What is the Community Sector Network of PEI?

The Community Sector Network of PEI (CSNPEI) is an umbrella organization for all the nonprofits, charities, community development organizations, advocacy groups, volunteer organizations, and many more in PEI.

Vision

A sustainable and valued community sector for PEI.

Mission

To develop an empowered community sector using its collective voice for change.

Values

  • Collaboration: We believe in the power of working together and seek to build strong relationships that foster mutual learning and growth.
  • Courage: We are committed to demonstrating courage in all aspects of our work, including taking bold actions, speaking up for what is right, and advocating for systemic change through innovative approaches.
  • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: We recognize and respect the diversity of our community and strive to create an inclusive and equitable environment where marginalized people feel valued, respected, and supported.
  • Transparency: We are dedicated to promoting transparency in our operations, governance, and decision-making processes, and we are committed to being open, honest, and accountable in all our interactions.

JEDDI - Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity,  Inclusion

CSNPEI recognizes that systemic oppression, including but not limited to colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism exists in our society, and that it is our responsibility to actively work towards dismantling these structures.

We believe that all people, regardless of their identities, deserve to have their voices heard and their needs met. We strive to create a safe and inclusive space for marginalized people to participate in our organization and benefit from our work. We acknowledge that this requires ongoing learning and a commitment to unlearning oppressive behaviors and attitudes.

As Treaty People living and working on the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq, we recognize the ongoing harm caused by colonialism and are committed to reconciliation and decolonization efforts. We recognize the importance of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and commit to learning from and working with Indigenous communities to achieve mutual goals.

We call on all organizations in the community sector to join us in this work. We encourage organizations to reflect on their role in perpetuating oppressive systems and actively work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all. We recognize that this is an ongoing process that requires humility, vulnerability, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Our Areas of focus

Enhancing recognition of the Community Sector to ensure Islanders are aware of its importance to health and wellbeing within the province.

Sharing our expertise and working towards our shared goals to ensure we are strong and efficient.

Advocating on behalf of the Community Sector to ensure our voice is heard and respected by other sectors.

Ensuring the Community Sector has the resources it needs in order to deliver quality services in a sustainable manner.

Staff

The Community Sector Network of PEI team is here to help your non-profit advocate for what matters to you, acquire necessary tools for success, connect with the non-profit community, and heighten your visibility.

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Alexia Riche

alexia@csnpei.com

902 330 3351

Executive Director

Alexia Riche has been the Executive Director of the Community Sector Network of PEI since August 2022. Alexia is on the Board of Directors for Women’s Network PEI, the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and the Comité Consultatif de la Communauté Acadienne et Francophone. She previously worked as the Diversity Training Coordinator for ResourceAbilities.
 
Alexia graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island with a BA in Diversity and Social Justice Studies and Applied Communication Leadership and Culture. During her studies, Alexia had various student assistant roles and volunteered both on campus and in the community.
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Christine Batten

cbatten@csnpei.com

902 853 5894

Community Engagement Counsellor

Christine brings over two decades of experience as a small business owner and graphic designer in Western PEI, where she also led the Holland College experiential learning program Transitions as Team Lead and Business Mentor.
She holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of New Brunswick and an administration certificate from Holland College.
Christine is committed to her community, currently serving on the Board of the PEI Literacy Alliance. Her past leadership roles include serving on the Western Regional Economic Advisory Council, volunteering with the IRSA PEI group, and acting as Treasurer for the Alberton Library Ltd.
Outside of her professional life, Christine proudly sings with Island A Cappella, the Island’s only all-women’s barbershop chorus, and serves as that organization's webmaster and social media content designer.
Today, Christine serves as the Community Engagement Counsellor with ASCEND, an employment program that connects youth with meaningful work experiences in Island non-profit organizations — helping build stronger communities, one opportunity at a time.
 
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Amir Zuccolo

Azuccolo@csnpei.com

902 940 7673

Social Enterprise Coordinator

Amir previously worked for Bike Friendly Communities and Gran Fondo PEI.  With Bike Friendly Communities, she was responsible for developing their strategic fundraising plan to create a diversified revenue stream to bring operational stability.
Amir is traditionally trained as an Organic Chemist with a PhD from the University of Calgary. She spent a year teaching in the Chemistry Department at UPEI.  Following that she spent a few years working in the biotech sector, before starting her own company, AffinityImmuno, with her business partner. Through owning and growing the business, she has first-hand experience in financial management, growth and strategic planning, and securing non-dilutive funding.
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Haley Ha

Hha@csnpei.com

902 388 4692

Shared services Navigator

Haley has experience in project management in both the non-profit and corporate sectors. She worked as the Program Manager at Community Legal Information and was in charge of developing and launching the Justice Avenues program to provide legal support for racialized communities living in PEI. Prior to that, Haley was a Legal Assistant at McInnes Cooper, supporting lawyers across various law practices. Haley has a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management from the International University of Bad Honnef in Germany. Haley is passionate about spending her time volunteering both on campus and in the community. Previously Haley volunteered for The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany.
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Ezra Santana

esantana@csnpei.com

Membership coordinator

Ezra Santana is a Holland College graduate with a diploma in Journalism and Communications. Throughout their studies, Ezra focused on bringing a Queer Brazilian immigrant perspective to journalism, with projects on trans rights in PEI and other important topics.

