CONTENTS
3 Education Programs
Impact that resonates both locally and globally
ACTivate
Tourism evolves as communities reimagine local development
9
Engage
Shifting power, sparking change
Robyn Tingley
StFX Grad and Coady Supporter Champions Education in Creating Just World
St. Francis Xavier University and Coady Institute stand on the lands of Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded home of the Mi’kmaw. We express our deep gratitude and appreciation to the generations of Mi’kmaw who, since time immemorial, have loved and stewarded these lands and the beings who call them home. Colonization is not just history; it exists in the present tense. While we strive to decolonize ourselves and our University, we know there is still much for us to learn. We are committed to doing the hard work of self-reflection and to repairing relationships with the Mi’kmaw on whose lands we reside, including embracing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action and embodying their spirit in our plans to move forward with our University.
Ms~t wiaqpulti’kl ankukamkewe’l
We are all treaty people.
Year in Review
Community programs, leadership training, and global partnerships
Heidi Abramyk
Found belonging, culture, and confidence through IWCL, mentorship, and Métis community storytelling
23
Social Impact and Entrepreneurship
Young changemakers blend business with purpose and impact 27
Donors and Supporters
Donor support strengthens Coady’s global impact through education and social change
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Your support helps us address social justice and ensure equitable development in our own Atlantic Canadian communities, across the country and on the international stage.
Reflecting upon Coady Institute’s 2024-25 year, I am incredibly proud of all that Coady Institute’s staff and partners have accomplished. Whether it is in engaging with St. Francis Xavier students, working with partners here in Atlantic Canada and Canada, or in numerous countries around the world, we remain committed to providing programs focused on prioritizing asset-based and community-driven development and adult education. This annual report reflects the impact Coady continues to have in the world. It also illustrates the strong partnerships we have with individuals and organizations that make social change possible.
We were able to welcome the more than 50 participants to campus for certificate programs focused on Asset-Based Community-Led Development, Climate Resilience, and Livelihoods and Markets in 2024. Also on campus were Pathy Foundation Fellows and participants in the outstanding Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program.
While we have had less programs over the past few years on the StFX campus, our education models serving community leaders evolve and thrive. Most significantly, staff traveled to Tanzania, Ethiopia, India, and Bangladesh working with five partners on Engage! Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship, a project funded by Global Affairs Canada, and to several other countries as key learning partners to several other initiatives. Through local and regional courses, community-led research, training-of-trainer programs, and advocacy activities, more than 10,000 people have participated in these programs directly or indirectly.
We also continued to provide opportunity and mentorship for St. Francis Xavier University students. This includes direct internships with Coady, the Sears Internships in Social Enterprise Program, and Pathy Fellowships. Through the DiscoverBox program funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour Skills and Immigration we have offered the Xaverian Innovation and Entrepreneurs MicroGrants, Impact X, the Social Enterprise Fund, StFX Pitch Events, the Innovation Challenge, and the Wallace Family Internships. The initial Impact X Summit for Entrepreneurship & Social Change was nationally recognized by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.
Our partnership with Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST) continues to grow strong. ACTivate, short for Activating Community Tourism, is funded by the Government of Canada through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and supports people who want to make a positive change in their community and explore more sustainable approaches to tourism development. We are now working with a fourth cohort of the program.
A significant accomplishment this year was the intensive consultations and development of Coady Institute’s new strategic plan. Walking with Community: Coady Institute’s Strategic Direction for 2025 to 2030 was launched in May 2025. The plan articulates the team’s values in interacting with each other and in its work with communities and outlines six core beliefs that will serve to guide the Institute’s work. The strategic plan sets outcomes and actions for the next five years in the areas of education, partnership and community engagement, knowledge co-creation, StFX connections, networks, and sustainability. The education program includes a variety of online courses, regional in-person courses, and on-campus fellowships among other initiatives.
Of course, none of this work would be possible without our incredible supporters over years and even decades. Your support helps us address social justice and ensure equitable development in our own Atlantic Canadian communities, across the country, and on the international stage. Thank you for believing in Coady Institute and the work we do together.
Eileen Alma Executive Director Coady Institute
Coady Institute welcomed the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister for International Development (2023-25) to campus on July 8, 2024.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Coady’s 2024-25 education programs furthered the commitment of fostering local leadership and communitydriven development, with impacts that resonate both locally and globally.
293 WOMEN
97 MEN
459 PARTICIPANTS 64% 21% 14% 1%
5 NON BINARY
64 PREFER NOT TO SAY
22 COURSES OFFERED
31 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
2024-25 COURSES OFFERED
ACTivate-Activating Community Tourism
ACTivate: Activating Community Tourism, An Asset Based and Community-Led Development Approach (ABCD)
Applying Indigenous Knowledge in a Shelter Context (ASOO)
Asset-Based and Community-Led Development Principles
Asset-Based and Community-Led Development: Theory and Practices
Community Led Solutions For Climate Change
Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Community Development, 2024
Exploring Tools and Techniques in Qualitative Research-Dar es Salaam
Facilitation and Training for Community Change
Feminist Advocacy for Agency, Equity and Justice
Feminist Leadership for Capabilities, Ecology and Transformation
Future of Work and Workers
Grassroots Peacebuilding
Indigenous Women in Community Leadership
Innovations in Asset-Based and Community-Led Development
Introduction to Community Peacebuilding
Leadership for Young Professionals
Leading with Abundance: Indigenous Women's Leadership
Livelihoods and Markets
Participatory Research for Community-Led Change Workshop
Pathy Foundation Fellowship 2024-2025
Towards Decolonial Feminist Leadership
A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE IS A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT
Across rural communities in Atlantic Canada and beyond, a quiet transformation is underway in the tourism sector: one that puts residents’ well-being at the forefront and reimagines development as a community-rooted process. At the heart of this shift are passionate community members who not only believe that ‘a great place to live is a great place to visit” but are actively making strides to strengthen the fabric of their home community.
