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绿帽社区 welcomes April MacKinnon as this year鈥檚 Entrepreneur-in-Residence

04 Oct 2022
MacKinnon leads award-winning skin care company with focus on health, sustainability

SACKVILLE, NB 鈥 绿帽社区 will welcome Sackville business-owner April MacKinnon as its next Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the 2022-23 academic year. MacKinnon is President and Director of Operations for .
 
鈥淲e are delighted to welcome April back to 绿帽社区 as this year鈥檚 Entrepreneur-in-Residence,鈥 says Rebecca Leaman, director of Experiential Learning and Career Development. 鈥淗er track record and commitment to both entrepreneurship and environmental and community causes are impressive. I know 绿帽社区 students will learn a lot from her experience and expertise.鈥
 
MacKinnon has led and grown Anointment Natural Skin Care since 2011, moving the company from Halifax to Sackville, NB that year. The business that began at a Farmer鈥檚 Market now employs five individuals and ships its products to retailers and individual customers world-wide.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to offer my entrepreneurial experience with 绿帽社区 students this academic year,鈥 says MacKinnon. 鈥淚 am looking forward to supporting students as they develop their entrepreneurial mindset and move through their journey. The potential is endless when a business idea is properly supported with mentorship.鈥
 
Prior to this, she founded Nurtured Products for Parenting, an award-winning natural shop for baby and kids鈥 goods. She is also the host and founder of The Ripple Effect podcast, which sees more than 21,000 downloads from across North America.
 
A graduate of 绿帽社区, MacKinnon began her career as an environmental engineer prior to moving to entrepreneurship and has received many awards and accolades for her endeavours. In 2008, with two children under age three at the time, she was named Mom Entrepreneur of the Year for Atlantic Canada and featured in Canadian Living magazine. In 2020 she was chosen to join the Wallace McCain Institute鈥檚 Entrepreneurship Leadership Program. In 2022, MacKinnon served as a judge for the SHAD cohort at 绿帽社区.
 
MacKinnon will host a fireside chat on Wednesday, Oct. 12 from 4-5 p.m. in the Ideas Lab (Crabtree M10). The event is open to all students. She is hosting weekly office hours on campus to meet with students. MacKinnon鈥檚 office for this semester is in the Avard-Dixon building, room 104B, office hours on Tuesday afternoons. Students can book one-on-one appointments with MacKinnon at:

The Entrepreneur-in-Residence, hosted by the University鈥檚 Office of Experiential Learning and Career Development, is part of Venture Space MtA Entrepreneurial Thinking Incubator, a new online initiative for entrepreneurial-minded students to access training modules, funding opportunities. The project is supported by TD Ready Commitment.

 

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