Our Board
The Board of Directors includes members from the public, private, and community sectors, all dedicated to supporting residents of Dartmouth. Committed to the public good, the work of the board combines traditional governance with active day-to-day operations. Board members have a strong network of community connections, allowing them to listen and respond to community need. The Board meets monthly to discuss current issues, set policy, manage projects, and plan special events.
Doug Livingstone – Chair
Doug graduated Saint Mary’s University with a BA and then Dalhousie Law School with an LLB. He practiced law in Dartmouth for over 50 years until he wound up his law practice in July, 2025. He served for three years as president of the Dartmouth Barristers Association. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Dartmouth for almost 50 years and has served a club president twice. He is a founding member of Feeding Others of Dartmouth Society (Margaret’s House) and has served on its board since 1999, including as chair for 11 years. He served for many years on the board of The Dartmouth Pre-School. He served on the board of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission for a number of years.
He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the City of Dartmouth medal for service to the community. He has been a member of the board of The Public Good Society of Dartmouth for many years.
Monique Mullins-Roberts – Vice Chair
Monique’s long-standing commitment to The Public Good Society reflects her life philosophy of service, community leadership, and addressing the social factors that shape health and wellbeing.
Through her work, she is dedicated to building strong connections, amplifying community voices, and championing initiatives that support healthier, more inclusive communities in Dartmouth and beyond.
Clarence Whynot - Treasurer
Clarence joined the PGSD Board in 2025 as Treasurer, and is pleased to be able to use his accounting skills to help serve the community. He has lived in the Dartmouth area all his life, growing up in nearby Eastern Passage, then studied accounting at St. Mary’s University, and later obtained a professional accounting designation. He retired in 2015 after working for CRA for 30 years, at first conducting income tax audits of small businesses, then later of large national and multi-national corporations.
Clarence has been training in karate for many years and teaches classes in Woodlawn several times per week. He also enjoys riding his motorcycle, camping, running, and travel with his wife, Susan.
Matthew Spurway
Bringing different perspectives and experiences together to tackle complex social challenges is Matt’s passion, with Collective Impact experience in areas such as Affordable Housing, Education, Access to Healthcare, Food Security, and Digital Inclusion.
Matt loves being part of a diverse and talented team as the founder and Chief Development Officer of GEO Nova Scotia. He also sits on the Board of the Farrell Benevolent Society where he is currently serving as Chair. Matt lives in Dartmouth with his wife Amy, their three children, and assorted flora and fauna.
Victoria Arsenault (She/Her)
General Manager – Seaside International Logistics Limited
Victoria has spent many years working in Dartmouth, where she has built strong connections and a genuine commitment to giving back to the community. With a long-standing career in the financial industry, she brings valuable experience and insight to her work. Victoria previously served as Treasurer of the Society before taking time to welcome her daughter, Austen, of whom she is incredibly proud.
Balancing professional dedication with motherhood, Victoria continues to be an engaged and community-focused individual.
Gavin McCombie
Lead Pastor, Life Branch Church, Dartmouth
Gavin brings a deep commitment to community and the common good to his role on the board of the Public Good Society. He believes the Society represents the best of what a community can be — continually asking, “What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?” These questions shape his faith, his leadership, and what he desires for his family and community.
For Gavin, serving on this board and in the community is not an obligation, but flows from gratitude — a desire to pay back and pay forward the investment others have made in his life. An encourager and visionary, he values collaboration, diversity, and working together to see hope blossom in the community. Happily married, he and his partner, Ferne, share a love of nature, beekeeping, and gardening — all ways of cultivating a stronger community.
Sylvia Anthony
A resident in Dart North for fifty years as well as a volunteer. Being involved with many organizations in the community gave her the opportunity to be a longtime member, and now President of the Dartmouth North Neighbourhood Watch which brings a safe and secure neighbourhood through Halifax Regional Police contacts. as well as N.S. Crimestoppers. Seeing the community with so much positive news and exceptional volunteers Sylvia founded the North Dartmouth Echo (a positive and free) community newspaper which produced their first publication in June 2004.with a team of volunteer members from the area.
She was asked to join the Public Good Society and knowing through community response, it was a sincere, positive and caring team, she was delighted to be a member on the Board. Helping Others is our goal.
Mike Burgess
Mike Burgess has been a hands-on rental housing provider in North Dartmouth in excess of 40 years. He learned that many people need help in some aspect of their lives and the values of The Public Good Society was in alignment with this realization.
Patricia Lahey (She/Her)
Operations Team, Compass Pharmacies
With nearly 15 years working in Downtown Dartmouth, Patricia has developed a deep connection to the community and the people who call it home. As a member of the Community Fridge Project and the Public Good Society, she brings valuable local insight and a strong commitment to supporting community members in meaningful, practical ways. Outside of volunteering, Patricia enjoys spending time with her husband, Sean, and their cat, Moo — and can often be found baking in her kitchen.
Mandy Chapman (She/Her)
Mandy Chapman is the Executive Director of Mobile Food Market, an initiative dedicated to bringing fresh, affordable food to communities facing barriers to healthy food access. Her work is grounded in a deep understanding of food systems and community need, and in the knowledge that access to healthy food is a matter of dignity for everyone. For Mandy, this work isn’t something she does — it’s something she lives.
With most of her career spent in the not-for-profit sector, Mandy brings experience, compassion, and thoughtful leadership to her role.
Born in North Dartmouth and living there until she was three, returning to this community through her work has always felt like coming home. Her family’s long roots here — and her dad’s lifelong love of foraging, fishing, and the land — continue to shape her values and approach. Outside of work, Mandy finds balance in the woods and on the water, cherishes time with family, and enjoys empty beaches — the simple places that remind her why community and healthy food matter so much.
Karen Gilmore (She/Her)
A lifelong resident of Dartmouth, the desire to give back to her community drew Karen back to the Public Good Society. Having been both a former board member and former funder of one of the Society’s programs, Karen knows the positive impact the work of this organization has. Now happily retired, Karen is eager to share the knowledge and expertise she has gained from more than 20 years in the nonprofit sector to further the Society’s mission to address complex social issues facing our community members.
When she is not volunteering you can find Karen at dance class, watercolour painting, doting on her granddaughter, or enjoying cottage life with her husband Ray and family.
Christine Hoene
Bio To Come
John Macleod
Senior Archivist and Manager, Nova Scotia Archives.
John’s connection to the Public Good Society began in 2008 when he first heard of the Navigator program that the Society was launching. At that time what became the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia was transforming itself from a cultural organization into an organization with a wider community outlook. John was able to facilitate a small grant to the Society to support that activity at a time when the Society had yet to become a charitable organization, (in the CRA sense of the word.) Since that time John has designated a portion of his United Way giving to the Society.
For a quarter century until 2024 John was the Treasurer of Christ Church (Dartmouth). Margaret’s House, the Christ Church food bank, the Community Fridge, out of the cold and COVID shelters, and the Navigator program thought the Society have all been connection points between the Church and the Community. One of the attributes he sees in the work of the Public Good Society is the idea that social change should be an important part of all of these programs. Building a better world isn’t just about addressing current needs it’s also about understanding causes and seeking different outcomes. John is happy about changing his connection to the society from that of a passive and silent onlooker to a more active involvement as a board member.
John also recently completed a term on the board of Symphony Nova Scotia. Apart from music his passions there centred on governance, community engagement, sustainability, and working to support accessibility to music and music education.