Through support from the ACTivate program, a dynamic partnership between Coady Institute and the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST), residents are (re)discovering what makes their community unique and exploring new approaches for how to mobilize community assets and agency to strengthen their community and create more sustainable tourism opportunities.
WHAT MAKES ACTIVATE DIFFERENT
ACTivate, short for Activating Community Tourism, is a program designed to support people who want to make a positive change in their community and explore more sustainable approaches to tourism development. The program’s philosophy is simple yet deeply insightful: A great place to live is a great place to visit. Tourism development becomes sustainable and authentic when it both emerges from and serves the people who already call the community home.
ACTivate makes two important shifts in tourism development. The first shift re-centered community in the conversations around tourism development, ensuring that community well-being is a priority in addition to outside visitor experience. While creating a great place to live lends itself to being a great place to visit, the reverse is not always true. The second shift focused on the (re)discovery of community strengths, capacity, and power to bring about change. The program is grounded in asset-based community development (ABCD), a strength-based model that recognizes the abundance already present in communities and the power people have to make a difference. This differs from conventional approaches that often identify what communities lack (needs-assessments) and define the solutions as being something to be found outside of the community.
Jonathan Foster, Executive Director of GMIST, says the partnership came to be after much research.
“We explored citizen empowerment models around the world, and one name kept coming up: Coady,” Jonathan says.
“After conversations with [Coady Institute’s] leadership, we realized this could be something impactful in the region but just as important, fun and exciting. The value has been in playing off each other’s strengths in adult education, designing, and delivering a program that is simple, experiential, and community focused.”
ACTivate helped them rediscover how to listen, build confidence, and negotiate with government from a position rooted in community priorities.
Jess Popp, Senior Program Staff with Coady Institute, says the program has continued to strengthen through each of the fourth cohorts.
“As the partnership has evolved, we’ve maintained a constant curiosity and willingness to learn together and have been able to shift into more innovation and truly collaborate on session redesign and facilitation, which has resulted in much more relevant and impactful learning opportunities,” she says.
This reflects Coady’s broader mission of educating, connecting, and inspiring leaders who ignite communitydriven change. Through participatory learning and ABCD, Coady emphasizes that communities already hold the assets they need to thrive. The key is recognizing how they might go about surfacing, connecting, and unlocking these assets to bring about change.
FROM LEARNING TO IMPACT
During ACTivate, participants engage in a 9- to 12-month blended learning journey, combining online sessions, a five-day intensive gathering in Gros Morne, and ongoing networking and mentorship.
The most recent cohorts work in “community clusters” of three to five members, ranging from volunteers, local business owners, and non-profit leaders to youth and retirees, who design a process that will help their home community discover what makes it unique and mobilize its gifts and assets in order to strengthen grassroots community and tourism development.
ACTivate helps leaders move from ideas to real practice.
“What we’ve seen is a shift from just slogans to real conversations with communities,” Jonathan says.
“Many participants had been constrained by project-based terms from outside funders. ACTivate helped them rediscover how to listen, build confidence, and negotiate with government from a position rooted in community priorities.”
A key theme in recent sessions has been resiliency.
“Resiliency is about how long you can stay in the frustration of moving from the unknown to the known,” Jonathan notes.
“Many organizations had invested heavily in plans that sat on shelves because they couldn’t tolerate the uncertainty. Those that succeeded were the ones that committed to the messiness of learning.”
This insight has helped participants support their communities through setbacks — shifting from rigid planning to adaptive, learning-centered approaches.
GROWING THE NETWORK
“One of the most important components of ACTivate is the incredible network that develops,” Jess notes. “Participants not only learn an incredible amount from each other throughout the program, but they remain connected long after graduation and become key supports for each other as they work to enact change locally.”
To date, more than 100 people have participated in ACTivate, and the ripple effects continue to expand.
“What we always hoped is that people would take these tools and teach them on their own without GMIST or Coady,” Jonathan says. “Sometimes we’ve had to nudge them out of the nest, but now we’re seeing leaders embrace ABCD and share it in their own contexts. That’s what fills my cup.”
ACTivate is funded by the Government of Canada through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), whose support has been instrumental in ensuring accessibility to community leaders across the region.
As the program evolves, one thing remains clear: real change does not come from outside experts or pre-written plans. It comes from communities who already hold the tools and are now (re)discovering the power to use them. With Coady’s mission and GMIST’s innovation, ACTivate stands as proof that community-led learning can spark resilience, empowerment, and lasting impact.
