Yvonne Atwell is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 provincial politician.

She spent 20 years as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital

Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto)

Mount Sinai Hospital is a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Although it is physically linked by bridges and tunnels to two University Health Network hospitals , Mount Sinai is an independently operated facility...

 in Toronto, Ontario, and returned to Nova Scotia in 1984.

She has been the president of the Black United Front

Black United Front

Black United Front also known as The Black United Front of Nova Scotia or simply BUF was a Black nationalist organization primarily based in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the Civil Rights era. The organization was founded by Burnley "Rocky" Jones in 1965 loosely based on the 10 point program of the...

 and the African Canadian Caucus, a chair of the Indigenous Black

Black Canadian

'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...

 and Mi'kmaq Program at Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

, a member of the Metropolitan Board of Trade's small business committee, and a member of the George Washington Carver Credit Union executive board.

In 1996 she ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party

The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is aligned with the federal New Democratic Party . Originally founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1932, it became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It became the governing...

. She won a seat in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 in 1998 for the riding of Preston

Preston (electoral district)

Preston is a provincial electoral district in Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.The riding was created in 1993 to provide representation to the area's rural black community...

, becoming the first black woman MLA

Member of the Legislative Assembly

A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

 in the province. She lost her seat in the 1999 provincial election

Nova Scotia general election, 1999

The 35th Nova Scotia general election was held on July 27, 1999, to elect members of the 58th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party, led by Dr...

.

She is currently the director of the African-Canadian Employment Clinic in Halifax. She is also currently the Vice President of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party

The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is aligned with the federal New Democratic Party . Originally founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1932, it became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It became the governing...

.