Our Staff
Chamber Staff
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David Duplisea
CEO -
Carole Cunningham
Director of Events & Administration -
Genevieve Sweigard
Membership Engagement & Marketing Executive

Genevieve Sweigard
Membership Engagement & Marketing Executive
506-650-2013
gsweigard@thechambersj.com
Board of Directors
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Mohamed Bagha
Chairperson -
Fraser Wells
First Vice Chairperson -
Mike Corbett
Treasurer -
Melissa Bailey
Regional Vice Chairperson - Grand Bay/Westfield & Westside -
Doug Jenkins
Saint John Vice Chairperson -
Derrick Stanford
Immediate Past Chairperson -
Heather Acker
Director -
Melanie Cooke
Director -
Andrew Costin
Director -
Anne McInerney
Director -
Sunny Khosla
Director -
Serene Allen
Director

Mohamed Bagha
Chairperson
Managing Director The Saint John Newcomers Centre
Mohamed Bagha is the Managing Director of the Saint John Newcomers Centre (SJNC). He has been involved in the Newcomer Settlement Sector for over 10 years. Mohamed is very excited to bring a voice for newcomers on the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He wants to see newcomers have a voice and an opportunity to contribute to the socio-economic well-being of Greater Saint John. Mohamed envisions communities across Atlantic Canada like Saint John will have an opportunity to thrive through diversity, where newcomers actively participate in society by fully contributing their talent, skills, and culture. He believes newcomer contributions act as a catalyst to improve economic conditions and cultivate cultural understanding. This enriches the lives and living standards of everyone across Atlantic Canada. Mohamed was recently named as one of the "Most Inspiring Immigrants in the Maritimes” for his leadership and vision. His work has helped foster economic growth and created positive community impacts here at home and across the Atlantic Region. Mohamed holds a Master of Interdisciplinary Degree focusing on Community Economic Development from the University of New Brunswick.

Fraser Wells
First Vice Chairperson
Wealth Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities
Fraser was born in Saint John. A graduate of Queen’s University, Fraser is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). After graduation, he began his wealth management career with a major Canadian bank in Toronto, before moving back to Saint John to join RBC Dominion Securities in 2017. He works with business owners, corporate executives, corporations, pension funds, and foundations primarily throughout the Maritimes and Southern Ontario.
Fraser is passionate about community involvement; he volunteers on the board and the investment committee of the Greater Saint John Community Foundation and the advisory committee of P.R.O. Kids.

Mike Corbett
Treasurer
Manager, Commercial Banking, National Bank of Canada
Mike Corbett is the Manager of Commercial Banking for the National Bank of Canada for Saint John and Fredericton area. He has been a Commercial Banker in the region for 15 years.
Mike services the banking needs of a diverse group of successful businesses in Southern New Brunswick in all sectors.
Mike has been an active volunteer over the years, primarily with business organizations, service groups, and youth sports.

Melissa Bailey
Regional Vice Chairperson - Grand Bay/Westfield & Westside
Owner/Operator Pizza Delight
Melissa grew up on the East side of Saint John where she graduated high school in 2004, continued her education in the medical administration field and started a family.
In 2012 she made the move to Grand Bay-Westfield (GBW) where she was employed with a medical practice until 2013. After a short time in the insurance business for two years she took the opportunity to become a business owner in 2015 with the purchase of Pizza Delight in GBW and Highlands Bar & Lounge.
In January 2021, she formed a new holdings company for the purchase of the commercial building that her two businesses reside in, as well as a second Pizza Delight location in the north end of Saint John. Melissa currently holds a seat on the franchise advisory committee for the franchise.
One thing she has learned is that community is everything. Community is the key to any successful business because without them you have nothing. Be present, be there for them and your community will be there for you.

Doug Jenkins
Saint John Vice Chairperson
Founder & President - Ispire Technologies
Doug is the founder and President of iSpire – Inspired Technologies Inc. In January 2015, Doug co-founded ConnexionWorks, a collaborative co-working space in uptown Saint John where iSpire resides. Doug graduated from UNB with an Electrical Engineering degree and is an avid motorcyclist, working part-time as a certified motorcycle instructor. He is driven by helping individuals and companies reach their goals.

Derrick Stanford
Immediate Past Chairperson
Vice President Business Development Post Media Parcel Services
Derrick was born in Montreal. He is a graduate of UNB and spent the first 10 years of his career in the packaged goods industry working for Heineken, McCain Foods, and Labatt’s in Toronto and Ottawa.
He transitioned into the high-tech sector and spent 18 years in the enterprise Software industry working for Corel, OpenText, Innovatia, D2L, and Intelex where he held a series of progressively senior sales roles culminating with Global Senior Vice President of Sales at Toronto-based Intelex.
He has worked in both start-ups and established technology companies.
Derrick moved to Saint John in 2016 to join the Saint John Airport as President & CEO, where he led it through a steady period of growth and transformation. In 2021, he joined Brunswick News to foster the growth of the newly formed Parcel Delivery Division. Brunswick News was ultimately sold to Postmedia in 2022 where Derrick currently serves as Vice President of Business Development.
Derrick is married and has three adult children. He lives in Rothesay.

