Nourish Board of Directors

Debbie Madore, (She/Her)

Professional Dietitian

Debbie has been working with the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board (CB-VRSB) as the Nutrition for Learning Dietitian since 1999. In this capacity Debbie manages all aspects of nutrition programming for all schools in the CB-VRSB. She coordinates the ordering of food and supplies along with volunteer management functions at the program level; and develops and manages key partnerships, budgets, and fundraising initiatives at the board level.

Debbie was an active participant on the provincial task force that developed the Food and Nutrition Policy for Nova Scotia Public Schools and continues her work today as part of the policy advisory group tasked with revision. She continues to work towards increasing capacity for policy by providing supports and resources for healthy food in the school setting. Debbie served as the co-chair for the Breakfast for Learning, Nova Scotia Advisory Council from 2007-2010. In this capacity she played an integral role in advocating for government support for school breakfast programs, which was realized in 2005. Debbie enjoys being active and walks every day. She especially enjoys her walks in Big Pond on the Bras d’Or Lakes during the summer. Her greatest passion in life is her family, most importantly her daughter who teaches her something new every day.

Janice Silver, (She/Her)

Professional Dietitian (Retired)

Janice Silver has been involved with Nova Scotia school breakfast programs in various capacities since 1995, from program volunteer to serving as the consultant for breakfast programs at the Halifax Regional School Board from 2001 to 2011. From 1998 until 2010 Janice was an active member of the Breakfast for Learning, Nova Scotia Advisory Council. For seven years, she was its chair/co-chair and was instrumental in the successful lobbying of the provincial government to financially support school breakfast programs. She was a founding member of Nourish and its first Chair from 2013 -2018. Now retired, she remains passionate about creating healthier eating environments for kids and giving back to her community. Janice has lived in Dartmouth for 41 years and is married with two grown daughters. When she’s not busy volunteering, she loves to travel with family and friends and spends many enjoyable hours on golf courses and curling rinks. 

Heather Morse (She/Her)

Educator (Retired)

Heather Morse, former educator, has held many roles including teacher, curriculum supervisor, principal, educational coach for teachers and principals in Belize in Central America and Health and Wellness Consultant for the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board. Now retired, Heather continues to support and lead the way focusing on the “ Power of Community.” She has a great desire to continue her work for Food Security and Community Connections which are all focused on the health and wellness of every community.

Heather chairs the Western King’s Community Health Board, Co - Chairs the Provincial Council of Chairs for Nova Scotia Health, is the Vice - Chair for the Kingston Greenwood Mental Health Association, serves on the Board of Directors for the Kings County Food Council, is a member of Farm to School and the newly formed School Food Group with the Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education. She sits on the Community Development Committee for Berwick Town Council, is a member of the Community Alcohol Partnerships, and is a co - facilitator for Valley Restorative Justice. Heather lives with her husband in Berwick in the Annapolis Valley. When not volunteering within their community and beyond, they like to spend time with their son and family in Truro.

Nancy Saul-Demers (She/Her) 

Public Relations Consultant

Happily, retired since 2008, Nancy has been choosing volunteer commitments where she can make a difference.  Her career included roles managing not-for-profit organizations and managing communications for various Government of Alberta ministries and Crown corporations. She also started, grew, and managed a successful public relations firm, which enabled her to reach her objective of retiring before she was fifty. A deep commitment to local food systems was a key factors that led her to choose the Annapolis Valley as a post-career location. Nancy is a long-time member of a community supported agriculture program, a past board member of the Front Street Community Oven in Wolfville, and currently a volunteer with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul program - which focuses on providing emergency food support to those in need – and TapRoot Farms veggie and fruit deliveries to those who identify the need.

Having completed her Culinary Nutrition Expert certification with honours in 2019, Nancy was intrigued when she heard about Nourish Nova Scotia at a Devour! Food Film Fest event. She joined the Nourish Business Team, which she now co-chairs, in early 2020 and joined the Communications Team a few months later. Believing that her paid and unpaid work honed skills of use to Nourish, Nancy was pleased to accept the most recent offer to join the Nourish board. Nancy and her husband are both addicted to SCUBA diving, and spend winter months on the tiny island of Mayreau in the southern Caribbean. 

