SACKVILLE, NB – Mount Allison University 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 Anointment Natural Skin Care Inc.
 
“We are delighted to welcome April back to Mount Allison as this year’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence,” says Rebecca Leaman, director of Experiential Learning and Career Development. “Her track record and commitment to both entrepreneurship and environmental and community causes are impressive. I know Mount Allison students will learn a lot from her experience and expertise.”
 
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’s Market now employs five individuals and ships its products to retailers and individual customers world-wide.

“I’m excited to offer my entrepreneurial experience with Mount Allison students this academic year,” says MacKinnon. “I 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.”
 
Prior to this, she founded Nurtured Products for Parenting, an award-winning natural shop for baby and kids’ 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 Mount Allison, 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’s Entrepreneurship Leadership Program. In 2022, MacKinnon served as a judge for the SHAD cohort at Mount Allison.
 
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’s 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: https://calendly.com/anointment/

The Entrepreneur-in-Residence, hosted by the University’s 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.