Meet our manager Wanda

The story of how Wanda became manager and part owner of Parks Health Shop is inspiring. 

Wanda spent the first 25 years of her working career in health care as a Laboratory Technologist. 

Her interest in the holistic health field began years ago when she had some health challenges of her own and was able to successfully overcome them with dietary modification and nutritional supplementation. This created within her an immediate and intense thirst for knowledge. 

She decided to return to school and graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition with Distinguished Merit in 2004, earning the title of Registered Holistic Nutrition Consultant (RHN/RNCP). This set her life on a whole new course and the next 12 years were spent learning anything and everything about natural and holistic health from some of the top professionals in the field. 

She kept up to date with industry advances while working part-time at a local health food store for 12 years. In 2016, her passion for health and wellness and desire to help customers and her community lead their best life inspired her to create Parks Health Shop within the Sante Centre. She hasn't looked back! Wanda is here to advise you on natural and holistic nutritional choices for your family's needs.

Wanda enjoys spending time in the kitchen and in her garden.  She loves her furry friends and currently shares her home with 2 rescues, a cat and a dog.  She also loves to travel with her husband Armel (often to warmer climates) and to attend live tennis matches..

Meet Sharlene

A foodie through and through, Sharlene's passion for holistic health was a simmering gradual one which has somewhat skyrocketed in the last 5 years. In 2001 she moved to the U.K. and, during her 14 years there, she and her husband enjoyed extensive travel throughout Europe. A day in Italy would typically look like she was walking around enjoying architecture and all the other 'touristy' things, but she was really looking at restaurants and menus and sussing out the days meals, wishing desperately that it was 5 meals a day and not 3! There was so much delicious food she wanted to try. 'I guess this means we just have to come back!' she would say to her husband.

After deciding to move back to Canada in 2015, Sharlene decided it was a great opportunity to break from her office/secretarial work background and try something new. While researching one day, she somehow fell down the rabbit hole of nutrition and found that Halifax had a branch of the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition! This seemed right up her alley and she enrolled and loved the intensive year of study, research, tests and presentations. Ok, so the presentations not so much, but she got through it. She gained a Certificate of Merit and the designation Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultant in 2016. 

During her time at school she found a great part-time job at a gluten-free bakery which complimented her studies and introduced her to many wonderful customers who lived with a range of autoimmune and intestinal-related conditions due to food sensitivities.

Sharlene loves researching and is always seeking to expand on her vast knowledge so that she can help more people live a healthy life. Her warm smile, calm demeanour and excellent listening skills help customers feel immediately comfortable and cared for.  

We couldn’t be happier to have you on our team Sharlene!

Meet Katherine

Katherine joined the Parks Health team during a 2020 career pivot and hasn’t looked back. A Registered Massage Therapist with 16 years of practice to her credit, Katherine is a lifelong learner who is fascinated by the human body and always open to discussing alternative healing therapies. Her passion for holistic living has grown over the last 20 years as she struggled with her own health issues and as a result turned to more natural approaches to find healing. 

When she is not working, Katherine can be found experimenting with whole foods in her kitchen, or spending time outdoors with her husband, daughter, step-daughters and sweet little rescue pup. A firm believer that sunshine and fresh air are the foundation to a healthy life, Katherine and her clan can often be found hiking, golfing, paddle boarding, biking, camping… you name it. If it’s outdoors, they’re probably partaking.

On the days Katherine is working, her kind, gentle nature is one of the first things customers notice when they walk in. 

Thank-you Katherine for always going the extra mile to meet the needs of Parks customers!

Meet Trina

Trina has spent over 30 years in retail customer service and management. Her passion is helping people and knowing that 'service with a smile' goes a long way.

As an adopted child her questions regarding health and medical history went unanswered for many years. In 2017 that all changed for her when contact was made with both maternal and paternal families. Realizing that she wasn't "immortal" and armed with medical background information, she decided it was time to take control of her health and wellness. Small daily changes eventually led her to Parks Health Shop. She is passionate about helping others with their health goals and knows that it’s never too late!

Trina’s “can-do” attitude keeps everything organized and efficient from the backdoor deliveries to the storefront displays.  She serves customers with compassion and kindness and always has time to share a story and a smile- and a hug if needed.

A mother of two boys she recently welcomed a grandson into the world. Her down time is spent crafting and spending time with her family, friends and two rescued cats. We appreciate you Trina!

Meet Carina

Carina was born and raised in rural Portugal where, at an early age, she was introduced to the medicinal health properties of food and herbs. She learned the most spending time in the vegetable garden or foraging for berries and herbs with her family.

Yearning to travel the world to learn about new cultures and their ways of being led her to travel extensively throughout Europe and Canada before putting her roots down in Nova Scotia. It was here that she earned her certification in Holistic Nutrition (2006). Since that time, she has held numerous roles in many Health Food Stores in Metro Halifax- from customer service associate to manager.

Her role as wife and mother of a young daughter has sparked an even deeper interest in leading a conscious, aware and honest approach to life.  She is a firm believer that fresh food, movement and spending quiet time in nature are some of the main pillars to live your best life.

With over 15 years of customer service experience, you can be sure that Carina will greet you with an open heart and welcoming smile. Her wish is that Parks becomes part of your holistic and trustworthy community.
In her free time Carina can be found picking wild berries with her daughter, volunteering at her local community garden and making new furry friends wherever she goes.

We are grateful to have you on our team Carina!