ENGAGE: SHIFTING POWER, SPARKING CHANGE
Engage: Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship is a 6.5 year initiative codesigned by Coady Institute and five partner organizations in India, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Haiti. Coady is a convenor and is bringing these partners together in ways that they can share their expertise, learn from each other, and collectively explore new approaches and tools.
The project works primarily to support the leadership capacity of informal sector women in addressing key issues they are facing. This includes the future of work ; engaging women in community governance; women’s leadership and feminist approaches, young women as entrepreneurs and agents of community change; and asset-based approaches to reducing urban and rural poverty through economic development .
SHIFTING NORMS AND POWER
Creating space and opportunity for women to strengthen their own confidence and skills enables them to advocate for themselves and lead change in their communities and beyond. In doing so, women are shifting social norms and influencing policy at local, regional, and national levels.
Through these training programs, women have recognized the strength in organising, have become aware of health/hygiene, government programs, and have become financially and digitally literate. Most importantly, mindsets are changing – at individual, community, and village levels. The women who had no identity are being consulted for their opinions by the male members of their family.
Some of these women are also being invited to community and village-level meetings by local authorities. They have found their identity, self-respect, respect from family, peers, and village authorities through their association with the Engage Program.
- Yasmin Bhadha, Self Employed Women’s Association, India
Yasmin Bhadha (middle)
10,542 people reached through communitybased trainings, training-of-trainers, and advocacy activities.
100% of partner and network staff say their confidence to deliver womencentered training and support has increased after engaging in project activities.
8,669 WOMEN
1,873 MEN
415 government officials and local leaders were engaged through advocacy activities, presentations, events, and trainings.
48 policy makers attended Engage meetings or events.
Community participants reported increased knowledge and skills after training:
STFX GRAD AND COADY SUPPORTER CHAMPIONS EDUCATION IN CREATING JUST WORLD
Robyn Tingley’s path to St. Francis Xavier University and a life working for gender equality began with a gift from her mother, Linda Frum’s Guide to Canadian Universities.
“Social change always spoke to me – that’s why I chose StFX,” Robyn says about reading the book. “I knew I had found my place. I had an immediate sense that the values my parents had instilled in me about social justice would not only be embraced but strengthened.”
She says her time at StFX taught her the value of creating inclusive spaces, being a part of the change you want to see in the world, and using her voice to promote new possibilities.
Her uncle, Father Gerry Tingley, introduced her to the Antigonish Movement and its principles of cooperation and social progress that had its origins in rural communities in the Maritimes and embraced by people around the world.
“While walking the campus, I would often see international students from Coady Institute,
and it gave me a sense of pride to know that leaders were travelling all the way to Antigonish to learn ideas that would empower them and their communities when they returned home,” Robyn says.
After completing her degree in psychology in 1996 and further studies in journalism, Robyn has built a successful corporate career in human resources and communications including work as an executive for a Fortune 100 company spanning four continents. Businesses and governments in Europe and North America have recognized her work on diversity and inclusion.
We need leaders who can think critically, objectively and who can implement broad-based solutions for the long-term.
Service Battalion, and a founding member of Women for 50%, an initiative focused on greater female representation in politics.
“In my corporate life, I was always working on women in leadership programs, championing what I could as part of my roles, but it was frustrating to see that after decades, so much work remained in society at large,” Robyn says.
After the birth of twin daughters, she committed herself to empowering women and girls, inviting others to engage in the discussion. This includes writing a book, 10 Essentials for the Motivated Millennial, and giving talks.
Robyn serves on the Board of Governors of the University of New Brunswick and is past Chair of the Board. She is a past Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces’ 37
Robyn also founded GlassSKY Inc., which serves blue chip clients and governments with a range of management consulting services, including strategic communications, training, creative design, research, and inclusion and diversity programs. GlassSKY also has a social focus
that helps create opportunities for young career starters, newcomers, and women by removing financial barriers so they can participate in educational and networking opportunities.
Robyn has also personally supported various scholarships and programs at Coady Institute since 2013, including the Circle of Abundance program.
“There is no question that women are powerful change agents in our communities, and when they are offered pathways to education and economic participation, the next generation is strengthened,” she says.
Coady’s focus in this area and on helping Indigenous women is “an accelerator for positive social progress.”
Robyn notes the importance of education in a world at risk of losing its moral compass and people seeking individual benefits at the expense of our collective prosperity and humanity.
“We need leaders who can think critically, objectively and who can implement broad-based solutions for the long-term,” Robyn says.
“I am confident the Coady’s programs equip students with the strategies and global network that will help them cultivate and uphold a just world. We need that more than ever.”
International students attending a conference to learn and network.
2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
ACTivate: Activating Community Tourism, An Asset Based and Community-Led Development Approach (ABCD) - meets in Newfoundland with 25 participants taking part. The program takes place in partnership with the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism.
Coady Executive Director Eileen Alma and Engage Project Manager Eric Smith take part in the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB)'s 50th anniversary celebrations. Coady’s connections to CCDB dates back as far as 1972 predating the formal establishment of the organization.
Staff member Digafie Debalke hosts a Coady Coffee House April 24 with members of the 2024 Grassroots Peacebuilding cohort discussing Bottom-up Peacebuilding and Un-building the Structures of Violence.
