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Barbara Roberts MSW RSW currently owns and operates a small private practise where she offers individual and group counselling. As wells as consultation, curriculum development business called Roberts Wellness Services, she holds a Master of Social Work and is a registered clinical Social Worker for over 13 years. She is also employed at the Nova Scotia Community College as African Nova Scotian and Black Student Advisor, serving several campuses across the province of Nova Scotia. Barbara also co-owns a jewelry and accessory business called AfroNova. 

Barbara’s undergraduate research at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS focused on the achievement gap that exists amongst African Nova Scotian students in the P-12 system compared to their counterparts. Her master's level research at York University, Toronto, Ontario, was titled the experience of Graduate Students with disabilities in the post-secondary education system in Ontario, Canada. 

She also holds a research fellowship with the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute (DBDLI). And currently engaging in research projected titled “Africentric Approaches and Practices in Post-Secondary Education: Creating an Africentric Student Lifecycle Framework and Student Services Delivery Model". 

Some of her other research interests and work include Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work and anti-Black racism curriculum with a concentration on mental health and wellness. 

She is also out going Vice-President of the Association of Black Social Workers and is a part of several initiatives within the Department of Justice, Department of Community Services and Service Canada in Nova Scotia with a focus on anti-Black racism. She also leads a variety of community-based initiatives that help foster stronger African Nova Scotian communities across the province of Nova Scotia with a focus on entrepreneurship, mental wellness and education. Barbara is the co-founder, past Co-Chair and Executive member of the Black and African Canadian Student Services Professionals Division of the Atlantic Association of Colleges and Universities.  

She is also the co-founder of the Archy Beals Legacy Award which has annually provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to African Nova Scotian students at the Nova Scotia Community College. Lastly the Barbara Roberts Aya Award was established in her name in 2025 by the NSCC Black Employee Resource Network to be recognized as an African Nova Scotian leader whose work inspires and impacts their communities. 

Deanna Mohamed hails from the African Nova Scotian community of New Glasgow, NS.

Deanna has worked in the field of education for 22 years. She started her career in New Glasgow Schools as an African Nova Scotia Student Support Worker and has been employed for the past 17 years at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), where she currently works as the Student Services Advisor and African Canadian Supports. She was seconded for a term at NSCC’s Central Office as the Equity and Inclusion Advisor with Human Rights and Equity Services in 2021. Deanna has also taught a Certificate in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for Dalhousie University during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Deanna has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Acadia University and a Master of Education in Lifelong Learning with a focus on Africentric Leadership from Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) and a Community College Education Diploma from NSCC.

In 2024 Deanna was presented with the inaugural King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions to Education and Cultural Heritage at the investiture ceremony at Government House. In 2023 Deanna was awarded the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alumni Legacy Award by Mount Saint Vincent University. The Deanna Mohamed Community Leadership Scholarship Award was also created in 2023 by the NSCC Black Employee Resource Network to honour her work an leadership in the college community. In 2017 she received the Award of Merit Recognizing Contributions Towards the Elimination of Racial Discrimination from the Town of New Glasgow. In 2012, Deanna was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for providing mentorship and inspiration to young adults, especially within the African Canadian community and for helping to build a more inclusive and understanding society.

Deanna is the Co-Founder, past co-chair and past Executive member of the Black and African Canadian Student Services Professionals Division of the Atlantic Association of Colleges and Universities (AACUSS) from 2023-2025. Just recently, Deanna was selected by the Canadian Association of Colleges and Universities Student Services (CACUSS) to be the new Co-Chair for the Affinity Group for Racialized and Indigenous Student Services Professionals for 2025-2027.

Deanna is also the co-founder of the Archy Beals Legacy Award (2022) which has annually provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to numerous African Nova Scotian students at the Nova Scotia Community College. Deanna is also a current Research Fellow with the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute (DBDLI), currently engaged in a research project titled “Africentric Approaches and Practices in Post-Secondary Education: Creating an Africentric Student Lifecycle Framework and Student Services Delivery Model".

Deanna is a sought-after keynote speaker, emcee and workshop facilitator, having presented to thousands of people on numerous topics related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Africentric Practice, the Islamic faith, Leadership, and African Nova Scotian History and Heritage. She is a member of numerous Boards and agencies and is part of several Africentric advisory committees related to upward social mobility within the African Nova Scotian community.