Anna Marenick MBA'07, is the Vice President of People, Culture, and Belonging at Nova Scotia Health. She is a successful human resources and transformational change leader with extensive regional and national experience leading multi-faceted and complex programs in diverse and challenging environments.
Prior to joining Nova Scotia Health, she was the senior director of people and governance at Develop Nova Scotia. Her creative, inclusive approach to solving complex problems in a variety of settings makes her exceptional at collaboratively propelling ideas and people forward.
Anna is actively involved in the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference.
Anna has a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University and Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from St. Francis Xavier University. She is also a Prosci Certified Change Management Professional, Certified Governance Professional, and a Chartered Professional in Human Resources.
Liza Zahid is the President & CEO of the Saint Mary's University Students' Association, the youngest person ever elected to the role, and a second-year Marketing and Management student who was accepted to SMU at 16 after completing Grade 10.
In her first year at SMU, Liza founded Nova Scotia's first university Formula 1 Society, serving as its inaugural President and growing it into a widely supported campus community. She also served as a Residence Assistant and on the Multicultural Committee within SMU Residence, worked as a Project Coordinator at the Arthur L Irving Entrepreneurship Centre, wrote for The SMU Journal, and served as a Promotions Coordinator for the Futures in Business Career Fair.
Prior to running for President, Liza spent a year building hands-on experience in marketing and management. She served as Marketing Manager at Bean, a notable startup, and led PR and outreach for large-scale organizations including Magnetic World Music Festival; Atlantic Canada's largest music festival; where she was part of the 15-person core team.
As President & CEO, Liza's vision is to elevate student experience and make SMU students' first choice based on what SMU and SMUSA have to offer. She is committed to putting students at the centre of every decision and taking the Association to a new level. She represents the student body at the highest levels of university governance, sitting on both the Academic Senate and the Board of Governors, and serves on several additional committees and organizations. Outside of student governance, Liza is an entrepreneur and the Co-Founder and COO of her startup, IngineA.
Bafana is an experienced Customer Success Manager, in the Tech Industry, with a demonstrated history of working with customers to increase their value generation. In addition to mentoring , Bafana has continually been involved with community activities with some of his other current Board positions including the role of Vice President of the SMU Alumni Council. He holds a B. Sc. Honours from Saint Mary’s University and an MBA from the Sobey School of Business.
Bill Sewell is a Professor of History at Saint Mary’s University, appointed also to the Asian Studies Interdisciplinary Program. His courses explore the history of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, and his research focuses on the history and memory of the Japanese empire. His research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as well as by Saint Mary’s University. Before joining the Board in 2024, Dr. Sewell served previously as Chair of the Department of History, Coordinator of the Asian Studies Interdisciplinary Program, and on Senate. He has been employed by the university since 2000.
Moksh is a second-year Computing Science student at Saint Mary’s University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science with a minor in Business. She serves as the Director of External Affairs & Partnerships for the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association.
At Saint Mary’s, Moksh has been involved in entrepreneurship, community engagement, and student leadership through Enactus Saint Mary’s University. She serves as the Community Engagement Lead at Alaagi Inc., a student-led sustainability startup developing seaweed-based bioplastic solutions.
As a National Presenter with Enactus Saint Mary’s, she represented the university at the Enactus Canada National Exposition, where the team went on to become national runners-up.
Moksh also serves as a Project Manager with Being There, a community initiative focused on supporting the well-being and social connection of older adults. Through this work, she has been involved in coordinating community research and engagement initiatives with both youth and older community members.
Before joining Enactus, Moksh was a member of the Saint Mary’s University Debate Society, representing the university at the national British Parliamentary Debate Tournament.
Moksh’s vision is to build stronger connections between students, the university, and the wider community by creating meaningful partnerships and opportunities. She is passionate about ensuring students feel heard, supported, and connected, while also finding ways to give back and make a positive impact beyond campus.
Bruce was born and raised in Shad Bay, Nova Scotia in a family of eight.