Teaching staff member Karri-Lynn Paul cofacilitates the Introduction to First Nation Governance and Leadership for Youth Workshop with Further Education Society. The workshop is part of FESA's Pathways Project aimed to create employment opportunities for Indigenous youth.
The 2023-24 Pathy Foundation Fellowship cohort shares their experiences implementing innovative projects around the world including in Canada, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi on a diverse range of social-change initiatives. The poster fair was an informal opportunity to learn about how young leaders are applying and implementing their skills in community development in innovative and creative ways on critical social issues.
Indigenous Women in Community Leadership begins with the cohort being welcomed to campus at StFX.
As part of FireLoch's Care for Caretakers Fellowship, Coady teaching staff member Wellington Sousa leads a Participatory Research for Community-Led Change Workshop in partnership with Change Lab Action Research Initiative (#CLARI). The local workshop provided a brief introduction to principles and methods to help people organize themselves to learn and act to produce positive change in their community.
Coady welcomes more than 50 participants to Antigonish. The participants took part in one of three on campus courses, CommunityLed Solutions for Climate Change, Livelihoods and Markets, and Asset-Based Community-Led Development: Theory and Practices.
FIRST QUARTER
APRIL, MAY, JUNE
Yogesh Ghore and StFX University student and Sears Intern Yvonne Akuffo-Parry return from Ghana where they worked with Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM) and its social enterprise Atarrah. Atarrah supports women-led development of indigenous products in Northern Ghana. Through the Sears Internships in Social Enterprise Program, Yvonne worked with WOM to develop a social impact framework to support Atarrah's efforts in improving livelihood outcomes for widow entrepreneurs.
Participedia Partner’s Conference Participedia School on Transnational Democratic Innovations takes place in Cape Town, South Africa and St John’s, NL, Canada. Participedia is a global network and crowdsourcing platform for researchers, educators, practitioners, policymakers, activists, and anyone interested in public participation and democratic innovations. Coady staff member Julien Landry and several Coady graduates are involved in the work.
Applications for the Nobel Women’s Initiative (NWI) and Coady Institute’s 2024 Sister-to-Sister feminist peacebuilders leadership program opens. The Sister-to-Sister program brings together young feminist leaders – sisters – in an intensive virtual program which fosters crucial solidarity, support, sisterhood, and skills-building to better equip activists for the challenges ahead.
2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Coady hosts a People’s School on Arts and Health Equity where participants explore the connections between the arts, the social determinants of health equity, and social justice. Central to the Antigonish Movement and the StFX Extension Department , the well-established People’s School methods of teaching and learning build on common knowledge and foster action by every participant.
Engage program managers gather on campus for a week of planning and shared learning as the project moves into the fourth year of implementation. Partner organizations have been working collaboratively to support women's empowerment and active citizenship in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Haiti, Bangladesh, and India.
More than 50 participants graduate from certificate programs focused on Asset-Based Community-Led Development, Climate Resilience, and Livelihoods and Markets. They join a graduate network of more than 10,500 across 154 countries globally.
Pathy Fellowship Cohort 9 arrives on campus.
SECOND QUARTER
Teaching staff member Marian Turniawan travels to Tanzania for Rural Women Cultivating Change (RWCC) regional meetings hosted by project partner PELUM and attended by representatives from WE-Action Ethiopia, Institute for Sustainable Development Ethiopia, HIVOS East Africa, Tanzania Gender Networking Program, GROOTS Kenya, and Seed Savers Network Kenya. The meetings were an opportunity for women farmers benefitting from RWCC trainings to showcase their crops and learn more about the impacts they are seeing because of the program that is led by SeedChange and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
Canadian Senators the Honourable Ratna Omidvar and the Honourable Mary Coyle visit Coady to learn about Coady's history, ongoing work, and future plans. Coyle, former vice-president of Coady Institute, is a long-time champion for women’s leadership, gender equality, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity, and inclusion. She came to Canada from Iran in 1981 and her own experiences of displacement, integration, and citizen engagement have been the foundation of her work.
Voice Citizen-Led Accountability Learning for Strengthened Influence and Empowerment (CLASIE) Program hosts a Feminism, Advocacy and AssetsBased Community-Led Development (ABCD) Workshop September 23 to 27 in Diani, Kenya for 21 participants.
Director of Programs Martha Fanjoy and teaching staff member Marian Turniawan travelled to Gilgil, Kenya, to visit RWCC partner Seed Savers Network (SSN) to participate in their pilot Seed Bootcamp. Martha and Marian were also exploring curriculum and program design with SSN’s team as they work to develop their Seed School.
Fund development executive Lynn O’Donnell and executive director Eileen Alma attend the Catholic Women's League of Canada (CWL) 104th Annual National Convention in Saskatoon, Treaty 6 Territory, Canada. CWL members are dedicated Coady supporters.
Coady online courses Future of Work and Workers and Feminist Leadership for Capabilities, Ecology, and Transformation begin.
StFX Course: Development Studies 405 a co-facilitated course led by Coady teaching staff members begins.