Maria Wilson (She/Her)

Epidemiologist

Maria studied at Mount Allison and Dalhousie University, and currently works with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. She is interested in how the social determinants of health impact outcomes among young people. While in high school, she volunteered at her former elementary school's breakfast program and saw the positive impact it had on students, which led her to volunteer with Nourish when she moved to Halifax. She has helped out with French translations of Nourish documents and is a member of the Volunteer and EDI Teams. She is looking forward to the contributions she will be able to make in her role as a Board Member. In her spare time, Maria loves to create, cook, and share new recipes, hike, and play ultimate frisbee.

Helen Wong (She/Her)

PhD Student and Dietitian

Helen completed her dietetic internship, and previously worked as a dietitian, at The Hospital for Sick Children. She went on to pursue a Master of Science at Central Michigan University to broaden her nutrition knowledge and strengthen her research skills. Since moving to Halifax, Helen has continued to work in various areas of health research. Missing her passion for nutrition, she decided to return to school for her doctoral degree. She is presently a PhD student within the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University. Helen's research interests focus on how food environments can impact food choices and eating habits. For her PhD project, she will be taking a closer look at digital food environments and online grocery shopping.

In June 2020, Helen joined the communication team at Nourish to contribute her expertise towards supporting healthy food environments for children and youth. As an incoming board member, she looks forward to new and exciting opportunities to advocate for children and youth so that they can develop critical knowledge and skills required for them to make informed food choices. In her leisure time, Helen enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, exploring new recipes, and running around the beautiful parks of Halifax.

Suzanne (Sue) Vincent, Treasurer (She/Her)

Retired Chief Financial Officer/Chief Accounting Officer (Fortune 500)/VP of Internal Audit/Big Four Audit Partner

Sue has over 20 years of experience serving complex, global corporations. Prior to her retirement in 2019, Sue held multiple executive leadership roles with a Fortune 500 company in the United States.  Prior to her corporate roles, Sue spent 17 years in public accounting, including four years as an audit partner with KPMG LLP.  During her time with KPMG, she completed a rotation through the firm’s department of professional practice in New York and was a frequent presenter for KPMG’s Executive Education Program, a national instructor and a contributing author for internal control publications.  Sue brings deep corporate governance experience through her work with corporate boards, including audit committees, and is qualified to serve as a financial expert.

Sue and her husband both graduated from Acadia University and live in the Annapolis Valley with their three children. She is a firm believer that healthy eating translates to better learning and has served as a board member/advisor of numerous food based non-profit organizations including Nourish Nova Scotia, Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee, and Forgotten Harvest in Detroit. She and her husband spend much of their free time with their kids’ minor hockey activities and Sue also currently serves as a board member and the Chair of Finance for the Acadia Minor Hockey Association. When they are not playing hockey, the family loves to travel, explore and stay active.

Irene Ogada (She/Her)

Assistant Professor of Nutrition

For the last decade and a half, Irene has worked with universities in Atlantic Canada and Kenya. She is an educator who is passionate about designing food and nutrition interventions that improve the lives of children. This passion has been shaped by her experiences as a mother, and partnerships with communities striving to improve the nutrition outcomes for their children. In her current position as an Assistant Professor of nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University, Irene teaches courses in Community Nutrition Programs, Nutrition for Children and Mothers, as well as Social Determinants of Health. Prior to joining academia in Kenya, she was a schoolteacher, in which she also coordinated the school feeding program. In these capacities, she advocated for good nutrition in the school agenda. She believes that adequate nutrition for children, strengthens the future of individuals, communities, and ultimately, the country.

Monica Rodriguez (She/Her)

Dietitian/Consultant/ Fundraiser/Volunteer/Mom

Monica has a rich background in school and community nutrition, from inner-city programming to partnership building, research, policy development, industry consulting, communications and public relations. For 10+ years her focus has been on school healthy eating programs to increase access to healthy foods, food literacy, and food skills for children and youth. During this time, she was a member of the NS Provincial Advisory Committee for the development of the School Food and Nutrition Policy and subsequent supporting documents and policy revisions. She spent several years as a consultant with the food industry and various associations, where she helped shape health communications and programs for implementation across Nova Scotia. She continues to share her food and nutrition knowledge in her private practice through workplace wellness initiatives and counselling, working with businesses, small groups, and individuals.

For the past 3 years she has worked with Nourish Nova Scotia in a fundraising capacity to grow the mission by building relationships, sharing the Nourish story, and championing the cause. Currently she is completing a professional certificate in Fundraising Management from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) and continues to build knowledge and skills in this area. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and Masters of Science from the Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy at Tufts University. She lives in Halifax with her husband and three children. In her spare time, she enjoys distance running, plant-based cooking, supporting community initiatives, and is very active in youth sports.