Team Member Title : Directeur

Pronouns: He/HIM

Kjeld Mizpah (KJ) Conyers-Steede is a strategist who focuses on rural and isolated jurisdictions. He is dedicated to understanding how social finance can advance prosperity in small jurisdictions and rural communities. As the founder and CEO of Future Civics, a research development organization based in Nova Scotia, Kj focuses on mobilizing catalytic capital, impact investing, and blended finance to address affordability, infrastructure gaps, and community resilience. His work bridges government, philanthropy, and grassroots leadership to design practical financing tools such as community impact bonds and social innovation labs that enable local transitions in housing, climate adaptation, and economic development. Kj also serves as a policy advisor within the Government of Bermuda, helping shape affordability frameworks, cost-of-living legislation, and supply chain reform.

With experience across Atlantic Canada, Bermuda, and Commonwealth contexts, Kj champions innovative governance models that empower communities rather than entrench top-down systems. His research explores how social finance can accelerate prosperity in rural and isolated regions, and he is completing a master’s thesis on impact investing ecosystems in Atlantic Canada.

Grounded, collaborative, and forward-looking, Kj’s work embodies a belief that prosperity is not just economic, it is civic, intergenerational, and place-based.

Pronouns: she/her

Natalie is a business advisor and project lead with the Centre for Women in Business (CWB) at Mount St. Vincent University (MSVU)  where she focuses on student engagement, start-up development, and leads the economic advancing- Specialized Program in Cooking Entrepreneurship (SPICE). Her work empowers women and students to move from idea to implementation by connecting them with the right advice, tools, entrepreneurial education and training.

Recently appointed to the Board of the Centre for Local Prosperity, Natalie brings a deep commitment to inclusive economic development, rural resilience, and the advancement of Nova Scotians. She believes in the transformative power of community-led economic localization to address some of the region’s most pressing challenges—climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality—while building agency and opportunity for future generations.

A former business owner, Natalie is a recognized leader in Nova Scotia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Her accolades include New Business of the Year and Small Business of the Year from the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Entrepreneur of the Year from the Black Business Initiative, and the Invisible Champion Award from United Way Halifax and The Bhayana Family Foundation. She was also named one of the “Top 25 Immigrants in the Maritimes.”

Natalie holds certificates in Business Development from Waterloo University; and in Leadership and Innovation from Dalhousie University’s Rowe School of Business. She brings hands-on experience in business automation, customer service, and the food sector, with a passion for helping rural and underrepresented entrepreneurs adopt the technologies and mindsets needed to thrive.

As an American immigrant of Afro-Caribbean heritage, Natalie believes that helping others succeed is the greatest form of service. She actively mentors international students and newcomers to Nova Scotia and frequently shares her insights as a speaker, and refuses to be a “doorkeeper” to information that could positively impact others. Her approach is rooted in stewardship, inclusion, and action—ensuring that everyone, regardless of background or geography, has a fair opportunity to shape their future.

When she’s not working, Natalie documents her family’s local adventures on social media with the belief that adventure is for all.

pronouns: he/him

John is a disciple of all things adaptable and resilient, fascinated by the natural workings of the surrounding world. He enjoys the woodlot that he shares with his brother, and is able to express this fascination through conserving and fostering the natural environment of the forest land while exploring how to help it adapt to a shifting climate.
Hobby beekeeping and maple and birch syrup production make the time in the forest all the more interesting. The fascination for natural systems guides his interest for computer modeling and mapping. He has a background in engineering, seafaring, and organizational leadership from a career as a submariner, and appreciates living where the sea meets the land in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. He learned much of the art of sustainability through living in that “tiny planet” of a submarine and through education and involvement with the University of New Mexico and Dalhousie University. John is eager to continue learning and contributing through the Centre for Local Prosperity.

pronouns: she/her

Barb est une professionnelle de l’impact social qui compte plus de 20 ans d’expérience dans le domaine de la philanthropie d’entreprise et des organismes à but non lucratif. Elle est titulaire d’un diplôme en anthropologie culturelle qui a fait naître chez elle un amour pour la compréhension du parcours humain. Ses racines en Nouvelle-Écosse sont profondes, car ses ancêtres paternels font partie des familles de colons de Lunenburg et de Mahone Bay, venues d’Allemagne en 1752. Bien que Barb ait grandi partout au Canada, elle a décidé de s’installer en Nouvelle-Écosse en 2018 pour se rapprocher de la famille de son père et pour adopter la vie côtière. Depuis lors, Barb est devenue une citoyenne soucieuse de la façon dont la province peut prospérer en ces temps incertains, en ouvrant la voie à tous les Néo-Écossais pour qu’ils aient une qualité de vie élevée.

Barb is currently Director, Operations and Employee Experience with Engage Nova Scotia. In her personal time, Barb enjoys communing with the natural beauty of Nova Scotia with her magical dog Merlin, a 9 year old Lab/Shepherd mix and rescue.

pronouns: she/her

Gillian Kerr est chercheuse postdoctorale à l'Université Dalhousie, où elle coordonne le Centre de recherche sur l'avenir rural et travaille sur le projet « Perceptions du changement climatique et de l'avenir social ». Elle est également professeure auxiliaire à l'Université Royal Roads à Victoria, en Colombie-Britannique, où elle enseigne l'économie environnementale et écologique pour la prise de décision. Elle a récemment terminé un stage postdoctoral à l'Université McGill dans le groupe de recherche RESNET sur la recherche et l'application des services écosystémiques au Canada.

Sa thèse de doctorat, intitulée « Market-Based Approaches for Environmental Governance: Exploring the Implementation Gap in Alberta », a exploré les problèmes de gouvernance qui ont entravé l’application des IBM aux objectifs environnementaux en Alberta. Ses recherches portent notamment sur la théorie des services écosystémiques et leur application aux collectivités durables, ainsi que sur l’application de l’économie écologique pour améliorer les avenirs durables. Elle a récemment quitté Edmonton, en Alberta, pour s’installer à Halifax.

pronouns: she/her

Après avoir travaillé comme biologiste pendant plusieurs années, Natalie se sentait limitée dans sa capacité à agir face aux crises environnementales et sociales auxquelles nous sommes confrontés, car bon nombre d’entre elles nécessitent un changement systémique majeur. Ayant un profond intérêt pour les systèmes alimentaires et leur lien avec la justice sociale, le changement climatique et le bien-être public, elle poursuit actuellement une maîtrise en agriculture à Dalhousie. Ses recherches portent sur les stratégies de mobilisation des connaissances pour faciliter la transformation du système alimentaire. Natalie s’est jointe au Caucus jeunesse du Réseau pour une alimentation durable en tant que coprésidente pour aider à faire entendre davantage de voix de jeunes dans les discussions sur l’avenir du système alimentaire. 

She is based in Mi’kma’ki, but draws on her experience growing up on Haida Gwaii to envision resilient and vibrant communities. She is thrilled to be part of the Centre for Local Prosperity team, recognizing that solutions come from within communities themselves.