2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Tsigie Haile, Founder of WISE: Organization for Women in Self Employment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, receives the Katherine Fleming International Development Award from Coady Institute during StFX University Homecoming. The award honours Katherine Fleming, a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University class of 198,5 who died in Tanzania in 1999 while working for United Nations Children's Fund. Family and friends created the award in loving memory of her lifetime dedication to supporting the elimination of child poverty in Africa.
In partnership with the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism, cohort 3 of ACTivate - Activating Community Tourism; An AssetBased and Community-Led Development Approach taking place from October 2024 – February 2025 launches.
Coady staff help lead ABCD Workshops at the Recreation Nova Scotia Annual General Meeting held at StFX.
The five executive directors of Engage partner organizations recently convened in Antigonish and Ottawa for planning meetings, reflection, learning opportunities, and the Cooperation Canada Futures Forum.
Teaching staff members Pauline MacIntosh and Adam BadenClay travel to India for a course on Facilitation and Training Approaches for Community Change – SEWA with 41 participants taking part.
Coady Institute and StFX’s Development Studies host two webinars. Dr. Michelle Stack speaks on Moving from Education Based Rankings to Education Based on Cooperatives and Social Solidarity and Dr. Mário Vasconcellos presents on territorial learning and development.
THIRD QUARTER
OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER
Teaching staff member Digafie Debalke facilitates an Introduction to Community Peacebuilding workshop on campus. Fourteen participants explored peace and conflict, tools for community peacebuilding, and community assets for peacebuilding as part of the workshop.
Building on Abundance in the Workplace workshop takes place in Alberta on December 12.
Coady staff members attend the inaugural ABCD National Conference at WISE: Organization for Women in Self Employment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More than 200 people gatheredincluding many Coady graduates - to share, learn, and celebrate the ways that asset-based community development approaches can help communities define and achieve their own success.
The inaugural Impact X: A Summit on Entrepreneurship & Social Change, a collaboration between StFX Discover Box, StFX Gerald Schwartz School of Business, and StFX Bachelor of Education takes place. The Summit brought together post-secondary students from across the Maritimes to compete in the first-ever Impact X Pitch Competition focused on entrepreneurship for social change.
Two workshops, Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Community Development and Innovations in Asset-Based and Community-Led Development, take place in Ethiopia from November 20-21. A total of 52 participants join the Coady network.
Voice CLASIE Program hosts a Knowledge Exchange Workshop: “Taking Charge, Making Change – Rightsholders Leading Initiatives to Enhance Inclusive Governance” from November 21 to 22 in Nairobi, Kenya.
ACTivate - Activating Community Tourism; An Asset-Based and Community-Led Development Approach in person sessions take place in Gros Morne National Park from November 3 to 7, 2024 with 25 participants attending.
From December 1 to 4, Engage project managers meet to discuss operational updates, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and finance.
From December 5 to 8, Exploring Tools and Techniques in Qualitative Research workshop takes place in Tanzania for 22 participants from the Engage partner organizations as part of a larger learning journey around conducting a qualitative research study. Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) and Coady Institute also hosted a gathering of Coady graduates in Tanzania.
Teaching staff member Sarika Sinha facilitates a Towards Decolonial Feminist Leadership course in India from November 5 to 15 with 27 participants present.
2025 YEAR IN REVIEW
Four online courses, Grassroots Peacebuilding, Asset-Based and Community-Led Development Principles, Leadership for Young Professionals, and Leading with Abundance: Indigenous Women’s Leadership – begin for 72 participants.
Julien Landry and Sarika Sinha facilitate certificate course in Feminist Advocacy for Agency, Equity, and Justice in Nairobi, Kenya from January 20 to 31 for 31 participants.
As part of Coady’s Coffee House webinar series Digafie Debalke hosts National Dialogue as a Path to Peacebuilding in Columbia with Tatiana Mosquera Angulo, Director Strengthen Capabilities Center.
Alongside partner longtime partner Atlantic Council for International Cooperation, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Solidarity Network, and StFX Service Learning, Coady hosts a pizza social and information session about the International Youth Internship Program for StFX students.
Teaching staff members Pauline MacIntosh and Adam Baden-Clay travel to India from February 5 to 18 for a course on Facilitation and Training Approaches for Community Change – SEWA for 41 participants.
Coady marks International Development Week by hosting Challenging Hegemony in Development featuring Pathy Fellows who discuss their experiences working in Canada, Morocco, South Africa, and Indonesia with moderator Digafie Debalke.
StFX students Isaac Hierlihy, Leah MacDonald, Tejashwini Maganur, Jayden Barker, Ben Collings Mackay, and Gray Pauli were selected as recipients of the Xaverian Innovation and Entrepreneurs Micro-Grant , offered through the Coady Institute’s DiscoverBox , and will have the opportunity to enhance their entrepreneurial skill set through a comprehensive eight-week program designed to foster innovation and creativity.
Coady announces a new course for women leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with Women in Self Employment Ethiopia The Katherine Fleming Women's Leadership Course taking place in Ethiopia from June 16 to 20 will help Coady mark the 25th anniversary of the first presentation of the Katherine Fleming International Development Award.
The Topshee Memorial Webinar Series moderated by Pauline MacIntosh holds Fair Taxes, Affordable Futures a Town Hall on Building an Economy for Everyone on March 20.