Bruce began his working career at the Department of Transportation followed by a ten-year career in the Nova Scotia Attorney General’s Dept.
Having been active in his church, community and various service organizations, Bruce was encouraged to enter political life and was first elected to the Halifax County Council in 1991 and subsequently was elected MLA in the Provincial Government in 1993 and served as Minister of Science and Information Technology and Minister Responsible for the Sport and Recreation Commission. Bruce made many improvements in the community during his early political career, one of which was the beginning of the twinning of Highway 103.
After leaving politics Bruce spent nearly a decade with a National Service Company as regional Marketing and Sales Manager. Bruce then accepted a position as Executive Director with the Spryfield Business Commission and has spent the past fourteen years helping make communities a better place to live, work and play. Throughout his life Bruce has always been active in creating publications of one kind or another and now, in addition to his work in Spryfield, leads the team at the Parkview News, a local monthly community newspaper.
Bruce continues to serve his church and community and sits on numerous committees and boards including the Halifax Northwest Rotary Club, the Long Lake Provincial Park Association, the YWCA Advisory Committee, the Halifax Natal Day Committee, St Paul’s Family Resource Institute and Food Bank, the Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica Finance Council, to name a few.
Christine Bonnell-Eisnor, MBA, P. Eng. ICD.D is the CEO of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB). Christine has been with the CNSOPB since 1999. As CEO, she is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of the CNSOPB to ensure that the organization fulfills its regulatory mandate in a fair, efficient, legally compliant and consistent manner as well as leading the CNSOPB as it transitions to an expanded mandate and becomes the regulator for offshore renewable energy development in the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area.
Christine has a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and a MBA from Saint Mary’s University. She holds the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D (Certified Director) designation and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Nova Scotia. In 2017, Christine was named the Progress Women of Excellence – Management and Professions.
Christine is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, an active member of Engineers Nova Scotia, a Board Member of Brigadoon Village and Saint Mary’s University. In her spare time, Christine attends her children's sports activities, spends times at her cottage and enjoys photography.
Tyler is a 3rd-year accounting student, a Director of the Saint Mary's University Students' Association, and SMU Academic Senator.
In his time at Saint Mary’s, Tyler has made significant contributions through building and leading student-run social enterprises. He served as co-manager of Square Roots, one of Nova Scotia’s most significant food security initiatives. He led financial strategy and reporting during Alaagi Inc’s time competing in the Hult Prize, the world’s largest student startup program, before returning as a judge. These contributions helped build the foundation for SMU’s recent Enactus World Cup win.
Before beginning at Saint Mary’s University, he served on the Board of Directors of the Pictou Country Recreation and Athletics Society, overseeing the infrastructure and operations of one of Atlantic Canada’s top track-and-field facilities.
Dr. Erin Adlakha is an associate professor and chairperson of the Geology Department, Faculty of Science, at Saint Mary’s University, and a Professional Geoscientist in Nova Scotia. Her expertise is in the mineralogy and exploration of hydrothermal critical mineral deposits, such as uranium, tungsten, and rare earth elements, in Canada. Her research is funded through Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, as well as numerous collaborations with provincial and territorial governments.
Dr. Adlakha enjoys providing opportunities for students to engage in geoscience research inside and outside the classroom. Such experiences during her own undergraduate degree at SMU (BSc. Geology hons. ’12) set her on the path to graduate studies (PhD Earth Sciences,’16, uOttawa) and a career in academia.
A graduate of Dalhousie Law School and Saint Mary’s University, Floyd Kane articled with Blake, Cassels, and Graydon in Toronto before being called to the Ontario Bar in 1998. While serving as Legal Counsel, Salter Street Films Limited, from 1999 to 2004, Floyd also served as Production Executive on numerous projects, notably the Academy Award-winning Bowling For Columbine, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion, POKO - Cycles I and II and Lexx - Cycle IV.
