Staff
Originally from Cape Breton Island, Fiona moved to Halifax in 2014 to attend Saint Mary’s University, where she discovered her passion for creating events while working as a student. She began her time with Halifax Pride in 2017 as the Logistics Coordinator, later transitioning to the role of Operations Manager before departing in 2022. In her time away from Pride, she joined Events East Group, furthering her expertise in event planning and operations. Her dedication to organizing accessible, community-focused events remains at the heart of her work. In her free time she enjoys making friendship bracelets at light speed, playing Zelda, or building Legos (until she runs out of space for them).
Fiona Kerr (she/her)
Executive Director
fiona@halifaxpride.com
Originally from Pictou County, Christine has called HRM home for just over ten years. In recent years, she's been focused on growing her own wedding coordination business as well as working full time for another local business. She loves paddleboarding, building the perfect spreadsheet, anything chocolate, hiking, animals and connecting people who share similar goals.
Christine Ingham (she/her)
Partnership Manager
christine@halifaxpride.com
Chris Cochrane (she/her)
2SQTBIPOC Skills Project Manager
chris@halifaxpride.com
Don Brownrigg (he/him)
Director of Operations & Canada Pride
don@halifaxpride.com
Mykel Denny (nekm)
2SQTBIPOC Skills Project Indigenous Engagement Coordinator
mykel@halifaxpride.com
Board of Directors
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.
Connor McKiggan (he/they)
Board Chair
connor@halifaxpride.com
Carmel 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.
Carmel Farahbakhsh (they/them)
Board Vice Chair
carmel@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.
Justin Greek (he/him)
Board Treasurer
treasurer@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.
Brady Reid (he/him)
Board Secretary
secretary@halifaxpride.com
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.
Kathleen King (she/her)
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.
Melody Lumen (she/they)
Kay 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.
Kay Macdonald (they/them)
