form to the right! 

 

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you!

 

We acknowledge that the land that we live and work on, Mi'kma'ki, is the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) people first signed with the British Crown in 1725.