In 2004 Floyd Kane joined Halifax Film as Vice-President, Creative and Business Affairs, responsible for initiating and pursuing creative properties as well as for all production business and legal affairs for Halifax Film. Floyd has been instrumental in the development of productions based on the award-winning book The Hanging of Angelique by noted Black Canadian scholar Afua Cooper, the international best-seller The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland, and Alex Caine's critically acclaimed crime memoir, Befriend and Betray.
He transitioned into writing with his creation of the half hour CBC drama North/South. Since that time, Floyd has written for a range of series including Continuum, Slasher, and Backstage, as well as producing several feature films including the award-winning, Across the Line, (for which he also wrote the screenplay), Shake Hands with the Devil, and The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw. Floyd is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer for the CBC drama DIGGSTOWN. He was the recipient of the Sandi Ross award from ACTRA Toronto which recognizes the efforts of individuals striving to create a more inclusive media industry.
Dr. Gugu Hlongwane is an Associate Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at Saint Mary’s University (since 2004). She was born and raised in South Africa.
Her essays appear in Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa; African Identities; Journal of Black Studies; Journal of Postcolonial Writing; Studies in Canadian Literature; Ariel: A Review of International English Literature; Postcolonial Text and Research in African Literatures. Dr. Hlongwane’s collection, Electric Fences and Other Stories, was published by Mawenzi House in 2016. She has previously served in the following capacities: Acting Chair of her Department, Senator as well as Secretary of the Saint Mary's University Faculty Union.
Jill is a lawyer at McInnes Cooper and a Saint Mary’s University alumni (’09). Jill’s practice is primarily focused on insurance defence, sport law and general litigation.With a background as a student athlete, Jill brings her dedication and work ethic to the practice of law. In 2004, Jill competed on the sprint kayak team in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She is a Pan American Games Gold Medalist and competed on the Canadian National Team for a total of eleven years.A strong advocate for community and sport, Jill is on several boards, including the Canoe 22 Society and Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic. She is also a High Performance Committee Member with Canoe Kayak Canada, where she volunteers her legal knowledge on various issues.
As the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Partner for KPMG in Canada’s Management Consulting practice, Louie is a highly qualified senior business leader with cross functional, cross industry experience, leveraging over 25 years of know-how to effectively manage and handle the day-to-day business operations. His role works in conjunction with the National Management Consulting Lead Partner, KPMG’s Management Committee and Board to support the business’s operational functions by:
Prior to this role, Louie focused more closely on IT the delivery of large-scale IT transformations and shared services arrangements. He assisted some our largest client’s CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and senior management teams to align their IT service delivery approach and frameworks with the strategic business imperatives of their organization. This included providing pragmatic solutions to IT and business risk mitigation and helping Boards and Management understand the risks and impacts of emerging technologies to the organization.
He has developed considerable thought leadership on the topics of cloud computing, shared service and control alignment, IT transformation, critical infrastructure design and protection and continues to work with IT standards bodies and has been involved with Industry Canada’s initiatives on Cloud Computing. This roundtable council is currently examining the role that the public and private sectors will need to play in the widespread adoption of cloud computing in Canada. It is examining infrastructure, controls, requirements for regulation, legal and resource considerations.
Louie previously led a large global consulting firm’s IT Security and Forensic practice in Canada. He has hands on experience leading and executing IT risk assessment projects and third-party outsourcing organizations engagements on both national and international levels.
Louie also works with organizations in the financial, insurance and telecommunications industries to examine global issues which may impact these industries. Additionally, he holds a Government of Canada Level II Security Clearance which allows him to work on highly sensitive projects involving the Canadian Government..
Mark Gosine is a senior legal executive, lawyer and business adviser with extensive international experience advising boards of directors and management teams on strategy, governance, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, financing and complex commercial matters. His career has included senior executive, general counsel, corporate secretarial and board roles with public and private companies in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
A Saint Mary’s alumnus, Mark joined the University’s Board of Governors in 2019. He became Chair of the Governance Committee in 2020 and, in 2022, became Chair of the Finance Committee and Vice-Chair of the Board. He was appointed Chair of the Board of Governors in 2026.
