Housing challenges and the rural-urban divide

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Alexa MacLean fell in love with the art of storytelling at an early age. Creative writing and reading were her childhood pastimes and that led her to pursue Media Studies at the Atlantic Media Institute in Halifax, from which she graduated in 2007. She began her career in community television before moving to Alberta where she worked for Shaw TV, CBC and as a camera operator for multiple sport production teams, including the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Elks. She is currently a video journalist with the Global News Halifax team.  

Patricia Doyle-Bedwell is a Mi’kmaq woman. She has a BA (Honours), JD and LL.M from Dalhousie University. Patricia teaches Indigenous Studies in the TYP and in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Dalhousie. She is past co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council, a Dal senator, a member of the Dalhousie Faculty Association Executive Committee, Grievance Committee and Bargaining Committee, and chair of the Indigenous Faculty Caucus. She has been called on by local and national media for her expert commentary on diversity, human rights, women, and politics and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Suzy Hansen was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Halifax Needham in 2021. She is currently the NDP Caucus Chair. Suzy is a former board member of the Halifax Regional School Board and other boards and an active volunteer. She is a member of the Community Services, Human Resources and Private and Local Bills Committees.

Lisa Ryan is the Executive Director of South Shore Open Doors Association and a passionate advocate in the movement to recognize access to safe, adequate and affordable housing as a human right. Empowered by her personal experience with homelessness, she focuses on helping communities build their capacity for innovation and increase their social impact by using data driven approaches, like Coordinated Access, to end homelessness.”