Our People

Alexandra Theroux

Director of Operations

Alexandra’s pronouns are she/ her

Having worked in the healthcare sector for almost 10 years, Alexandra feels strongly about giving back to her community and supporting the work of community organizations in improving the overall health of Nova Scotians. She is passionate about human rights advocacy, gender & race equity, and environmental issues. Alexandra has worked at Nova Scotia Community College and the Department of Health & Wellness in Administrative and Project Management positions. She is currently a Volunteer Board Member of the Halifax Community Health Board. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing & Management from Mount Saint Vincent University. Alexandra is an avid reader who enjoys drawing and writing stories of her own.

Teri Brezner

Director of Learning Networks

Teri's pronouns are she/ her

Annika Voltan

Executive Director

Annika’s pronouns are she/ her

Annika Voltan is the Executive Director of IONS. She supports the broader team and Board of Directors and steers the implementation of the strategic plan. Prior to joining IONS Annika was the Executive Director of Inspiring Communities where she helped grow the field of systems change through fostering activities related to community-led impact, evaluation and learning. Annika has experience working across federal and provincial government departments, academia and the business sector. She has a PhD in social entrepreneurship and research interests in networks and social innovation. Annika has three young children and can be found exploring nature and the local craft beer scene.

Clary Chambers

Engagement Lead

Clary's pronouns are she/her

Known for her empathic curiosity and creative ideas, Clary demonstrates what it means to live boldly and bravely. Inspiring others to advocate for their own needs, she brings a wealth of knowledge from her lived experience and formal education in the realm of disability justice. Experiencing the world as a chronic pain survivor has taught Clary the importance of proactive accessible design in all spaces. Clary holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights with a double minor in Communications and Legal Studies from Carleton University.

Clary brings her entrepreneurial spirit and experience to IONS from running a successful consulting and public speaking business, Spark Clarity, for 6 years prior to joining IONS.

As a Black queer woman of colour, Clary holds many intersections that she sees as her superpowers, allowing her to relate to community as she discovers new ways of working and co-creating change with and for the community impact sector.

When Clary isn’t asking bold questions, you can find her gardening and cultivating community with her fiancée, in Cape Breton. They are working to transform their once forgotten acreage into a flower farm and event space for queer, disabled, chronically ill and Black folks to thrive in nature.

Diane Connors

Director of Communications - On Parental Leave

Diane’s pronouns are she/ her

Diane grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, near the valley of the North Saskatchewan River. She grounds her identity in her two grandmothers, one from Glasgow and one from the Hong Kong New Territories. Diane has worked with several non-profit and civil society organizations over the last ten years on work relating to environmental protection, international development, activism and advocacy, and knowledge sharing and capacity building. She has focused on youth leadership, climate change and sustainability, Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and community engagement from the grassroots to United Nations forums. Diane seeks to facilitate good team processes and collaboration, and help hold structure and shape for organizations in order to support people to carry out mandates that better society. She lives in Dartmouth with her husband and dog, enjoys swimming, practicing various creative arts, and hosting gatherings and parties with a beautiful community of friends and family in Nova Scotia.

Haley Moriarity

Communications Coordinator

Haley’s pronouns are she/ they

A creative thinker and organizer, Haley is a queer Newfoundlander with a soft spot for Nova Scotia. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University of Newfoundland with focuses in Industrial Relations, Organizational Behaviour, and equitable policy. Haley is passionate about advocacy work, uplifting voices, youth development, and making space for community. Her goal is to grow and thrive within the Community Impact Sector and explore the many opportunities to make change.

Haley is a member of No Vowels Improv – an improv group of queer, female, and non-binary artists who perform shows in St. John’s, NL. She is also a pilot and mentor who dedicates a lot of her time working with youth through the Air Cadet program as a part-time reserve member of the Canadian Armed Forces. In this leadership role, Haley teaches youth how to fly gliders (planes with no engines!) and coordinates squadron administration and training.

A few of Haley’s favourite pastimes include tending to her many plants and feeding ducks whenever she can.

Jeanine Kazungu

Operations Coordinator

Jeanine's pronouns are she/her

Jeanine is originally from Rwanda, a country in East Africa, and has lived in a few countries before making Canada, specifically Nova Scotia, her home. She holds a diverse educational background, with a master's degree in Child and Youth Study from Mount Saint Vincent University and another in International Relations from Coventry University in England. Her academic journey began with a bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Rwanda, showcasing her multidisciplinary approach to societal challenges.

Jeanine is a firm believer in human dignity and has a strong commitment to advocate for human rights and equitable access to services. Driven by her passion for equity and justice, Jeanine brings a scholar-activist approach to her work, particularly within organizations striving to empower underrepresented communities and diverse populations. Prior to joining IONS, Jeanine served as a Program Coordinator for a federally funded project focused on empowering youth with essential skills, training, and employment opportunities.

Jeanine has also been actively involved in research and advocacy work centered on the protection of human and child rights. Her academic interests include research and theses on diverse topics such as the voices of child marriage survivors and the significance of agency. She also volunteers for All Nations International Development Agency (ANIDA) based in Toronto as a local representative for their community-based projects.

