Joanne Bath
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Founder & CEO
Hailing from small-town Newfoundland, Joanne Bath values community, connection, and genuine relationships—principles that have been the cornerstone of her rewarding career. Joanne is an experienced, strategic, and collaborative leader who has dedicated much of her career to supporting life-changing health research and care in the Maritimes, across Canada, and beyond. Her extensive experience includes leading transformative campaigns for major organizations like the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation DMRF) and the IWK Foundation. She has built and led high-performing teams, raising over $90 million through entrepreneurial thinking, meticulous vision, and thoughtful leadership. Joanne’s leadership style is people-first, fostering trust, empowering ownership, and promoting entrepreneurial thinking. She excels at building high-performing teams and facilitating strategic partnerships by deeply understanding stakeholder needs. Her approach has consistently resulted in measurable success, from creating comprehensive campaign strategies to nurturing relationships with key donors and volunteers.
Mackenzie Darbyshire, CFRE
she/her
Strategic Growth Director
With more than eight years of experience in the philanthropic sector — specializing in annual, planned, and major giving — Mackenzie has played a key role in building and leading fundraising programs that foster deep donor relationships and drive sustainable growth. At Hospice Halifax, Mackenzie has helped raise millions through strategic planning, data-driven decision-making, and compelling storytelling, all while empowering a team of talented fundraisers and volunteers. Grounded in a background in psychology and thanatology, Mackenzie brings empathy and curiosity to every conversation, whether guiding donors through transformational giving or mentoring team members toward their own success. She is particularly passionate about translating complex needs into clear, inspiring cases for support and connecting with donors. Beyond her professional work, Mackenzie has served in volunteer roles with AFP Nova Scotia, the Halifax Jazz Festival, Hospice Halifax and Seasons Centre for Grieving Children. She holds a BA (Hons) in Psychology and Thanatology from King’s University College at Western University, along with certifications in Social Media Practices, Mental Health First Aid, ASIST, and CFRE.
Sarah Dineen
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Strategic Advisor, Major Gifts
Sarah brings over eleven years of progressive experience in fundraising, with a strong record of leading high-impact philanthropic initiatives. Most recently, she directed the planning, management, and execution of an ambitious, integrated major gifts program at The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School. Known for her strategic approach to donor engagement and her ability to secure transformational gifts, Sarah has a proven track record across individual giving, major gifts, and legacy giving. Her expertise spans donor cultivation and stewardship, organizational planning, and volunteer engagement—making her a trusted advisor to both internal teams and external stakeholders. Beyond her core fundraising leadership, Sarah has deep experience in event strategy and execution, the management of giving circles, and volunteer and committee engagement—key components in building lasting donor relationships and successful initiatives. A passionate advocate for community involvement, Sarah has championed causes such as Special Olympics Canada and the Community Association of Riders with Disabilities (CARD). She holds a BFA (Hons) in Theatre and is a proud member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Penny Blackwood
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Higher Education Specialist
Penny brings nearly three decades of leadership in higher education, including 26 years in advancement across Canada and the U.S. With a deep track record in building donor relationships and strengthening institutional advancement, she has helped teams increase their impact, sharpen their strategy, and raise significant philanthropic support. As Executive Director of Alumni Affairs and Development at Memorial University, Penny led a team that raised more than $280 million in philanthropic revenue, with an additional $52 million in planned gifts secured but not yet realized. Earlier in her career, she held advancement leadership roles in U.S. institutions, including directing a state foundation and leading corporate and major gift efforts for engineering. Penny’s focus at Kittiwake is on strengthening Advancement strategy to improve performance & talent development through major gift coaching and recruitment with a focus on increased ROI. She’s known for her ability to build team capacity, mentor fundraisers, and create alignment between institutional priorities and donor engagement. Penny holds a PhD and is valued for her thoughtful approach, strategic insight, and deep understanding of the higher education landscape
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Meet Our Team
At Kittiwake, we bring heart to strategy and intention to every partnership, grounded in our belief that the nonprofit sector deserves thoughtful, creative support.
Our people bring together deep sector experience, East Coast heart, and a shared commitment to helping nonprofits and philanthropic organizations rise above the waves. We’re strategists, storytellers, and collaborators who know that meaningful change doesn’t happen alone — and we’re proud to walk alongside our clients every step of the way.
Jas Jhooty
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Annual Giving Specialist
Jas helps charities realize the power of their own donor data and tell the story behind it. Using data audits/analytics, donor journey mapping, storytelling, and a multi-channel approach, she helps charities keep the donors they have. Jas has over 117 years of monthly giving expertise including monthly acquisition, conversion, reactivation, and upgrades through email, digital, direct mail, telefundraising, DRTV, telethons, radiothons, and face-to-face/door-to-door. Jas supports charities of all sizes with fundraising planning, campaign management, fundraising audits, donor journey mapping, and monthly giving program development and growth.
Amanda Macauley
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Marketing & Communications Specialist
Amanda is an award-winning communication and marketing professional with a diverse background spanning the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors in both Canada and the United Kingdom. She is passionate about strategic communication and specialize in crafting tailored messages that engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders to maximize reach and impact. Her communications strategies focus on various media channels, include targeted messaging, and incorporate additional marketing tactics. Amanda focuses on combining creativity with data-driven insights to help organizations achieve their goals and build meaningful audience connections.
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Michelle Paradis
Prospect Strategy & Donor Marketing Specialist
Michelle has 20 years of experience in direct response program management and prospect research and prospect management. With her strategic and analytical mindset, she successfully led the direct response program for the IWK Foundation raising millions of dollars and provided strategic insights for Dalhousie’s Molly Appeal Campaign for Medical Research. Her depth of experience includes all facets of direct response campaigns from the initial strategic plan to writing compelling copy, data segmentation and analysis, managing deadlines and stewardship. Michelle’s journey in her fundraising career began with and also continues to be in prospect research and prospect management. She approaches prospect research with curiosity and attention to detail to identify prospects, develop profiles with a focus on building a healthy robust pipeline. She has a comprehensive understanding of the donor journey including acquisition, annual giving and the transitions to major and legacy giving, the importance of building meaningful relationships through intentional stewardship, how all of the elements are interconnected and their importance to achieving fundraising success.
The Warrington Group
Recruiting Partner
The Warrington Group isn’t just a team; we're a stellar combination of drive, energy, unique skills + a commitment to authenticity that allows each team member to shine! We focus on exceptional client delivery + stellar candidate experience! It’s why we are recruitment done right. With diverse backgrounds across multiple industries, we’ve built our foundation to be a recruitment firm that values human connections as much as professional achievements. With more than 23+ years of combined recruitment expertise, led by a founder with both agency + corporate recruitment experience, our team offers a mix of industry insights, relentless dedication + creative yet strategic recruitment practices that set us apart from the rest.