Team Member Title Director

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.

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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 is a social impact professional with more than 20+ years of experience in the corporate philanthropy and nonprofit space. She has a degree in Cultural Anthropology which sparked her love of understanding the human journey. Her roots in Nova Scotia run deep, as her paternal ancestors are one of the settler families of Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, coming from Germany in 1752. Although Barb grew up all across Canada, she decided to make Nova Scotia her home in 2018 to be closer to her father’s side of the family and to embrace coastal living. Since then, Barb has become a concerned citizen in how the province can thrive in these uncertain times, building pathways for all Nova Scotians to have a high quality of life.

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.

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Dr. Gillian Kerr is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Dalhousie, coordinating the Rural Futures Research Centre and working with the ‘Perceptions of Climate Change and Social Futures’ project. She is also adjunct faculty at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC where she teaches environmental and ecological economics for decision-making. She recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University in the RESNET research group on ecosystem service research and application across Canada.

Her doctoral thesis, “Market-Based Approaches for Environmental Governance: Exploring the Implementation Gap in Alberta” explored governance issues that have impeded that application of MBIs for environmental objectives in Alberta. Her research interests include ecosystem services theory and application for sustainable communities, and the application of ecological economics to enhance sustainable futures. She has recently moved to Halifax from Edmonton, Alberta.

pronouns: she/her

After working as a biologist for several years, Natalie felt limited in her ability to act on the environmental and social crises we face, as many of them require large systemic change. With a deep interest in food systems and their connection to social justice, climate change, and public well-being, she is currently pursuing a MSc in Agriculture at Dalhousie. Her research focuses on knowledge mobilization strategies to facilitate food system transformation. Natalie joined the Food Secure Canada Youth Caucus as co-chair to help bring more youth voices into discussions on food system futures. 

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.