Outside of her professional commitments, Jeanine is a culture and learning enthusiast. She finds balance in spending quality time with loved ones, attending church, exploring new travel destinations, indulging in brunch, and trying-out diverse cuisines. A delightful quirk about her is her love for a good TV show- particularly Korean dramas.

Kristen Faulkner

Director of Sector Transformation

Kristen’s pronouns are she/ her

Kristen has spent the last fifteen years working and volunteering in the community impact sector with a background in communications and nonprofit leadership. She has specialized in strategic planning, communications, partnership development and program delivery. Kristen is passionate about storytelling for impact and advocating for long-term systems change.

Recently she’s been drawn to sustainable design and systems thinking and energized by working in growing and emergent community organizations. Kristen is fascinated by organizational development and creating environments where teams flourish and honour the unique experiences that each person holds. Curiosity and humility are driving forces in her life and relationships.

Kristen is passionate about community-driven collective action and is on a journey to help build more sustainable and equitable systems. She’s really excited about IONS work in advocating for, and re-imagining new systems for the sector, while prototyping new ways of working that centre our values.

She loves exploring nature with her black lab, volunteering, learning from her toddler, and enthusiastically trying to make her own clothing. She grew up in Kjipuktuk and spent 6 years living in her family’s other home of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Lisa Fiamelli

Executive Assistant

Lisa’s pronouns are she/they

Lisa is the Executive Assistant at IONS. She supports the Executive Director and the Board of Directors.

She has worked in community organizations in Nova Scotia for over 10 years in diverse capacities; as a front-line staff, as a fundraiser, and in human resources & administration.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts- Double Major in Sociology & Social Anthropology and French from Dalhousie University, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Nova Scotia Community College. Lisa is also a certified Hatha Yoga instructor and aims to use a decolonized approach when she teaches.

Lisa is a board member & co-facilitator of support groups at an organization that supports women and non-binary folks experiencing and/or healing from gender-based violence & conjugal violence (Women AWARE- based in Montreal, QC.)

Lisa is an intersectional feminist and a proud cat mom. She enjoys travelling, psychological thrillers, stand-up comedy, and spending time in nature.

Things that are important to them: giving back to community, equity & justice, trans rights, anti-racism, anti-oppression, decolonization.

Lydia Phillip

Director of Communications - Interim

Lydia’s pronouns are she/ they

Lydia has been purposeful about building her communications career around the community sector where she believes storytelling, advocacy, and education meets social impact. With the majority of her experience spent working in impact organizations, Lydia is passionate about the sector as a catalyst to create social, environmental, and economic change while also empowering historically marginalized and underrepresented communities. Long story short, Lydia is intentional about being in spaces where her work will “Do Good!”

Lydia holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honours from Mount Allison University, is a published writer and researcher, and is currently serving on the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Maritime Board and the Zatzman Sportsplex Board. Lydia has been invited to conferences to present her brand research, communications practices, and leadership. She has been recognized nationally for her social advocacy, anti-racism initiatives, and work towards gender equality! Fun fact: Lydia is also a private pilot and senior flight instructor, mentoring and teaching youth how to fly gliders through the Air Cadet Flying program as a reserve member of the Canadian Armed Forces!

Lydia balances her work with finding new adventures, hitting the slopes on her snowboard or the lakes with her paddleboard, or relaxing with a good read.

Priya Andrade

Learning Content Developer

Priya’s pronouns are she/ her

Travel and international living have both cultivated Priya’s creative mindset. Throughout her life she has been immersed in several cultures – U.A.E, Goa, Uganda, London (UK), Korea, and Japan. These many intersectional lives influence her educational and artistic lens for engagement work here at IONS.

Immigrating to Canada as a teen fostered her early inspiration for what has become a lifelong journey of understanding the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world she occupies. Her almost 20-year career in the community impact sector has been focused on facilitating art education and being led to understand love and life through work with our most important citizens (ages 0-5).

Priya has over ten years of experience leading reconciliation and language capacity-building with international newcomers and students. In her volunteer career she has served as the chair of a reconciliation committee in a national protestant denomination and now, she continues to offer her anti-oppression learning on the Canadian advisory committee on anti-racism.

To balance her work, she deeply enjoys and values excellence in single parenting. Priya is anchored through multiple sites of knowledge and love through long-distance cycling and making stories through multi-media art of flying sperm whales.

Tyler Colbourne

Project Lead, Good Governance Project

Tyler's pronouns are he/him/they

Tyler is a creative, dynamic, and accomplished leader with a passion for social justice, community development, collaboration, and social innovation. He is a registered social worker (#8635 NSCSW), having completed his degree after 18 years of trying. He is now completing his Masters of Social Work through the University of Victoria.

As a white, queer, cisgender male, settler in Mi'kma'ki, Tyler is curious about exploring the intersections between decolonization, climate adaptation, and social impact work. His queerness and lived experiences greatly inform his work in the for-impact sector. Tyler is an eager community volunteer and received the Caring Canadian Award in 2015 and the Sovereign Medal for Volunteers in 2016 in recognition of his many years of volunteering.

For the last 18 years, he has worked in non-profit, tourism, communications & marketing, and the creative arts. Tyler lives with his partner Matt and their dog Otis in Punamukwatijk/Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.