Mark was formerly Executive Vice President, Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of WildBrain Ltd. (formerly DHX Media), where he was responsible for the company’s global legal and regulatory affairs and played a key role in its international growth. His work included mergers and acquisitions, financings, corporate governance, securities, intellectual property, licensing and complex commercial matters. He has also served on the boards of a number of private and joint-venture companies, including businesses co-owned with the Charles M. Schulz family and Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Today, Mark advises public and private companies through his business, media and technology law practice, providing strategic, transactional and general counsel services. He has also served as part-time faculty at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.
Mark holds the ICD.D designation and was appointed Queen’s Counsel, now King’s Counsel, in 2020. His professional recognition includes the Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist for Canada, the Canadian Lawyer Innovatio Award for In-House Dealmakers and the Lexpert Canadian Deal Makers Mid-Market Award.
Mark began his career as a musician after studying jazz at St. Francis Xavier University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Saint Mary’s University in 1995 and his law degree from Dalhousie University.
Dr. Michael Khan was named the 35th President of Saint Mary’s University in July, 2025. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Khan holds a Ph.D. in Human Kinetics from the University of British Columbia, an M.A. in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario, and a B.Sc. in Geophysics from McGill University.
His research explores the cognitive processes underlying movement control, with a focus on the visual control of manual movements. He has published extensively on topics such as skill acquisition, selective attention, dual-task interference and rapid decision making.
Prior to joining Saint Mary’s, Dr. Khan served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at Trent University, where he led academic planning and development. He was previously Dean of Human Kinetics at the University of Windsor and Head of the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciencesat Bangor University in Wales, UK.
Dr. Khan is recognized for his collaborative leadership style and commitment to student success, research, and community engagement. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, he consistently champions strategic growth while enhancing research productivity, forging industry and public sector partnerships, and expanding academic programming. Dr. Khan is a strong advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion, reflecting his belief in investing in and empowering people.
A former intercollegiate squash champion, international athlete, and coach with over 25 years of experience, Dr. Khan also has a strong interest in talent identification and expertise development. His diverse background and global perspective position him to lead Saint Mary’s into its next chapter of academic and community excellence.
Michael Mercer holds both a BA (Hons) in International Development (2010) and an MA in International Development (2016) from Saint Mary’s University. As a student, he served as Vice President, University Affairs with the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA) and represented Saint Mary’s students provincially and nationally as a board member of StudentsNS and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.
Michael’s career spans public policy, government, and private-sector leadership in both Halifax and Ottawa. He is the President of MEMO Advisory Inc., a strategic advisory firm working across innovation, economic development, and public-policy initiatives, and Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Money Innovation Labs (MIL), an emerging platform focused on citizen-capital, innovation funding, and economic-sovereignty solutions.
Since 2018, Michael has been a member of the Saint Mary’s Alumni Council. He also serves as an Officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and lives in Halifax with his wife and two children.
Rylan Higgins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology. He focuses teaching and research on socio-cultural anthropology, the anthropology of food labour and marginality, social class, gender and consumerism, visual anthropology, engaged and public anthropology, the United States and Vietnam.
Sarah is a highly regarded public affairs and corporate communications practitioner in Atlantic Canada.
As Vice President, Communications and Corporate Affairs at Maritime Launch, Sarah draws on her vast experience in both government and the private sector, leading Maritime Launch's communications, public affairs, government relations and community engagement strategies.
Previous to joining Maritime Launch, Sarah was Associate Vice President, Corporate Affairs at NATIONAL Public Relations. During her ten years at NATIONAL, Sarah led Corporate Affairs and Indigenous engagement and she was considered a trusted advisor for clients seeking to secure social license in the communities they operate. Sarah provided strong, seasoned counsel to a wide range of clients in the financial, natural resources, energy, retail, health and economic development sectors.
