Little Island Conversations

Morgan Toney: Making Music

Morgan Toney is a Mi'kmaq folk singer-songwriter and fiddler from Nova Scotia, Canada, whose music blends Celtic folk and traditional Mi'kmaq music. Toney began his musical career as a drummer but began learning the fiddle in the late 2010s. He met singer-songwriter Keith Mullins, with whom he planned to record an album but found their plans halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his debut at the virtual edition of the Celtic Colours festival in 2020, sharing the stage with Ashley MacIsaac. Toney and Mullins then launched a GoFundMe page to assist in recording Toney's debut album First Flight, which was released independently in 2021. Where to find Morgan: https://www.morgantoneymusic.com/ [https://www.morgantoneymusic.com/] https://morgantoney.bandcamp.com/album/first-flight [https://morgantoney.bandcamp.com/album/first-flight]

Joel Burton: Culture and Collisions in Rural Nova Scotia

Joel Burton grew up in northern Cape Breton and now resides in Catalone, between Sydney and Louisbourg, with his wife and young family. After many years living in Ontario, Joel and his wife decided to move back to Nova Scotia for work and to buy a home and raise their children. Joel now works in sales and content marketing for Victoria Co-operative Fisheries Ltd., a nearly 70-year-old seafood company located in Neil’s Harbour and area, with a focus on harvesting and processing wild sustainable seafood from the cold, pristine waters of the North Atlantic for sales in North America and global markets. In his work, Joel uses empathetic storytelling and conversational interviewing to design online and offline content, drawing on his years of experience in sales and marketing, community engagement, and partnership development across broadcast media and higher education. Joel also holds leadership roles in building and promoting local arts initiatives with a cultural and economic impact in the Atlantic Canada region. What Joel is Reading: Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch by Erin French [https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B088Q9X35M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1] Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer [https://www.amazon.ca/Talking-Canadians-Memoir-Rick-Mercer-ebook/dp/B092CYH3V5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3I7O27D62VGO&keywords=rick+mercer+talking+to+canadians&qid=1682945837&sprefix=rick+mercer+talking+to+canadians%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1] Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me: A chef’s stories and recipes from the land by Denis Cotter [https://www.amazon.ca/Wild-Garlic-Gooseberries-Me-stories/dp/0007364067] Where to Find Joel https://victoriafish.com/ [https://victoriafish.com/] Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?fetchDeterministicClustersOnly=true&heroEntityKey=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAABMxI3cBfmNE-0QOt4QpkeIF4jN0t8Ec45M&keywords=joel%20r.%20burton&origin=RICH_QUERY_SUGGESTION&position=1&searchId=0cfc5062-ddf4-4560-a1e5-2ec732dcda38&sid=DJ_] Where to Find Us Website [https://littleislandconverations.carrd.co/] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/littleislandconversations/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089430830416]

Gavin Andrews: Catching Innovation in Atlantic Canada

Gavin Andrews is the founder and CEO of Mabel Systems, a local technology firm that supplies digital solutions to the seafood industry. He has worked in Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Seafood for over 15 years applying digital technology to our primary industries.  He grew up both in Cape Breton but spent much of his early years in the state of Georgia. Since then he has lived in many countries around the world but now proudly calls the Northend of Sydney home. What is Gavin reading: Good to Great - Jim Collins [https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/9780066620992-item.html?s_campaign=goo-PMaxSmartShop_Books_Hot_EN&gclid=CjwKCAjw0ZiiBhBKEiwA4PT9z3ku0ZpsM4dEXTNBhl96Jy-PT1wOOEKFRumVGp9SeCI2pA3otFdx6xoCbsEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds] Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin [https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/9780743270755-item.html?s_campaign=goo-PMaxSmartShop_Books_Hot_EN&gclid=CjwKCAjw0ZiiBhBKEiwA4PT9z4PO_iN6bqN2WQsD1G39J01mm81ZTIf6UXe5x7SukfQws2S4hT8IFBoCEK4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds] Significant Others Podcast [https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/significant-others] Where to Find Gavin: www.mabelsystems.com [https://www.mabelsystems.com/] Where to find Us: https://littleislandconverations.carrd.co/ [https://littleislandconverations.carrd.co/]

Alisha Barron: Painting the Future

Originally from Ingonish, Alisha has made Sydney home, where she opened Fired Creations in 2018. Contrary to popular belief, Alisha is not a self-described artist and had never painted pottery let alone fired it before opening her shop. That did not stop her from identifying a need for more recreational activities in the CBRM and landing on pottery painting as the solution. Now five years into business Alisha is continuing to grow, with her goal for it to be a little less hands-on for her day-to-day. What is Alisha Reading? Life in the Fasting Lane [https://www.amazon.ca/Life-Fasting-Lane-Intermittent-Lifestyle_and/dp/0062969447/ref=asc_df_0062969447/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459345252856&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6653820915792042923&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000064&hvtargid=pla-898212844048&psc=1] The E Myth [https://www.amazon.ca/Myth-Mastery-Essential-Disciplines-World-Class/dp/0060723238/ref=sr_1_2?hvadid=272371114981&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000064&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=79895760227873570&hvtargid=kwd-376278251254&hydadcr=22425_9261598&keywords=the+e-+myth&qid=1681735791&sr=8-2] The Slight Edge [https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+slight+edge&hvadid=208285713807&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000064&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2701928822109115254&hvtargid=kwd-296565000880&hydadcr=14949_9480931&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_33ubqyylpi_e] Find Alisha Online firedcreations.ca [https://www.firedcreations.ca/] Find the Pod Online Newsletter [https://littleislandconverations.carrd.co/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089430830416] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/littleislandconversations/]

Rochelle Hatcher: Building Opportunities at Home

Rochelle Hatcher is the Regional Director/Industry Community Engagement Coordinator with the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council. Rochelle has a Bachelor of Arts Community Studies Degree from Cape Breton University and held previous roles as Executive Director and Fund Development Manager within the healthcare charitable sector. She specializes in community development and relationship management. She serves as a liaison for industry partners with government, community, and service providers and sits on multiple committees throughout Nova Scotia that focus on creating a more diverse and equitable workforce. She is currently enrolled in a Train the Trainer DEI Leadership course with other provincial partners. Rochelle is a board member of the Cape Breton Chamber of Commerce and gives time to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation and with her dog Quincy as volunteers with St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dog Program. What Rochelle is reading 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom [https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/9781401308582-item.html?s_campaign=goo-PMaxSmartShop_Books_Hot_EN&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8qmhBhClARIsANAtboel_QjY1s1vKWzlLXXl3v4tvEDqVJ1f92DeMfQQuVn6xmDS0Ee__68aAm7FEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds] Where to find Rochelle https://nscsc.ca/ [https://nscsc.ca/] rhatcher@nscsc.ca Shout Outs! Bradley Sheppard Saint John Ambulance Therapy Dog Anchored Ideas Island Folk Cidery On Paper Books Norren MacKinnion Maggie Budden Lillian Marsman Bernadette Johnson