Mackenzie has worked with CECNB for about three years. She started as a Youth Coordinator in Halifax for the Youth Partnership Initiative. She guided youth in the ideation, application and management of youth service grants made possible by Rising Youth. During this time, she learned about the benefits of the cooperative business model and how those values can help youth achieve their goals. She believes in the power of collaboration and how it can empower youth. In 2022, she transitioned to managing the promotion of the AtlantiCoopLab project through social media and has recently taken on the role of Digital Strategy and Marketing. From experience, she knows that when you give youth access to mentorship and an opportunity to grow in a role, they will rise to the occasion. She has a BFA in Writing from Savannah College of Art and Design and enjoys mountain biking in her free time.

Jennifer Sperry has a degree in Business Administration and previously worked as the Office Coordinator for a Resource Centre. She assisted clients in reaching their job, career and business goals for over 15 years. With this experience, she started her own business in Dartmouth, NS. Jennifer understands first- hand the challenges a person can face in the job market because she completed her GED as a single mother of two. She is excited to help youth acquire skills that will prepare them for the job market.

I moved to New Brunswick from the Swiss mountains a year ago. It was a big change in my life and I realized processes that I had no idea about before I took the leap. I have learned a lot about the world and myself in this phase of my life. I have discovered beautiful people here, great outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and enjoying the beautiful landscapes. I am a Social Worker and have worked with many audiences, mostly children and youth, and then worked in the field of academic research. It is important for me to bring out the needs, but above all the resources of people and communities in their environment, which is why I find the AtlantiCoopLab project, of which I am the coordinator, fascinating!

I am altruistic by nature. Through my actions and interactions I try as much as possible to make the other person better, to give them importance and therefore bring an added value to their self-esteem. This aspect of me has often led me to want to solve social problems such as obesity.

In this regard, I took on the challenge of making organic juice and selling it in order to contribute to the fight against obesity. I launched myself with two of my friends in this project full of enthusiasm, will; but being young, immigrants, without information, nor financing we put the project on hold.

Today with hindsight I think I know what we were missing in spite of this will and I want to share my experience with those young people who want to launch themselves in the entrepreneurial adventure.

I will say that the will is the engine of success however the information and the knowledge will allow you to better orient yourself.

Alexi Rodriguez is new to the co-op sector but very excited for the potential to help bridge gaps in his community through cooperative economics. Last year he worked for iMOVe providing co-op workshops and helping create an online guidebook to teach communities about co-ops through a culturally appropriate lens.

Starting as an iMOVE participant when he was 17, he gradually grew into the role of facilitator/mentor on various programs and events over the years. These opportunities exposed him to the strength of community support and the endless possibilities that can be achieved by removing barriers to healthy outlets. These projects were mainly arts-based but they set the stage for Alexi’s next pursuit, the outdoor adventure industry.

He started McKinnon Kayak Tours in 2019 with hopes to build an Eco-Tourism Mecca and spend more time with his Grandparents on the West Coast of Cape Breton Island. He's since successfully guided many successful sea kayak tours through the business. He struggled with the pitfalls of the system growing up and realized as an adult that the outdoor adventure lifestyle/industry was a perfect way to fuel him in a positive way. This made him want to share this experience with folks coming from similar backgrounds as him.

In 2020 he started the Different Strokes Paddle Program, offering free paddle instruction to BIPOC communities in Nova Scotia. He's since been contracted to offer programming opportunities to different groups throughout the province.

Rotchild Choisy is an emerging multidisciplinary artist, originally from Haiti, who is completing his 4th year of the Bachelor of Visual Arts program at the Université de Moncton, with a concentration in painting and sculpture. He will be exhibiting his graduation work at the Galerie d'art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen in April 2022. Since 2018, he has had solo and group exhibitions at the Triangle Gallery in the Visual Arts Department, and solo exhibitions at the Champlain Library Gallery, among others. He also did a sculptural installation as part of the 2021 Night of Ideas, organized by Resurgo Place and the Alliance Française de Moncton. In 2021, he won a Leadership Scholarship from the AÉÉICUM and Dr. Denis Prud'homme, and an Artist Scholarship from the FÉÉCUM and in 2020, he won the 2019 Merit Scholarship from the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation.

His artwork focuses on the social, economic, and political relationships people have with their environment through painting and sculpture, and also with multimedia explorations. He is excited to bring this lense to his work with youth.