Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, PhD
Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard is the first African Nova Scotian woman to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, representing the province of Nova Scotia and her hometown of East Preston. Senator Bernard champions issues impacting African Canadians and people living with disabilities. She is particularly invested in human rights, employment equity, and mental health. Through her involvement in community projects, her social work career, her time with Dalhousie School of Social Work, and now her work in the Senate, Senator Bernard has maintained a deep dedication to social justice and racial justice. Senator Bernard advocates for reparations for the historical and continued anti-Black racism impacting the lives of African Canadians.
Lauren Grant, BScK, JD
Lauren is a proud descendant of the communities of East Preston, North Preston and Africville. Growing up she recalls hearing stories of the land issues in the community of North Preston where her paternal grandfather was raised and acted as a Community Navigator when the first Community Land Titles Clarification Act was enacted. Lauren is a practising lawyer and has continued her grandfather’s legacy, currently serving as the Program Director for the Land Titles Initiative. Lauren is responsible for the administration of the Land Titles Clarification Act, a mechanism for individuals to make claims of use and occupation on lands in specific land titles clarification areas. Through cross-government collaboration, she champions the further development and strengthening of program opportunities and provides leadership and direction on policy, procedure, legislative amendments and operations. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology) and Juris Doctor Degree (Health Law and Policy specialization) from Dalhousie University. She was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 2012. Prior to her current work, Lauren worked in private practice and also served as the Project Coordinator of Access Legal Help NS, with the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, which offered pro bono summary legal advice to Nova Scotians living in poverty, the working poor, non-profit organizations and to others facing barriers in gaining access to justice. In this position, Lauren founded the Wills Clinic, offering free estate planning documents to low-income Seniors in the Prestons. She currently serves on the Board for the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia and spends her free time coaching youth soccer and mentoring African Nova Scotian undergraduate students.
Veronica Marsman, MSW
In January 2017, Veronica Marsman retired as the Executive Director of the Akoma Family Centre, a children’s residential facility after 7 years, to assume the position of Property Manager with Akoma Holdings. As Property Manager, Veronica has responsibility to manage and develop 320 acres of Black Community property. Prior to working at Akoma, Veronica retired from the provincial Department of Community Services with over 27 years of experience in a number of positions from a front-line child protection social worker to a Manager of 3 District Offices in HRM with budget responsibilities of up to 15M.
In the volunteer sector, Veronica has been on several community boards and initiatives. She is the Co-Manager of the African Nova Scotia COVID-19 Initiative where she works with Community Coordinators throughout the province to ensure people of African descent are vaccinated and remain safe from the pandemic. She is also a member of the Richard Preston Centre for Excellence. Veronica until recently was the Past President of the Nova Association of Black Social Workers and was previously the Co-Chair of the Health Association of African Canadians. Veronica is the founding Member of the SEARCH (Support, Education, and Appreciation of Race Culture and Heritage) Support Group for White parents with Bi-Racial/Black children and the first Black President of the Canadian Association of Social Workers. Veronica holds a BA, BSW and MSW degrees from Dalhousie University and is now an Associate member of the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers.