3rd of June, 2026

Julia Cann, our co-host, is the Events Manager at the Halifax Citadel Society, overseeing events hosted at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site—one of Halifax's most iconic cultural venues, recently recognized as one of Canada's Best Historic Event Venues at the Canadian Venue Awards. She's also the Founder and Connection Architect of CannDo Connections, a professional networking initiative focused on designing intentional, high-impact connection experiences for professionals and leaders in Halifax. She recently won the Rising Star Award from Meeting Professionals International Atlantic Canada Chapter, recognizing her outstanding emerging leadership in the events community. Julia serves on the board of directors for MPI Atlantic Canada, helping shape the events profession across the region. She's building community, one intentional connection at a time.

Tracy Bell leads the Wallace McCain Institute as Executive Director- one of Atlantic Canada's most respected entrepreneurial leadership organizations. She began her impactful career as a television reporter with CTV — one of Canada's most-watched newscasts. From there, she transitioned into corporate communications, serving as Head of Public Affairs for a provincial health organization. It was a career built entirely on the power of story and strategic communication. Then in 2016, a health scare in the family prompted Tracy and her husband to reimagine the way tea is processed in an effort to extract more antioxidants. That concept led to the creation of an entirely new category of tea — called Fresh-Leaf TEA — and the birth of Millennia TEA. The product was quickly being called "the future of tea" by industry leaders. Millennia TEA was named Best New Product at the World Tea Expo — the premier event in the world for specialty teas. The company went on to win a Gold Innovation Award from SIAL, a Sobeys Innovation Award, and recognition as Best New Product by the Retail Council of Canada in the over-the-counter healthcare category. They also secured a successful pitch on Dragon's Den and grew their distribution into Sobeys, Safeway, and Whole Foods stores across Canada. Before taking on her current role, Tracy served as CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce.

Stephanie Sarchfield is a Senior Manager of Commercial Services with TD Commercial Bank, where she leads a team of Commercial bankers across Nova Scotia. With 18 years of banking experience spanning the three Maritime provinces, Stephanie has built a career rooted in community, relationships, and meaningful financial impact. Her banking journey began at BMO Financial Group in 2008, where she spent 14 years climbing the ladder before joining TD in 2022 and making Nova Scotia home. Today she leads her commercial banking team across the province, helping individuals and businesses build their lives through access to capital and trusted financial expertise. She is particularly passionate about helping women navigate the banking system to access capital and financial expertise, and about mentoring the next generation of emerging banking professionals. She believes deeply that the actions taken today are creating stepping stones for the next generation to evolve beyond what exists now. She is a proud mom and wife, and when she's not leading her team, you'll find her at hockey rinks, parks, and hiking trails across Nova Scotia.

Pernille founded Kisserup International Trade Roots in 1998, building it into a global enterprise. Today she leads Kisserup International Trade Roots Canada Inc., Kisserup Europe, and Kisserup Arctic, with a track record spanning over 25 years of international business experience. She provides advisory services, project management, trade training, and consulting to public and private sector organizations worldwide, and has established joint ventures across the Arctic, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific. She has worked on projects in over 60 countries, across 25 sectors, on six continents, and currently sits on several international boards. Trade Ready Her project portfolio includes contracts funded by the Government of Canada, the European Development Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank — several of which have been recognized as Best Practices in SME Development. Pernille holds a Master of Business from the Copenhagen School of Business (1997), a Certificate in Project Management from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, and a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) designation from the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT). In 2018, she completed an Executive Management Programme in Leadership and Innovation from INSEAD in France. She was appointed to the Atlantic Growth Advisory Board in 2018, named one of Canada's Top 25 Women of Influence by Women of Influence® in 2014, and was consecutively nominated for the RBC Women Entrepreneur Awards from 2006 to 2019. She also served as the Nova Scotia representative on the Federal SME Advisory Board to the Federal Minister of International Trade from 2002 to 2007. She authored Tales from an Immigrant Entrepreneur: One Woman's Story — a lively, inspirational chronicle of her journey as a Danish immigrant who arrived in Canada in 1998 and built a global business from the ground up.