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.

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 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.

Dean joined his firm in 2016 and became a partner in 2017.  A graduate of MTA in 1994, he obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1997 (now Chartered Professional Accountant). He has worked in various roles in public accounting and in industry as inhouse tax resources for a domestic manufacturer and as the Senior Director of International Tax for a major public company and has specialized in income tax since 1999.
Dean currently is the First Vice Chair of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of both the YMCA of Greater Saint John Endowment Fund and the KV Committee for Disabled Persons and a board member of the Saint John Hospital Foundation.  Previously, Dean served 14 years on the YMCA of Greater Saint John Board of Directors as its Treasurer and Vice Chair and was Chair during the fundraising and construction of the new Regional YMCA.
Originally from Bathurst, he lives in Quispamsis with his wife Vicki, who he supports in her fundraising efforts for Muscular Dystrophy.

Stephanie is an experienced communicator and facilitator whose experience includes award-winning projects across industries like transportation infrastructure, health care, labour relations, economic development, energy and natural resources. She’s been assisting clients at NATIONAL with public affairs, stakeholder relations, community engagement, issues and crisis management, and strategic planning for more than ten years.

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.

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 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.

Christine Gilliland, a born and bred Saint Johner, grew up on the West Side and started her career Uptown as a visitor information counsellor.

Her Certificat en Français langue seconde from Université Laval in Québec City led to a 15-year opportunity with Danone, a French-owned food and beverage company. While there, Chris lived in Stamford, Connecticut and managed North American consumer affairs and regulatory compliance for brands like Evian Natural Spring Water.

Since returning home to Saint John in 2010, Chris has played key roles in advancing several inspirational organizations - both through Way Up Strategic Solutions, her copywriting and communications business, and as an engaged community volunteer.

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.

Matthew Joyce is the owner and founder of JTR Commercial Services - a company born from his necessity for dumpsters and portable storage units when he was purchasing and managing multi-unit apartment buildings. Starting the company from the ground up in 2009, Matthew has now grown it to 10+ employees serving all of Greater Saint John.

 A graduate of the Entrepreneurial Leaders Program through the Wallace McCain Institute in 2018, Matthew has taken his business and leadership experience to his community and now serves on the Board of Directors for the Dominion Park Association as well as the Greater Saint John Chamber of Commerce. A firm believer in the importance of youth sports, Matthew is an active supporter of P.R.O. Kids Saint John.

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.

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.