Our Team

We are proud of our collaborative leadership model with strong leadership direction from the Board of Directors. Our most recent strategic plan guides our work and clearly defines organizational structure and roles.

Our strength has always been in our ability to bring people together, so this model mirrors the flexible and nimble structure of our network. It helps to create shared knowledge, diversity, and increased resiliency.

Kent Fawcett

The Stir Food Hub Manager

Kent is a highly skilled food entrepreneur and founder of Local Pulse. He has a background in Biochemistry and worked as a Research Technologist at STEMCELL Technologies. Kent is passionate about food and is excited by the opportunity to work with prospective food entrepreneurs to turn their dream products into a “made in Kamloops” reality.

Sadie | Saeideh Hejazi

Director

Saeideh manages the administration and finance work at KFPC. She holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Tehran in Iran and a post-graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems from Fanshawe College in Ontario. Saeideh is central to our organizational financial management. With an extensive volunteer background, Saeideh truly enjoys working with people who care about their local community.

James Maine

Distribution Manager

James Maine is our Distribution Manager.  He is a food systems professional with a background in remote supply chain design and implementation, culinary arts, and sustainable tourism.

James is dedicated to the ideology of food and food equity as a core building block for the foundation of community and culture.  He is keen to contribute to the ongoing history and objectives of food evolution and security with the Kamloops Food Policy Council.

Mary Blando

The Stir Food Hub Kitchen Coordinator

Mary discovered the KFPC while searching for a shared kitchen space to craft her artisanal ice cream that features local fruits. With a background in holistic nutrition, Mary felt it was nourishing to be a part of an organization dedicated to transforming food systems to create a healthier and more sustainable future.

As the kitchen coordinator, Mary is dedicated to maintaining a clean, safe, and productive kitchen environment. Her own entrepreneurial experience helps her mentor and support other Stir Makers on their own business journeys.

In her free time, Mary enjoys creating unique ice cream flavours and selling them at the Kamloops Farmers’ Market.

Naya Macaulay

Communications Coordinator

Naya has always been passionate about food and its critical, overlooked places within societies and cultures.

Her dream is to open a sustainable coffee house and roastery while working in partnership with local food access organizations to supply meal programs.

After graduating from Thompson Rivers University in 2024 she became interested in nonprofit work. The KFPC values resonated with her immediately, inspiring her to join the team.

Board Members

Greg Unger

Kamloops Farmers’ Market
Interior Community Services

Greg is the Market Manager for Kamloops Regional Farmers’ Market and the Community Gardens Coordinator for Interior Community Services.

Greg appreciates all that the KFPC does for food security in Kamloops and has the skills and connections to contribute to the organization’s work in a meaningful way.

Lisa Troy

Student

Lisa is an advocate for local, transformative, just, and equitable economies, for everyone, everywhere.

They previously worked for Skeetchestn as the Food Sovereignty Community Liaison, where they were a conduit for community, education, inspiration, and confidence building around anything food and food related. Now, they “just” have a thesis left to complete to obtain a MSc in Environment and Management from Royal Roads.

Lisa is grateful for the skies, rivers, and seasons Secwepemcúl̓ecw offers. You can find her enjoying a sunny day at the river year-round.

Sonya Rokosh

Sonya lives in Secwepemcúl’ecw , the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Secwépemc people. She splits her time working at a local horticultural therapy farm in Kamloops, substitute teaching, and engaging with both youth and educators in the grasslands.

In addition to sitting on the board of directors for the Kamloops Food Policy Council, she co-facilitates the local chapter of NatureKidsBC, and is engaged with her local Environmental Educator Professional Specialist Association (EEPSA) chapter. She recently finished her Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication through Royal Roads University, where her research focused on using nature journaling as a tool for conservation and connection. Her Masters work has evolved into the development of a place-based grasslands curriculum. She likes early mornings, long walks, and sharing food with friends.

Neha Raj

Navdanya International 

Neha works as the Social Media Manager for Beckett Films (The Seeds of Vandana Shiva) and as the Research & Communications Coordinator at Navdanya International. She is also a full time student in Thompson Rivers University’s Master of Art in Human Rights & Social Justice program.

Neha resonates with the vision and values of KFPC and wants to contribute to fulfilling the KFPC’s missions.

Daniela Ginta

Freelance Writer and Nutrition Consultant

Daniela Ginta, MSc, is a freelance writer and nutrition consultant. She believes that one of the legs a
strong community stands on is locally-grown and produced food, which everyone should have access to.

She loves everything that has to with the outdoors, from gardening to hiking and camping – ideally
alongside her family, dog included.

Find her on IG @nutritionmatters_kamloops and @daniela.ginta

Kevin McHallam

KMK Living

Kevin has worked for the BC Emergency Health Services for over 20 years as a paramedic, a dispatcher, and currently as a dispatch practice educator.
Kevin is also the founder and CEO of KMK Living Inc. KMK Living is a Kamloops based, non-alcoholic beverage company. Kevin was first introduced to the KFPC when looking for a shared kitchen facility to scale up from home-brewing to commercial and became one of the first Stir Makers.
Kevin shares the same passion for food sovereignty and food security as the KFPC, and joining the board felt like a natural fit for him to give back to his community.

Danielle Oliver

Cates Ford Soll and Epp LLP

Danielle is a practicing lawyer at Cates Ford Soll and Epp LLP.  She grew up in the interior of British Columbia and has lived in Kamloops for nearly nine years.

First inspired by her undergraduate degree in biology, Danielle remains interested in the intersection of community connections to nutrition, the environment, and overall well-being.  She looks forward to becoming more involved in local initiatives that promote food security and sustainable practices, and is dedicated to supporting the KFPC’s mission of creating a more just and resilient food system.

Becky Blixrud-Dufour

Becky has 15 years of experience working with municipal governments, regional districts and MLAs. She has been working since 2016 as a Certified Health Coach with a particular interest in local food as it relates to health. She’s currently at home with her son, where they enjoy gardening and are learning about how to preserve food.
Becky is passionate about community development, food security, gardening and connecting people to nourishing foods.
She joined the KFPC board with the intention of supporting the existing staff & programs and finding ways to contributing to increasing food security for everyone in our community. Becky is particularly interested in the GAP and is keen to support food entrepreneurs & education programs through The Stir.

Laura Kalina
Honorary Director & Founding Member

Curious about getting involved at the Board level?
Here are some details about what it means to be on the KFPC Board:
Expectations
Terms of Reference

Send in your Expression of Interest to be a Board Director

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