Pauline MacIntosh welcomes Dr. Robin Neustaeter and StFX Student Sophie Gallant to the Marie Michael Library at Coady on March 4 for The Backbones of the Movement for Present and Future Community Action, a presentation and webinar featuring the What Can the Women Do research work and the quest to find the stories of women in the Antigonish and Cooperative Movements in archives and oral histories.
DEFENDING WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY:
March 7, in advance of International Women’s Day (IWD), Coady Institute hosts Defending Women’s Rights in Times of Uncertainty an online seminar featuring two graduates of the Global Change Leaders (2016) program. Salome Nduta and Jaya Luintel are using their learnings from Coady to champion the rights of women in Kenya and Nepal.
Applying Indigenous Knowledge in a Shelter Context – a 7-week online professional development course for shelter leaders from the Aboriginal Shelters of Ontario (ASOO) begins.
FINDING HER VOICE
HOW HEIDI ABRAMYK RECLAIMED CULTURE AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH IWCL
Heidi Abramyk was searching for a sense of belonging – she found it at Coady Institute and in the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership (IWCL) program.
As a woman of Métis and Ukrainian mixed settler ancestry with Métis membership since the age of 15, she struggled to become integrated into her community and learn about the culture. This led Heidi to be self-conscious about making connections.
Over the past few years she has worked in First Nations communities, found support from a supervisor, and joined an online leadership group. That is where she learned about Coady’s work with Indigenous women. Victoria LaBillois, a former IWCL mentor and Circle of Abundance advisor, shared about the 2024 IWCL program.
“The teachings on assetbased community development, cultural resurgence, mentorship, and leadership continue to shape my work every day.”
“When I applied to IWCL, something deep inside me whispered that I needed to be there,” Heidi says. “I hadn’t grown up with visible or strong ties to my Métis culture, and I often felt unsure of where I belonged. But at Coady, surrounded by strong, brilliant Indigenous women, Elders, mentors, faculty, and staff, I felt seen. I felt accepted. For the first time since I was a little girl - before my Métis grandmother and aunties passed - I felt culture and community wrap around me like a warm, safe blanket.”
The IWCL program brings First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women together to reflect upon and share their experiences to deepen learning while building a circle of connection and support with one another. The program uses a holistic and Two-Eyed Seeing approach, meaning that teaching and learning practices are grounded in Indigenous worldviews, values, and teachings while sometimes using other tools and methods that align with those practices. Key pieces of the program include the development of a community project and a mentorship opportunity with an experienced Indigenous woman leader. Participants meet online initially and then come together on campus for several weeks. They then return to their communities to complete a community project before gathering in an Indigenous community to wrap up the program.
Heidi (middle) on graduation day.
Heidi initially was planning a project related to her work in First Nations housing but her mentor, Carmen Carriere (IWCL 2022), encouraged her to use her communications skills to help Métis people. She decided to develop www.mafamii.ca an online resource for Métis people. The website is an inclusive space where people can learn more about the Métis culture.
“This is an educational kind of site to help people understand a bit more about how the locals work, how you can get your Métis card, and shares items of cultural significance,” Heidi says. “I highlight some of the people that aren't necessarily in the mainstream, that also deserve a lot of recognition, some of the Metis women.”
Heidi is using asset-based community development and other skills learned at Coady to engage with the community from an Indigenous perspective.
“I am embedding some of their feedback or ideas into the work and, by working together, I believe it empowers the community more,” Heidi says.
She appreciates how Coady values learning in nontraditional ways with facilitators adapting to the needs of the cohort and creating an Indigenous space where participants learn from each other. She noted the program helped her from a professional standpoint and her understand more about the different ceremonies and practices.
“I came home transformed - more grounded, more confident, more connected,” Heidi says. “I’ve stepped into my Métis culture and into my power in ways I never thought possible. I no longer feel like an imposter. I feel more connected than ever to my Indigenous roots while celebrating and connecting with all my roots, stories, and ethnicities that make me, not being ashamed anymore that I am a mix, and a product of the land and people.”
This includes submitting the ribbon skirt made while at Coady to a Métis display at the local fair, organized by Gabriel Dumont Institute. The Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. in Saskatoon recognized Heidi with
an award for Business and Leadership during Métis Days. She has also taken a new job as the Director of Communications and Storytelling for the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan.
“I've seen in my short time with this new role is just how much the Métis Nation offers citizens, and then how can we connect people with that information or hear more of what their needs are.”
Heidi says members of her IWCL cohort remain in touch and continue to learn from each other noting that these women are already making a difference in their communities.
“It's giving them more tools to make more change and empower more like a domino effect of more change in their communities and take that learning and practices and support,” Heidi says.
“The teachings on asset-based community development, cultural resurgence, mentorship, and leadership continue to shape my work every day. I’ve begun informally mentoring a young Métis woman in my community, and I’m excited to uplift many more.”
Heidi (right), wearing her ribbon skirt, receives her award for Business and Leadership from The Central Urban Métis Federation.
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS
BENEFIT YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS
IMPACT X IS ATLANTIC CANADA’S FIRST STUDENT PITCH CONFERENCE UNITING SOCIAL IMPACT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Organizing committee member Imka Mittler, StFX University Student and Entrepreneur, welcomes participants to Impact X.
