Meet The Team

Chief Executive Officer
Tim Rissesco (he/him), LPM, MBA
Tim has led the revitalization of Downtown Dartmouth since 2012 with a focus on attracting new businesses, public art installations and events. He is passionate about downtown Dartmouth, its people and its potential. Tim brings over 20 years of economic development and community building experience to the position. He enjoys working with the community on placemaking projects and events.
Fun fact: Tim collects Dartmouth-themed art. He has over 25 different Dartmouth T-shirts and is always on the lookout for another one.
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Why I love Dartmouth: I love the small town feel of Dartmouth, the familiar faces and that everything that I need is within a short walk from home. You can find me most Saturdays at the Market and I am always up for a coffee.
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Office Manager
Christine Stokes (she/her)
Christine is the person you really need to know at the DDBC. She’s the one on the front lines who assists members of our business community with all manner of concerns everyday. Christine handles all of our accounting and other DDBC money matters. She is in charge of managing our summer students, making sure the office runs smoothly and lots more!
Fun Fact: Christine has worked in downtown Dartmouth longer than anyone else on the team. She started at the DDBC in 1999.
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Why I love Dartmouth: I grew up in Dartmouth, in fact, I’ve lived here my entire life. I love everything about the place. I’ve seen many changes over the years, and I believe Dartmouth is getting better all the time. I love that I get to help make a difference in my community every day in the work that I do.
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Marketing & Communications
Kate d'Entremont (she/her)
Kate's role at the DDBC is to find creative ways to promote and tell the story of downtown Dartmouth. She oversees all of the DDBC’s communications, marketing and media relations. She spends lots of time working on the events that take place in the downtown Dartmouth community throughout the year.
She interned with the DDBC in 2019 and fell in love with the welcoming community downtown Dartmouth has to offer. She jumped at the chance to re-join the team.
Fun fact: Kate grew up in Massachusetts and spent her summer's growing up at her family cottage on the North Shore of PEI.
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Why I love Dartmouth: My favourite part of downtown Dartmouth is the friendly people. Whether it is walking on the sidewalk or shopping at a local business, everyone puts in the effort to make you feel at home.
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Street Navigator
Bela Oliveira (she/her)
Bela is our Street Navigator in downtown Dartmouth. Bela has been working in the social service field for a little over 5 years now and absolutely loves connecting and learning from individuals in the community. She truly thinks that is how we learn new things every day about ourselves and others.
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Bela spends her days reaching out to homeless and street-involved folks in our community and connecting them to the resources they need. You can often find Bela out and about in downtown Dartmouth. Don’t hesitate to say hello and introduce yourself.
Fun fact: I am fluent in three languages: Portuguese, English, and Spanish!
Why I love Dartmouth: I love the sense of community in Downtown Dartmouth. Everyone is willing to support and be there for one another.
Our Board
The DDBC is led by a volunteer Board of Directors who lead and support our organization and guide the work that we do.
Chair: Matthew Jarsky- JARSKY
Vice-Chair: Karl Flanders - Audrey's Little Shop of Plants
Treasurer: Joe Nickerson - Sidewalk Real Estate Development
Joe Zareski - Zzap Architecture and Planning
Nadine Sparks - Unity Wigs & Hair Services
Robyn Elliott - Elliott Law
Sherry Haley - Trust Hair Design Inc.​
Doug Townsend - The Canteen on Portland
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Non-Voting Members
William Robinson-Mushkat - Build Nova Scotia
Adedayo Ojo- Black Business Initiative
Sam Austin - District 5 Councillor
Claudia Chender - MLA Dartmouth South and Leader of the Nova Scotia NDP
