Sunday Miller has been named the new executive director of the Africville Heritage Trust.

Miller, an African-Nova Scotian, takes over the role from Carole Nixon, a white woman from out of the province.

The board of the trust says Miller's experience and knowledge of the community will help her in the job, which includes setting up the Africville Church Museum and fundraising for the interpretive centre.

Miller has a masters degree in business administration. The trust says she has led community development projects in South America and Indonesia, as well as not-for-profit groups in Halifax such as the Black Educators Association.

She was last at the Dartmouth Learning Network.

"This is not just a project to create a museum and an interpretive centre," Miller said in a statement. "This is a spiritual journey toward healing and the creation of a vibrant black community. I am excited to be part of it."

Nixon had the job until September, when the trust announced she was no longer an employee.

Nixon's hiring made waves in the black community. Critics argued that as a white person from outside Nova Scotia, she could not adequately represent Halifax's African-Nova Scotian population.

There were also questions about her employment history in Ontario.