Nova Scotia ACORN Leaders

Hannah Wood

Chair of the Halifax-Peninsula chapter

Originally hailing from New Brunswick, Hannah has been a fierce and effective disability advocate and is an urban chicken-keeping enthusiast. Hannah was elected chair of the Halifax-Peninsula Chapter in 2020 and is passionate about tenants rights and fair and affordable housing.

Janice Pace

Co-Chair of the Halifax-Peninsula Chapter

Janice Pace is from Sackville and has lived in Nova Scotia her whole life. Being low-income and disabled herself, Janice got involved with ACORN in 2016 to help fight for equal rights for other disabled and low-income people in her community. She’s pictured with her daughter and honorary co-co-chair, Angel.

Aidan Tompkins

Treasury-Secretary of the Halifax-Peninsula Chapter

Aidan has been a member since March of 2020, he hails from Cape Breton but has lived in Halifax for over a decade. He became passionate about rent control and tried his hand at petition-making after he got a 29% rent increase in late 2019. Since joining forces with ACORN he has become treasurer of the Halifax-Peninsula Chapter and is a strong advocate for rent control, affordable housing, and political reform.

Fabian (Pat) Donovan

Co-Chair of the Halifax-Mainland Chapter

Born in Glace Bay Nova Scotia, Pat grew up in Halifax, where he moved after his father was laid off from the coal mines. His childhood in the 60s and 70s during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war, as well as the music of the time, helped form the beliefs he holds today. Pat has been fighting for rent control and rights for marginalized people for the last 50 years.

Marjorie Pemberton

Secretary of the Halifax-Mainland Chapter

Marjorie has been a member of ACORN for 4 years, and was inspired to help lead her chapter by the amazing members she has met in her time here. From a young age she has believed in the power of the people, and has dedicated her senior years to fighting for our rights! She believes honesty, hard team work, and a lot of putting one foot in front of the other will bring us justice, and she’s ready to fight for it!

Lisa Hayhurst

Chair of Dartmouth ACORN

Lisa brings her experience helping lead Nova Scotia ACORN’s successful Rent Control Now campaign to the ACORN Canada national board, where she sits as a Nova Scotia rep. Lisa is currently focussed on winning a landlord licensing system in the Halifax Regional Municipality and being a thorn in the side of her negligent landlord.

Tim Allenby

Co-Chair of Dartmouth ACORN

Tim brings his activist knowledge to the table at every meeting and assists Lisa and the other leaders in the HRM in developing strong campaigns for housing justice. Tim was very active in Nova Scotia’s ACORN successful rent control campaign, and continues to help lead up the provincial housing campaigns in the province.