Directors

Brad Anguish, Director of Community & Recreation Services

A retired and decorated Naval Engineering Officer, Brad has over 24 years experience leading a diverse array of projects, such as Infrastructure Construction, Engineering Design, Information Systems/Technology, Business Process Improvement, Strategic/Performance Management, and Corporate Re-Organization. And for something completely different, he also directed the first-ever mega concert on the Common with the Rolling Stones.   Brad is certified as a Professional Engineer and a Project Management Professional.  He possesses an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and a masters degree in Business Administration.  

Greg Keefe, Director of Finance/CFO

Mr. Greg Keefe holds the position of Chief Financial Officer. In 2011, Greg retired from an extensive public service career spanning more than three decades.

Greg was most recently the Deputy Minister, Office of the Premier for Nova Scotia through which he served as the Clerk/Secretary to the Executive Council, Head of the Public Service and Deputy Minister responsible for the Treasury Board, Chief Information Office and Communications Nova Scotia.

He also held the positions of Deputy Minister, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, and Executive Director of Revenue, Compliance and Registry Services with the Provincial Tax Commissioner.

Greg’s considerable experience in public policy and fiscal management will help lead the Finance team’s tabling of the municipal budget that will underpin the delivery of vital municipal services throughout 2012-13. To that end, he is looking forward to meeting and working with staff and the Mayor and Council.

Doug Trussler, Chief Director of Fire and Emergency Services

Doug joined HRM on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, after a successful career as Fire Chief with the District of North Vancouver.

Doug brings to HRM more than 26 years of professional fire service delivery, 21 of these years in Chief Officer positions. With a background in all areas of fire service operations combined with an extensive educational portfolio, Doug brings to HRFE and HRM a commitment to public safety, diversity, innovation and fiscal accountability.

Highlights of Doug's career include:

• Extensive experience in the recruitment and selection process
• Significant service advancements in the delivery of municipal fire services
• Strong supporter of community outreach programs to grow awareness of firefighting as a career
• Considerable and successful experience establishing and maintaining successful relationships with varied stakeholders
  
  

Catherine Mullally, Director of Human Resources

Catherine Mullally is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and has over 25 years of public sector experience. She began her career with the former City of Halifax Recreation Department and has since worked with Tourism Halifax, in the CAO's Office as Executive Assistant, and as a Manager with Human Resources before assuming her current role as Director in 2006.

Catherine is a principle-centred leader with a strong interest in organizational development. Some of her achievements include the development of a Local Government Leadership program for HRM and the reorganization of HR service delivery to support organizational goals. In 2009, Catherine was awarded HRM's Excellence in Leadership Award and Employee of the Year Award.

Jane Fraser, Director of Planning & Infrastructure

Jane joined HRM in October 2012, after a 25-year career with the Province of Nova Scotia. During that time she held various positions in the Department of Finance and the Treasury Board, she was a municipal advisor with Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, as well as CEO of the Nova Scotia Municipal Finance Corporation.

In her previous role as the Executive Director of Finance and Strategic Capital Planning, Jane was responsible for negotiating infrastructure agreements with the federal government, P3 projects and overseeing the Province’s long-term infrastructure plan and financial services.

Jane’s background is in finance; she holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Saint Mary’s University, is a Certified General Accountant and has a Master’s in Public Administration from Dalhousie University.

Jane is currently in her second year of serving as the Regional Chair of the Nova Scotia Institute of Public Administrators.

Marian Tyson, Q.C., Director of Legal Services                  
          

Ms. Tyson joins HRM following a distinguished public sector career during which she served most recently as Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice. In her role she oversaw all legal services administered for the provincial government. Ms. Tyson served as Lead Deputy Minister for government’s Crime Prevention Action Plan Committee, briefing Premier, Ministers and Government Officials on crime status and initiatives to combat crime and also represented Nova Scotia on a federal, provincial and territorial committee on public safety.

Throughout her career, Ms. Tyson has demonstrated a commitment to public service and a desire to give back to the community.

Judith Hare, Chief Executive Officer, Halifax Public Libraries

Judith was appointed to her present position in September,1996. Previous positions include Chief Executive Officer of the Markham and Nepean Public library systems, Ontario; and Executive Director of the Fraser Valley Regional Library, British Columbia.