Organizers knew they had hit on something special, something intangible, when two high school students pitched the winning business idea for developing a clothing line for Muslim girls playing sports and their university peers pitched a host of ideas, from addressing food waste and insecurity to life-saving gear for fishermen.
“It was inspiring to see how passionate these young entrepreneurs were about starting a business to address a societal issue they cared about,” Paula Brophy, one of the organizers of Impact X Summit on Entrepreneurship & Social Change says of the event held for the first time at StFX in November 2024.
Paula, who runs the StFX DiscoverBox at the Coady Institute that supports student entrepreneurs, was able to secure funding from the Nova Scotia Government’s Advanced Education Department to host this inaugural summit.
Impact X is Atlantic Canada’s first student pitch conference uniting social impact and entrepreneurship. They brought in additional partners, including the StFX Schwartz School of Business, StFX Alumni Association, Coady Institute, StFX Department of Education, and Sodexo. Impact X was able to offer $12,000 in prizes.
“Students pitched over 40 different social enterprise ventures to help solve real societal challenges. The judges were impressed by the students’ creativity, energy, and commitment to change in the pitch competition,” says co-founder Dr. Greg Hadley, StFX Chair of Entrepreneurship Education in the Faculty of Education.
Impact X brought together 75 university and high school students from across the Maritimes and Ontario to understand the power of innovation, collaboration and purpose-driven entrepreneurship — where positively impacting society is equally a goal as financial profits.
It also filled a gap.
“What was missing in the Maritime entrepreneurial ecosystem for students was a social impact event and we felt we were in the best position to organize that,” says cofounder and StFX Schwartz School of Business professor Dr. Neil Maltby.
“There is no better place to host a summit on social entrepreneurship than at StFX, given our history and commitment to social justice,” Neil says noting StFX’s long-standing commitment to social change through the work of Coady Institute as well as its pioneering experiential learning-based programs.
Impact X co-founders included StFX Entrepreneur in Residence Alex Dorward, business faculty Dr. Abede Mack, Advancement staff member Alexis MacDonald, event coordinator Leah Chisholm, and students Erica Cameron, Mika Moraleta, Isaac Heirlihy, and Inka Mittler. Alex is also the driving force behind the launch of an annual $5,000 Social Entrepreneurship Fund financed by alumni.
The summit included a keynote by Coady graduate Mallory Yanghwe, who was recently named Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year for Indigenous Box Inc. Coady senior teaching staff member Yogesh Ghore served as a facilitator during the summit.
There is no better place to host a summit on social entrepreneurship than at StFX, given our history and commitment to social justice.
The event was also the latest collaboration between StFX campus partners building a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. Impact X is confirmed to return in November 2025, where organizers say it will continue to bring focus to entrepreneurship and social change, hallmarks common among StFX alumni entrepreneurs.
The Impact X Summit for Entrepreneurship & Social Change also has been recognized nationally winning a gold medal in the Best Young Alumni & Student Initiative category from The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, a membership organization of universities, colleges, and independent schools across Canada. These annual awards recognize outstanding achievements and national best practices in alumni affairs, development, and communications.
Dean of StFX’s Gerald Schwartz School of Business Dr. Tim Hynes (left), Coady Executive Director Eileen Alma (second from right) and Coady graduate and Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer Indigenous Box Inc. Mallory Yanghwe (right) present StFX student Ben Collings MacKay of CM Marine first prize for his 7-minute pitch on his company and its work on life-saving gear for fishermen.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
St. Francis Xavier University established Coady Institute as part of its commitment to community leadership development. The Executive Director of Coady Institute reports to the University’s Academic VicePresident and Provost who reports to the President of the University who in turn is responsible to the Board of Governors, the senior governing body of the University.
See below for segmented financial information of Coady Institute, which is included in the University’s audited financial statements at https://stfx.ca/financial-services/stfx-financial-statements
EXPENDITURES
** The University is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA Registration/BN: 10808 3270 RR0001) registered under the legal name: Governors of St. Francis Xavier University.
DONORS AND SUPPORTERS
Thank you!
At Coady Institute, our work is made possible through the vision and generosity of our donors. Each gift - whether from an individual, family, organization, or foundation - strengthens our programs and extends our impact with communities locally and globally. Every day, our team is inspired by the commitment of those who believe in the values of education, leadership, and social change. We are honoured to recognize the generosity of all who supported Coady this year, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude for standing with us in building a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world.
A.H. Roy & Associates Ltd.
