Mark Robert Coffin

I am a musician, educator, producer and creative organizer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I studied environmental science at Dalhousie University, expecting that my work would be about ecological systems. That interest in systems gradually led me toward public life: how people understand complex issues, make decisions together and create change.

I founded Springtide and spent more than a decade creating civic education projects. The work took many forms—research, videos, podcasts, courses and public events—and taught me how to bring structure to an idea, coordinate the people around it and choose a form that serves its purpose.

Music has been the through-line. I have played guitar for more than 27 years, performing, composing, arranging, accompanying singers and leading choirs. I am now bringing the different parts of my work together, with music and education increasingly at the centre.