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About Us
​At A Team Coaching, we are an award-winning, proud family-owned and operated business that honours the commitment and sacrifices past generations have made so we can all have a better life today. Our work is a purposeful and collaborative continuation of our ancestor's visions toward a more just and equitable future for us and future generations. This is not just work, it is our family legacy.
We take a human-centric approach toward fostering inclusive change, where efforts intersect across personal, collective, and systems levels of influence. You can’t unlearn biases if you don’t have policies and leadership to enforce behaviour change, and you can’t make operational or structural shifts without understanding the deeper ‘why’ behind the work.
This is why our services reflect the big picture.
We partner with organizations and people who are willing to learn from their mistakes, and view equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) as a life-long journey and responsibility. By combining our lived experience, education, law, and political backgrounds, and our network of specialized consultants, we strive to advance lasting systems and social changes that everyone can see themselves as a part of.
Meet the Team
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Angela Simmonds
Founder & Lead Consultant
"I highly recommend Angela for any organization who is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and fundamental institutional change."
-Michelle Ward, Kids First Association
Angela Simmonds is an equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility consultant, lawyer, former member and deputy speaker of the Nova Scotia legislative assembly, small-business owner, and a community mobilizer whose 20-year career extends over the various fields of socio-economic development, education, entrepreneurship, policy, and cultural competency. Her work and expertise on the historical injustice and systemic discrimination with Land Titles Clarification Act has received national attention with support from the United Nations Working Group. Most recently, Angela was recognized as one of the top 100 most accomplished Black women in Canada.
Angela combines her lived experience, education, and backgrounds in law and politics to train organizations and non-for-profits on issues of discrimination, anti-black racism, sexual harassment, and biases. Her background makes her uniquely positioned to address racism, genderism, sexism, and barriers impacting individuals most vulnerable to structural, systemic inequalities in our society. Together, she supports employees and organizations on their path to building cultural competency and integrating equity, diversity, inclusivity and accessibility into their work.
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Angelina Simmonds
Founder of Black Girls Pillow Talk | Consultant | JD Candidate - Class of 2028
A proud African Nova Scotian from North Preston, Angelina Simmonds spent much of her early life as an athlete, including basketball and competitive swimming, competing provincially and nationally, and holding records in Nova Scotia. Driven to create spaces for strengthening healing and unity for Black women and girls, Angelina founded Black Girls Pillow Talk (BGPT) in 2023. BGPT creates nurturing and encouraging spaces for young Black girls to share their lived experiences, encourage the healing of intergenerational trauma, experience joy, and thrive together. By blending self-care with community care through activities that can include physical movement, hair care, mentorship, confidence building, and knowledge sharing, Angelina sees a future where Black women know they belong and have the tools, knowledge, and relationships to thrive.
Building on her passion for empowering youth, Angelina pursued Women and Gender Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, fueling her commitment to addressing intersectional challenges. And this fall, she entered into Law School at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law - a decision which is rooted in Angelina’s commitment to challenging outdated systems and societal norms that prevent equitable participation for all. Currently, Angelina is also a Research Analyst at Feed Nova Scotia, where she uses data as a tool for justice to uncover the systemic inequities driving food insecurity, particularly in marginalized communities. She also applies her knowledge as a consultant at A Team Coaching, a family business designed to help inform more equitable futures by transforming cultures, mindsets, and systems. Prior career experiences leading to Angelina’s current influence include assisting individuals in navigating the justice system when she worked as a Justice Navigator at the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute. Her role there encompassed prevention and mitigation in areas such as criminal law, youth justice, mental health, addictions, and social justice issues. Before this, Angelina held positions at Acadia University, Halifax Partnership, and the Black Cultural Centre.
Adré Simmonds
Trainer | Leader in Building Safer Spaces for Youth | Athlete | Founder, Mind & Muscle with Adré
Adré Simmonds is from North Preston and has had a passion for football since his early years. In 2015, he made his mark as a high-performance athlete by joining Team Nova Scotia, where he won the Offensive MVP of the Year award. Later, he played at the prestigious Saint Andrews College, where he received the Offensive MVP of the Year and all-around MVP of the Year awards. In 2018, he was selected to play for Team Canada.