Previous to joining NATIONAL, Sarah led policy development and provided issues management counsel to high profile federal Cabinet Ministers in Ottawa. Sarah has served as Director of Policy to the President of the Treasury Board, Policy Advisor to the Minister of International Trade and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Sarah is Incident Command System (ICS) and IAP2 certified. Sarah is a graduate of the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University, where she studied Finance and Political Science.
Sarah is a 2022 alumni of the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference. Sarah serves on the Board of Directors for the Canada Games Center and Genome Atlantic.
Sian is an experienced senior executive with over 25 years leading in complex and rapidly changing business environments. She works as the Vice President of Business Transformation for Emera Inc., a Fortune 100 geographically diverse utility and services company based in Halifax, NS. Sian has expertise in human resources, labor relations, change enablement, communications, stakeholder engagement, customer service, and project management.
Early in her career, Sian held numerous roles in human resources in the hospitality and gaming sector. Prior to joining Emera Sian worked for a Fortune 200 consumer packaged goods company as the National Director of Staffing and Development for Canada. Recognized as a strong team player with proven business and people leadership skills, she is committed to the success of Saint Mary’s University.
With a demonstrated commitment to the community, she has been involved with the Saint Mary’s Alumni Association, Dress for Success, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) and currently, Sian also serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth.
Sian has a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s University and a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University. She is a certified Negotiations and Mediation Professional, Dalhousie University, a certified Train the Trainer Professional, Development Dimension International Inc. (DDI), and a certified Change Management Professional, Prosci. Sian holds a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation.
Vivek Sood is Executive Vice President, Related Businesses for Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc. as well as Executive Sponsor for Empire’s Enterprise Resource Planning Initiative, with national responsibility for the Pharmacy, Wholesale, Fuel, Convenience, and Liquor business units. He has been with Sobeys Inc. since 2000 having held several senior level positions in Pharmacy, Merchandising, Treasury, Investor Relations, and Corporate Strategic Planning. Vivek also serves as Chair of Empire’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council.
Vivek is a Board Governor for GS1 Canada, Committee Member for Canada Health Infoway PrescribeITÒ Strategy & Industry Alliances, Board Director for Black Business Consulting, and is Chair of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing & Services at Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business. A strong supporter of innovation in Atlantic Canada, Vivek served as a member of the Investment Committee for Innovacorp and as an associate member, and mentor, for both the Atlantic and Atlanta Creative Destruction Lab programs.
Vivek graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University. He received his Chartered Financial Analyst Designation from the CFA Institute in 2004. In 2021, Vivek completed the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program, the leading national education program for experienced board directors in Canada.
Kavya Shah is a fourth-year accounting student with a minor in entrepreneurship and the Board Chair of the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association. Throughout her time at SMU, Kavya has transitioned from direct participation in student initiatives to mastering the governance infrastructure that allows those initiatives to thrive.
In her first couple of years here, Kavya held leadership roles across multiple societies and contributed to Enactus, where her team competed at regional and national levels before representing SMU on the world stage. These experiences showed firsthand what students can achieve when backed by robust resources and strategic support.
Recognizing that sustaining these opportunities requires institutional excellence, Kavya shifted her focus toward governance in her third year, serving as Finance Committee Chair and representing students on the Academic Senate. This progression reflects her belief that impactful student advocacy relies on clear processes, fiscal responsibility, and strategic planning.
As Board Chair, Kavya is dedicated to serving the student body by championing transparency, strengthening governance practices, and ensuring the board acts as a proactive facilitator for student success. She represents student interests at the highest tiers of university governance, holding seats on both the Academic Senate and the Board of Governors. Combining her background in accounting and entrepreneurship, Kavya brings a pragmatic, analytical approach to financial oversight and long-term sustainability.
Ultimately, she believes that exemplary governance operates seamlessly in the background, setting up the steady framework that empowers student leaders and organizations to achieve their highest potential.