Heather Acker
Director
Co-Founder - ConnexionWorks
Community leader, trailblazer entrepreneur and advocate for community involvement. Heather Acker is a champion for providing inclusivity and support for small to medium businesses. As a co-founder of three companies that actively support her vision to grow our Saint John community in multiple capacities her style is that of a pioneer, innovator, and solutions provider.
She co-founded ConnexionWorks in 2013, an open, collaborative business workplace in the heart of the city. Heather recognized the need for a community workspace to help support new start-ups, solopreneurs, and small businesses to grow strong and flourish in the city, including facilitating growth instead of competition.
She became the Host of Rogers TV's "What matters Most" New Brunswick community television show to help with the awareness of talented people, events, and services that are all doing great things in our Saint John community.
Heather's ability to leverage meaningful relationships contributed to winning ConnexionWorks the Passion for Change Award in 2016 from the Saint John Chamber of Commerce. Again, in 2021, she was awarded by the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce the Excellence in Collaboration Award.
In recent years Heather volunteered with many of local non-profits to raise awareness and sustainability, such as New Brunswick Mental Health Foundation, ONE Change, Family Resource Center, Red Cross, PRO Kids, YMCA Development, CBDC Women in Business, Crossroads for Women, to name a few.
Heather generously shares her connections, knowledge, and experience to help others in their entrepreneurial journeys and uses her voice to inspire our community.

Melanie Cooke
Director
Director of Environment, Health, and Safety - Irving Oil
Originally from Nova Scotia, Melanie Cooke completed a law degree at Dalhousie University before living in Alberta for a number of years where she practiced law at Blake, Cassels, and Graydon LLP and as in-house counsel at Chevron Canada Resources.
Melanie moved to Saint John in 2019 as General Counsel at Irving Oil and currently holds the position of Director of Environment, Health, and Safety for Irving Oil’s Saint John Refinery.
Melanie and her husband live in Rothesay with their two children.

Andrew Costin
Director
Andrew is partner with the law firm of Gorman Nason primarily practicing in the areas of corporate and commercial law.
As a very active member of the business community, Andrew has acted for public and private corporations, banks and individuals in complex and diverse transactions and has acted for some of New Brunswick’s largest real estate developers and private corporations on a wide array of matters.
Andrew is a former chair of Uptown Saint John and currently serves on the New Brunswick Law Society’s Property Law Advisory Committee and Ethics Committee.
Andrew lives in Rothesay with his wife Harriet, and three yorkshire terriers, and enjoys travelling, cooking and developing his skills as an amateur sommelier in his spare time.

Anne McInerney
Director
Vice President Communications J.D. Irving Limited
Anne McInerney brings more than 20 years of community engagement and communications expertise to the Chamber’s Board of Directors. She is currently VP, Communications for J.D. Irving, Limited and has previously served as senior-level communications counsel in consulting and creative firms, and as Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Communications for the Province of New Brunswick, leading a team of close to 50 communications professionals while acting as chief strategic counsel on all proactive and reactive government communications.
In addition to her role as Chamber Director, Anne sits on the boards of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation and MindCareNB and is a member of a national task force for ethical public relations.
Anne has a Public Relations degree from Mount Saint Vincent University and is an accredited and active member of the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Sunny Khosla
Director
Sunny Khosla, CPA New Brunswick, USA, & RCIC
Sunny Khosla is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant and founder of NAAS Immigration Services. He is a Certified Public Account, New Brunswick, and New Hampshire. He has more than 18 years of experience in the professional industry, with 15 plus years in the leadership roles, with companies like, Royal Bank of Canada, American Express, EXL services. He worked with the Royal Bank of Canada for 3 plus years in different capacity (Commercial Account Manager and Branch Manager).
He is in Saint John from last 5 years. He has made Saint John his permanent home and likes helping the community. He sits on the board of New Brunswick Social Pediatrics and as a Treasurer for EDA.
He served the board for the Three Sisters Condominium corporation as a Treasurer. He was awarded as an emerging leader award in the year 2021 from the CPA New Brunswick.
He brings his diversified experience in the finance world and Immigration. He is bringing lot of people in New Brunswick and helping the existing newcomers in settling down and getting their Permanent residency. He loves what he is doing now and is passionate about helping the community. He also started the Atlantic India Free Kitchen Service for all, to serve food at Outflow, which was replaced by donation model in pandemics.