She received a Bachelor of Arts (Hon),Political Science and Master of Library Science) degrees from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ont. She also holds a Certificate in Management Studies from Carleton University, Ottawa.

Judith Hare is a joint author of One Place to Look, the Ontario Public Libraries Strategic Plan and in 1993, she was awarded the Ontario Library Association's Angus Mowat Award for Library Innovation.

Edward Robar, Director, Metro Transit

In August 2011, Edward (Eddie) Robar, former Manager, Service Development for Metro Transit, was named the new Director, Metro Transit for Halifax Regional Municipality.

Eddie has had progressive management experience with Metro Transit since joining the organization in 2002. Prior to becoming Director he served as Manager, Service Development, with a key responsibilities in providing leadership and direction in the delivery of public transit service to Halifax Regional Municipality, including short and long range service planning for the conventional transit system, community transit, ferry service, and Metro Transit’s strategic financial plan. 

As Director of Metro Transit, Eddie provides strategic leadership and advice to Regional Council and the municipal administration regarding the effective delivery and growth of Halifax Regional Municipality's public transit system.

Eddie is married with three children and resides in Cole Harbour.

Jean-Michel Blais, B.A., LL.B., Chief of Police, Halifax Regional Police

Prior to this appointment, Chief Blais was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 25 years. He began his career in the Québec City area in 1988 as an investigator working on various criminal organizations in the areas of drug and customs interdiction. In 1995, he completed his first mission with the United Nations in Haiti as a civilian police officer. Following his return, he was transferred to Québec City and Montréal, working predominantly on organized motorcycle gangs and Colombian Cartels in Canada, Columbia and Cuba. In 2000, he was transferred to Manitoba as a commissioned officer where he worked in municipal and provincial policing and was the officer in charge of Major Crimes Services and the acting Operational Support Services Branch officer for the entire province.

In 2004, he joined Adjudications Directorate in Ottawa as a permanent adjudicator and its director, chairing internal disciplinary hearings across the country. In 2008, he was assigned to the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti as the Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of operations, responsible for the activities of over 1,700 international police officers. During his stay, he led the UN police response to two weeks of rioting, four successive tropical storms and the collapse of a primary school which killed 93 children.

Upon his return from Haiti in January 2009, he worked as the Director of the Appropriate Officer Representative Directorate in charge of disciplinary prosecutions. In January 2010, following the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, he was dispatched to locate, recover and repatriate the bodies of Sergeant Mark Gallagher and Chief Superintendent Doug Coates. In July 2010, he became the Employee-Management Relations Officer for the Atlantic Region, working out of Bedford. For a year prior to his appointment as Chief of Halifax Regional Police, he was the officer in charge of Halifax District RCMP. He also acted as the officer in charge of the RCMP National Ceremonial Troop with the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in 2011 and 2012.

Chief Blais has two degrees, one in political science and economics from McGill University and the other in law from Université Laval. He has also published several works on international and national police-related topics, having participated in, and won, several written article competitions. He has been decorated with medals by both the UN and the Government of Canada.

Chief Blais’ interests vary from reading and writing to cycling and hockey as a Hockey Canada Level III referee. He resides in Hammonds Plains, N.S., with his wife and nine-year-old son. They also have two adult daughters.

Ken Reashor, Director, Transportation and Public Works

Born and raised on Cape Breton island, Ken attended St. Francis University and graduated with a Civil Engineering Degree from Nova Scotia Technical University in Halifax in 1972.

After spending just over five years with the Nova Scotia Housing Corporation in Dartmouth as a design engineer, he left to take a position with Associated Engineering as a Senior Design Engineer in Edmonton.

Ken worked in Edmonton for nine years as a consultant and then in the private development industry and later as a Project Manager for the Alberta Housing Corporation. He then became City Engineer for the Town of Fort McMurray prior to moving to Calgary as the Transportation Manager for the City for 14 years and then on to his private consulting business in the transportation and development field.

After almost 26 years, he returned to Halifax in 2003 to take on the role of A/Manager of Traffic & Right of Way Services with Halifax Regional Municipality. Within a year he was appointed to the position permanently. One of his other titles and major responsibility is Traffic Authority for HRM.  In 2010 Ken was appointed Director of Transportation and Public Works at HRM, and still retains his role as Traffic Authority.