Adré attended Saint Mary’s University, where he was a varsity student-athlete playing for the football team. As the running back captain, Adré inspired his teammates to lead by example, work hard, and never settle for anything less than excellence. His commitment and dedication have provided him the opportunity to secure a position in a pro league with the Cold Lake jets Fighters Alberta team. Most recently, Adré has signed as the Running Back Coach for both the Auburn Eagles and Dalhousie Tigers.
Adré's commitment to football goes beyond playing. He is a certified professional trainer and the founder and visionary of Mind and Muscle with Adré, as well as Precision Play Camp. Interested athletes can book with him here. His objective is to inspire and empower young people to develop mental toughness alongside physical performance. Adré embodies the values of teamwork, discipline, and personal growth, guiding participants on a transformative journey both on and off the field. He has also applied this perspective as a consultant and facilitator of job-readiness training for marginalized youth through A Team Coaching. You can read more about Adré's inspiring journey by clicking here.
Adré lives by his favourite quote, "Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't" - Jerry Rice.
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AJ Simmonds
Consultant | Trauma-Informed Counsellor | Community Engagement Specialist
AJ Simmonds is from North Preston and is the proud father of two beautiful young boys, Amari Antonio and Adonis Adre. He is a dedicated father, advocate, facilitator, consultant, and community mobilizer. AJ believes that goals, commitment, and hard work can create opportunities and foster lifelong learning.
In his role as the Program Director of Fatherhood Matters at New Start Counselling, AJ plays a key role in training and supporting client projects. Prior to this, he served as Executive Director at Mulgrave Community Learning and Caring Centre, Halifax Regional Municipality Centre, and The Halifax Partnership's Connector Program. In these roles, he has been deeply involved in the community, driving transformational collective change.
As an alumnus of Acadia University with a major in Sociology, AJ understands the importance of genuine human regard for all people and leads by example, with integrity. He recognizes the significance of building trust and creating positive relationships through community-led initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and establishing partnerships. Empowering first voices and lived experiences is central to his approach to fostering societal change.​
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Our network of trusted partners
Margaret Schwartz
Communications Consultant
Margaret Schwartz (from Punamu'kwati'jk, Dartmouth Nova Scotia), is a natural connector and storyteller. She believes that language has the power to hurt or to heal. And that healing is best actualized when loving words are reflected with informed action.
Margaret holds a degree in Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University, and most recently, a certificate in Trauma-Informed Approach to Creating Safe Space from the Radical School of Healing. With ten years of experience across the social impact sector and provincial government, Margaret recently launched her own conscious communications firm, Margaret Schwartz Consulting to bring stories of impact to life and prompt thoughtful communication strategies that deepen relationships across community. Recently, while working with Placemaking 4G, she supported the development of the online, 11-module self-led course, Foundations of Belonging in the Workplace, which was co-created with the Nova Scotia Career Development Association to introduce diversity, equity and inclusion as a fundamental approach for building safer workplace cultures. Margaret serves on boards and committees for both TEAM Work Cooperative, and the Macphee Centre for Creative Learning. You can also find Margaret infusing the arts through poetry with traditional strategy work.
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Jude Gerrard
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility (IDEA) Consultant
Jude Gerrard was born in Sheet Harbour, NS, and is a member of the Millbrook First Nation. He has worked for several federal departments including the RCMP, Correctional Services Canada, and Veterans Affairs. He has also worked for many departments within the Nova Scotia public service, including Education and Early Childhood Development, (where he helped establish Treaty Education in Nova Scotia), Communities Culture and Heritage, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, and the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives. Jude has worked at a number of post secondary institutions in Nova Scotia and served on the National Indigenous Education Advisory Committee for Colleges and Institutions Canada. He was appointed NSCAD University’s first Ombudsperson, and the first Indigenous Ombudsperson at a post-secondary in Canada, and is currently the Director of Indigenous Content and Connections for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Jude has been a speaker at national and international conferences on systemic oppression and racial identity. He was the first Canadian to be trained as a facilitator in Beyond Diversity2, Courageous Conversations about Race, and received an Award of Recognition from the Pacific Educational Group for his work in reducing the achievement gap for First Nation and African Canadian students. He received his Certified Diversity Executive designation from the Institute for Diversity Certification in Indianapolis, Indiana, was the first Mi’kmaq employee to be awarded the NS Premier’s Award of Excellence, and has received the King Charles Coronation Medal from Universities Canada.