Chair, Commissioner Reappointments

The Government of Nova Scotia has reappointed two members of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission by an Order in Council which took effect July 29, 2022.

Cheryl Knockwood, Sydney, has been reappointed as Chair and Cynthia Dorrington, Halifax, has returned as Commissioner. Both appointments are for three-year terms.

Cheryl Knockwood was first appointed to the Board of Commissioners in 2015, sitting as Commissioner until she was appointed Chair in 2019. She was called to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Bar in 2009 and currently serves as the governance co-ordinator for Membertou First Nation, working alongside the community in developing laws on lands and citizenship.

She previously worked as a senior policy analyst with the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs. She has also worked as a part-time instructor at Cape Breton University lecturing on Aboriginal and treaty rights, Mi’kmaw governance and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Cynthia Dorrington is the President of Vale & Associates Human Resource Management and Consulting Inc. She was first appointed to the Board of Commissioners in 2018. Her work specializes in areas such as organizational strategy, people strategy, equity, diversity and inclusion, supplier diversity, change management, governance, performance management, as well as HR advisory services.

She is a member of the Board of Governors of St. Francis Xavier University, Chair of the Black Business Enterprise and is a board member with the Canadian Urban Institute, VON Canada and Halifax Hospice. Cynthia is a Life-Time Member of the Board of Governors for the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

A full list of current Commissioners is available here.