SHARENE SHAFIE

RESEARCH COORDINATOR - RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Sharene Shafie MDes currently works as the Ryerson Urban Farm's Research Coordinator. She completed her Masters of Design at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in the Strategic Foresight and Innovation Program, where the focus of her research was to assess the business viability of open-air rooftop urban agriculture in Toronto. Sharene also worked at Green Roofs for Healthy Cities as their Education Coordinator and Marketing Assistant for more than a year before joining Ryerson University. She's also a graduate from the Ryerson Urban Farm's Urban Farm Training program.

CAROLYN PUTERBOROUGH

AGRICULTURE & RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR - OMAFRA

Carolyn Puterbaugh has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs since 2009 and her current role is as an Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor. Carolyn has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Guelph, is a member of the Economic Development Council of Ontario (EDCO) and has Economic Development training from the University of Waterloo. Carolyn provided an agriculture and an economic developer's lens during the development of Ontario's Agricultural Systems approach. Carolyn is married, has 3 boys and is an active volunteer with minor hockey, school community council and agriculture awareness organizations. Carolyn has been a co-owner of a family farming operation since 2004.

VALERIE KEAST

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - CULINARY TOURISM ALLIANCE

Valerie Keast is an enterprising foodie who is inspired by the power of food to create meaningful connections and build resilient rural communities locally and globally. She is a creative big picture strategic systems thinker who is always looking for new ways to leverage synergies, create more value, and deliver exceptional quality products and experiences. This curiosity and passion for good food, instilled at a young age through her rural roots in Ontario, led her to earn a MSc. in Food Identity in Europe, combining the fields of food science, agribusiness, and policy to explore new ways of developing dynamic and sustainable local food systems.

As Director of Business Development at the Culinary Tourism Alliance, she leads the professional services stream, supporting destinations worldwide to develop community-led sustainable economic growth through robust culinary tourism strategies and products. Valerie's contributions to the food tourism arena are complemented by her strong business and marketing background, having earned her Bachelor of Commerce and worked in various product, marketing, and business development roles at early-stage information communication technology (ITC) startups.

BRAD ABEL

OWNER - BENEFICIAL MEADOWS FARM

Brad, a 33-year-old DC alumni, is the founder of Beneficial Meadows Fresh Produce since 2019. He is an aspiring farmer/entrepreneur and is also the field trial manager for Farm Forest Research. Brad and his family work to bring their local community the freshest cut flowers and produce every week. The farm is open seasonally but is working to become a year-round operation. Beneficial Meadows began their journey at the beginning of the pandemic and have had to overcome many hurdles along the way. They have developed a great community of customers and are now helping to supply local businesses.

JANET HORNER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE FOOD AND FARMING ALLIANCE

Janet is the Executive Director for the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance. The Alliance seeks to ensure that the Golden Horseshoe grows and enhances its' role as a leading North American Agri-food Cluster.

Her extensive network and lived experience as partner of a field crop farm in Dufferin County make Janet an excellent advocate for agriculture and food production. Janet was elected as Mayor for Mulmur Township in 2018 and as a Dufferin County Councilor chairs the Community Development, Planning and Tourism Committee of Council. She also sits as a Commissioner on the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

STACEY JIBB

MANAGER, AGRICULTURE & RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - REGION OF DURHAM

Stacey Jibb is the Manager of Agriculture and Rural Economic Development with the Region of Durham's Planning and Economic Development Department. Stacey joined the Region of Durham in 2015 and has worked in the Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Unit in various roles since that time. Stacey grew up on a dairy farm in Durham Region and currently lives with her partner in Beaverton on a poultry and crop farm. Stacey holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Communication Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a licensed Paralegal, having completed the Paralegal Graduate Certificate Program at Durham College. With a passion for rural life, food and farming outside of work; Stacey has been involved in organizations such as Junior Farmers and the Agriculture Women's Network.

LINDSAY HARRIS

EXECUTIVE CHEF - VIVA PICKERING RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Lindsay Harris is the Executive Chef of V!VA Pickering Retirement Community and has been a member of V!V/\s leadership team for 10 years. Lindsay joined the School of Hospitality & Horticulture Science at Durham College in 2015 as a Culinary Professor, teaching students culinary skills and techniques while focusing on Durham's field-to-fork philosophy. Nine months ago, Lindsay embarked on a new adventure and became a mother to a beautiful baby girl. Lindsay has spent the past few months of her maternity leave as her baby's personal chef; honing her baby food-related culinary genius. Spoiler alert! It's not going well as her new boss is a tough critic!

ADELINE COHEN

ECONOMIC RESEARCH & INTERVENTION COORDINATOR - LABORATOIRE SUR L'AGRICULTURE URBAINE (AU/LAB)

Adeline is managing economic research, interventions and consulting activities for AU/LAB, a Montreal-based, non-profit research centre that has been supporting the development of urban agriculture in Quebec for the past 13 years. With three main areas of activity - research, training and consulting - AU/LAB fosters multisectoral collaboration and interventions in support of the development of urban food systems, viable urban planning and circular economy within cities. Adeline has 18 years of experience working in the food industry, including 14 years in Ontario. She holds an agricultural engineering degree from SupAgro Montpellier, in France.

DAVE KRANENBURG

FARMER/ ENTREPRENEUR - KENDAL HILLS FARM, GRAZE AND GATHER

Dave Kranenburg is a farmer, entrepreneur & food systems tinkerer. He is one half of Kendal Hills Farm, a small family farm on a mission to demonstrate the viability of small farms that work with nature by growing mushrooms, poultry & pork on 70 acres of rolling forest in the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine . In 2020, he founded the Green Circle Food Hub, publicly known as Graze & Gather, as a distribution and sales channel for food from 100+ small producers to reach thousands of customers across the GTA. In 2016, he founded the Rhizome Institute for the Future of Food to support pre-revenue & pre-governance ideas and facilitate social innovation labs, such as the Food Waste Lab and the United Way's SCALE Lab. Previously he served as the Executive Director of Meal Exchange, a national food security charity, and as the Director of Programming for the Centre for Social Innovation, a non-profit that provides coworking and programs for social purpose enterpri ses. Dave was part of the inaugural 'Getting to Maybe' Social Innovation residency at the Banff Centre and has received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee award for his work on food security in Canada.