Ezra is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is passionate about storytelling, communication, and creativity. They are dedicated to connecting with and serving their community in Epekwitk (PEI), particularly by amplifying the voices of marginalized groups.

Ezra currently holds a part-time position as a Digital Skills Intern with the Women’s Network PEI, while also serving as Membership Coordinator at CSNPEI.

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Caroline Galloway

info@csnpei.com

Administrative Assistant

Caroline graduated from UPEI with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, during which she worked as a Research Assistant for Dr. Jessica Strong’s study, The Impact of Music on Aging and Cognition. She conducted cognitive assessments and presented findings at the Gerontological Society of America Conference.

Bilingual in English and French, Caroline also works part-time as Office and Event Support with the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, where she contributed to organizing the 2024-2025 Purple Ribbon Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence, International Women's Day and other initiatives. With experience in administrative support, event coordination, and data analysis, she excels in creating organized, inclusive, and effective work environments.

Board of Directors

Our board is comprised of people working or volunteering in the community sector.

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Charity Sheehan

Chair

In 2013, Charity was appointed Executive Director of Special Olympics PEI. She started her involvement as a volunteer coach in 1997 and in 2001 started her career with Special Olympics PEI as Program Director. Charity is a graduate of the Holland College Sport & Leisure Management Program and remains active with the program through an advisory committee. Charity has attended numerous multi-sport games over the past two decades including being mission staff at three Special Olympics World Games and two Canada Games.

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Sarah Outram

Sarah is the Executive Director of the PEI Coalition for Women in Government and an incredibly active community member.
She was previously employed with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, leading an award-winning youth conservation program, and still retains her passion for the environment.
 
Outside of her career, Sarah is the President of the local nonprofit, Fusion Charlottetown which aims to host events and advocate for youth within the city.
 
She drafted the original projects “Fusion Earth Week”, an educational week on urban environmental issues, and “Fusion Flavours”, a series of cooking workshops for newcomers and current residents to share their cultures through sustainable food preparation, which are going into their fourth and second years respectively.
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Michael Steele

Treasurer

Michael Steele is currently working with Reach Foundation, guiding, and supporting the organization’s mission to empower youth with confidence in their ability to reach their goals. Michael has assisted in product development, administrative support, attending board meetings to record minutes, as well as completing full-cycle accounting tasks.
Michael is a graduate of the Accounting Technology program at Holland College and is a huge believer in Lifelong Learning. Michael has had a varied past which included customer service, network monitoring, reporting, and resolution, production work, product development, and full-cycle accounting.
Michael’s passion for supporting nonprofits led him to the Community Sector Network of PEI where he hopes to be able to provide valuable guidance to help both CSNPEI as well as its members.
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Tanya Nace

Tanya is a global organizational leader with a background in non-profit recruitment, fundraising and organizational development. She serves as CEO of World Hope International (Canada) on a global scale and is also active in her local community through Cycling PEI as a leader for women's cycling rides and facilitating women to be involved in the sport of cycling on PEI. Tanya brings experience in international communication, strategic thinking, system development, fundraising, communications and management. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Kingswood University and completed her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University. She was born and raised in O'Leary, PEI and currently lives in Stratford, PEI with her family.

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Renita Bartlett

Renita(she/her) has volunteered for many organizations and causes, and particularly loves giving her time to intergenerational programming, local community initiatives/events, and youth serving organizations. Renita, her wife, Jennifer and two French bulldogs relocated to Summerside after residing in Alberta for the last 20 years.  Born in Nova Scotia, Renita is excited to come closer to her roots and connect with the community here.  Renita supports nonprofits in their efforts to engage communities in decision making, collaborate in new ways, and create impact in the face of complex challenges. Past Board roles have included Seniors for Kids Society in Cochrane, Cochrane and Area Helping Hands Society, Calgary Outlink and Volunteer Alberta. In her spare time, Renita can be found chasing her French bulldogs around, traveling the globe, volunteering in the community, and connecting with nature.
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Natasha McKenna

In 2022, Natasha joined Family Service PEI as its Executive Director. Originally from PEI, Natasha spent most of her career in the non-profit sector in Ottawa and Toronto working and volunteering primarily in adult education, poverty reduction and financial empowerment and mental health. She is happily living on the Island again closer to her family and saltwater.

