Today, I have the pleasure of sharing news with you that the NSBS Council has unanimously chosen a new CEO. We welcome Cheryl Hodder, QC, an accomplished and respected leader with more than 30 years of legal, governance and executive business experience. Cheryl has served as Chief Sustainability and Legal Officer with Canada Post Corporation (CPC), based in Ottawa, and she has been leading a team across a diverse portfolio that is directly relevant to NSBS’s mandate.
We are delighted to welcome Cheryl “home”, where she has served and practiced over many years. She will begin in her new role in mid-September 2022. Please see the links below, including a full profile for her, as well as the NSBS CEO search profile and press release we will be issuing shortly. This positive outcome is a result of a very comprehensive national recruitment process, led by a selection committee appointed by Council. Council unanimously approved the committee recommendation.
Cheryl’s most recent role saw her as executive responsible for Indigenous Reconciliation and with other executives shared responsibility for EDI, as a pillar of Canada Post’s ESG strategy. She also provided support to the work of a diverse employee group involved in developing a new anti-racism charter. And, as part of the learning path and process around the organization’s accessibility strategy, she has undertaken extensive consultation across the country involving diverse groups with lived experience, and she has had the opportunity to be involved in intensive unconscious bias training.
NSBS will benefit from Cheryl’s experiences, as we continue to focus on the momentum and priorities of our organization. Under Cheryl’s leadership we will build upon our success, regulating the profession in the public interest, and in a manner that is proactive, inclusive and supportive so our members deliver competent and ethical legal services. Cheryl has a deep and abiding respect for lawyers’ role in society. She has had a broad engagement in the profession over her diverse career and she is a seasoned governance professional with a distinctive skillset honed over many years of taking on roles that were both challenging and meaningful.
Much has been accomplished over the last number of years, and it is to the credit of a professional and engaged staff and the many dedicated Council and committee members who volunteer their valuable knowledge and time to our society. And as we all know, we have been with an Acting Executive Director for longer than perhaps anticipated. We are extremely grateful for Jacqueline Mullenger’s leadership during this time of change and growth.
Members of the search committee are:
- Melanie Petrunia, Lawyer, Nijhawan McMillan Petrunia (Committee Co-Chair/Chair)
- Tuma Young, Assist. Professor, Indigenous Studies, Cape Breton University (Committee Co-Chair until June/22)
- Mark Scott, Chief Crown Attorney, Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service
- Carole Lee Reinhardt, Professional Executive Freelancer
- Alisha Brown-Fagan, Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives, Office of Equity & Anti-Racism Initiatives, Province of Nova Scotia
- Morgan Manzer, Lawyer, Nova Scotia Legal Aid, Social Justice Office
- Susan Hayes, Chief Professional Resources Officer, Stewart McKelvey
We thank the committee and all NSBS members for their continued professionalism, commitment to NSBS and its members and those whom we serve.
Profile of Cheryl Hodder, QC
Media Release
NSBS CEO Search Profile
Melanie Petrunia
NSBS President