Eileen Alma and Guangul Tessema
Anonymous funders
Drs. Minoli Amit and John Hamilton
Aida Arnold
Dr. Donald Arseneau
Atlantic Central Credit Union
AWO RHEINLANDSTIFTUNG
Dr. Anne Barry
John Baxter
Bealight Foundation
Loretta Bennett
Roland Bertin
Patricia Bilski
Valerie Bobyk
Christia King-Bolivar and Neil Bolivar
Dr. William and Nancy Booth
Dr. Jacque and Laurie Boucher
Dr. Karen Brebner
Dr. Terry Brennan
Tom and Bridget Brennan
C. L. Curry Funeral Services Ltd.
Dr. Paul and Marie Cameron
Leith Campbell
Canadian Martyrs Parish CWL
Kleinburg
Marjorie Casey
Catholic Women’s League of Canada
Alyre Chiasson
Emilie Chiasson
Carl Chisholm
Hon. Peter Chisholm
Maureen Coleman
Comart Foundation
Congregation of Notre Dame Visitation Province
Lola Corkum
Hon. Mary Coyle
Dr. Susan Crocker
Gord Cunningham
Anne Daniel
Katrina Davenport
Denise Davies
Peter Dawson
Jeffrey Dee and Amy MacDonald
Vernon and Marilyn Dee
Coady and Rita Delaney
Frank DeMont
Sheila Doherty
Donald Doiron
Paul Doiron
Donata Real Estate Developments Ltd.
Donner Canadian Foundation
East Coast Credit Union Ltd.
William Ellsworth
Estate of Donald Barry
Elizabeth Fahey
Dr. Catharina Felderhof
John Forbes
Marian Fortune-Stone
Roderick Francis
DeCoste Interiors Ltd.
Drs. Leo and Peggy Gallant
Dr. David and Sandra Gibeault
Drs. Hugh and Doris Gillis
Joan Gillis
Ruth Gunn
Bill and Jeanine Gunn
Victor Haburchak
Erin Hanifen
Harbourstone Holdings Ltd.
High-Crest Enterprises Ltd.
Holy Family CWL Sault Ste. Marie
Michael and Brenda Hooton
Jola Hubisz
Catherine Irving
Heather Johnson
Robb and Elizabeth Kell
Drs. Dorothy Lander and John Graham Pole
Brenda Lehmann
Your generosity is not just funding education; it is fueling transformation. Thanks to your support, individuals like me gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to drive meaningful change in our communities. Your investment reaches far beyond the classroom, as we take what we learn and apply it to grassroots development, peacebuilding, gender equity, and social inclusion efforts. Because of you, we can empower marginalized voices, strengthen organizations, and build more resilient communities. Your support is a catalyst for change, and I am deeply grateful for the chance to learn, grow, and contribute to a better world. Thank you for believing in the power of education and community leadership - Kurabachew Desta, Ethiopia, Grassroots Peacebuilding
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Agnes Leung
Linda MacDonald
Alexander MacEachern
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Angus MacIsaac
William Mackasey
Karen MacKenzie-Stepner
John MacLatchy
Charles MacLean
Douglas MacLellan
Leon and Pauline MacLellan
Karl and Marilyn MacPherson
Sara Malcolm
Ranjit Mani
David Marsters
Sean McDonnell
Catherine McGilly
McInnes Cooper
Hon. Frank and Julie McKenna
Micro Boutique Living Inc.
Dr. Jock and Janet Murray
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Helen Neufeld
Hon. Graydon and Beth Nicholas
Kathleen Niro
Frank and Maureen Nolan
NSGEU
Dr. Michael O’Brien
Lynn O’Donnell
Michael O’Keefe and Crystal Pelly
Mary O’Regan
Stephen O’Regan
Robert and Virginia O’Reilly
Hon. Sandra Oxner
Pak Lip
Lou Palmer
Peacock Family Foundation
Probst & Partner Investments Ltd.
Kathleen Provost and Richard Burelle
Scott and Donna Rappard
Dr. Carolyn Rideout
Barry and Mary Roderick
Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet Buick
GMC Ltd.
Rosalia Ruggiero
Dr. Lesley Ruggles
Sacred Heart CWL Edmonton
Shelagh Savage
Cheryl Sherman
Sisters of Charity, Halifax
Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland
Sisters of Providence of Western Canada
Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
Sisters of St. Martha
Cyril and Doreen Smith
Maurice and Jane Smith
Dr. Steve and Kathy Smith
Sodexo
St. Clements CWL McGregor
St. Ignatius CWL London
St. Joseph CWL Dartmouth
St. Kevin’s Parish Council of Catholic Women
St. Leonard’s CWL Brampton
St. Mary’s CWL Westlock
St. Mary’s CWL Huntsville
St. Mary’s CWL Gibsons
St. Padre Pio CWL Kleinburg
St. Peters CWL St. Albert
St. Peter’s Parish CWL Regina
St. Boniface CWL Goodsoil
St. Joseph’s CWL
St. Patrick’s CWL Burlington
St. Peter’s Parish CWL Tracadie
St. Rita’s CWL Valleyview
Steelmac Ltd.
Nancy Stewart
Sarah Strapps
The Edwards Family Charitable Foundation
The Vegso Family Foundation Inc.
The Young Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation
William Timmons
Robyn Tingley
Tony’s Meats
Joan Triandafillou
Sheila Tucker
Julia Tufts
Peter Tufts
Nguyen Vinh
Lori Ward
Walter Watkins
Ian Wilson
Wong Chong Man
Nick and Trudy Zutt
Coady Institute
St. Francis Xavier University
4780 Tompkins Lane
Antigonish, Nova Scotia B2G 2W5
Canada coady.stfx.ca
To donate: coady.stfx.ca/support/ For more information please contact: Lynn O’Donnell Fund Development Executive lodonnel@stfx.ca