Natasha has Bachelor of Arts degree from UPEI and a Masters in Adult Education and Community Development from University of Toronto where she focused on Workplace Learning and Social Change.

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Jillian Kilfoil

Secretary

Jillian was born in western Prince Edward Island. Jillian is a feminist, community activist, and facilitator. She has worked in the non-profit sector for 15 years and is currently the Executive Director of Women's Network PEI
Jillian was previously involved with organizations such as Katimavik; Apathy is Boring and Girls Action Foundation before joining Women’s Network PEI in October 2016. Jillian is currently a board member of the Community Sector Network of PEI, Justice Options for Women, and many other grassroots community initiatives.
Jillian has a background in political science and adult education. She believes strongly in collaborative approaches to learning and discovery to increase critical thinking to create systems change in society.

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Isabelle Dasylva-Gill

Isabelle Dasylva-Gill is the Executive Director of La SAF'Île - Société Acadienne et francophone de l'Île-du-Prince Édouard. Isabelle Dasylva-Gill is very involved and actively engaged in her community: over the past few years, she has sat on several boards of directors of organizations devoted to community development, the Francophonie, the status of women and children, multiculturalism, mental health for youth and access to justice, among others. She is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Université de Moncton, Learnsphere, the PEI Business Women's Association and has served on the PEI Premier's Special Committee on Recovery and Growth.
Her degrees include a degree in International Business, one in Business English, and a master’s degree in Marketing Research and strategy from Sciences Po in Paris, France. She has also received certification in Collaborative leadership and Facilitation in addition to the University of Prince Edward Island’s Manager Program.

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Bukola Afolabi

Bukola is passionate about making an impact in any community she finds herself in; this is what drives her and led her into the non-profit sector. She is a Nigerian and a graduate of Law with over 10 years post call. She has an interest and passion for issues such as women’s rights and youth advocacy which has afforded her the opportunity to acquire experience in project/program planning and implementation across several areas. Back home, she was able to make strategic intervention on women’s issues like drafting of Gender Bills, simplification of Gender Laws, submission of memoranda, and she participated in the development of Shadow reports and contributed to publications. 

She started her career as an intern in a non-profit organization and later obtained the position of Project/Program manager. In the course of her work, she worked on the Sexual and Reproductive Health Project as the Project Officer. She worked on the Gender Equality and Accountability Influence Project, Gender and Anti-Corruption Project, Legal Aid and Counseling pro bono for low-income people, and Court appearances for women facing gender-based violence and worked on policy drafting. An individual with strong communication skills, she facilitates training, workshops and seminars across locally and internationally. She has worked with several organizations in the non-profit, Business Membership Organization and the Theatre Industry across several roles (Program/Project Manager, Head, Programs & Membership, Lead, Gender and Safeguarding). She has experience working with Boards and senior management of companies viz a viz training on board composition/evaluation, risk management, board dynamics etc. Bukola has recently completed her Master's program in Island Studies with a focus on Sustainable Island Communities  

 

Want to join our board?

Submit your resume and a letter of intent to our board at info@csnpei.com

Our Board Nominations Committee will be in touch!

Why join our board?

Meet the Community

The Community Sector Network hosts many types of events, including Island-wide networking sessions across sectors.

Make a difference

Our Board provides governance and support to the CSNPEI staff to assist hundreds of organizations in their work to help PEI.

Get Creative

New ideas are not only welcome but encouraged! Your view matters and could help create a new program or initiative to fill a much-needed gap in the sector at large.

Creation of CSNPEI

A great deal of work and commitment by many individuals and organizations laid the foundation for the Community Sector Network of PEI. Dating back to the 2011 Imagine Canada National Summit in Ottawa, and building on various research conducted in characterizing the sector, 8 leaders in the sector came together to discuss ways to make progress in the sector.

In the fall of 2017, United Way of PEI hosted a conference in partnership with the Community Foundation and Canada 150. This event was about celebrating the sector and providing sector-specific professional development. “We used that opportunity to begin the process of creating a shared vision for the community sector on PEI moving forward,” said Andrea MacDonald, CEO of United Way of PEI. “The consensus was clear that everyone wanted a vibrant, valued, and collaborative community sector for PEI.”

Following the conference, a small “core working group” met several times to develop an action plan for establishing a formal organization, building on the work and energy from the past years. This group felt that there was enough information in order to start creating a plan, and wanted to now be active in drafting something tangible that others could comment on. Several mini-groups were also created and tasked with pieces of the development process.

This core working group included: Big Brothers and Sisters of PEI, Community Foundation of PEI, Community Legal Information Association, Cooper Institute, East Prince Youth Development Centre, Employment Journey, Habitat for Humanity, Newcomers Association of PEI, Peers Alliance, PEI Council of People with Disabilities, PEI Literacy Alliance, Special Olympics PEI, United Way of PEI, and the Women’s Network of PEI.

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