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.

Lindsay Harris

Food Policy Implementation Lead

Lindsay is excited about growing our local food economy in a just and equitable way. She has a background in participatory research and community economic development, and facilitates collaboration with KFPC’s partners to grow the agriculture sector in our region.

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.

Saeideh Hejazi

Admin and Finance Lead

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.

Jess Payette

Food Hub Stirfront Coordinator

Jess is our Stirfront Coordinator, helping us plan and co-create community development around food. She has a BA from Thompson Rivers University and a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design from Athabasca University. 

Jess is excited to help bring the Stirfront to life and connect with our community through events, workshops, and other food initiatives!

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.

Fauve Smith

Organizational Leadership Coordinator

Fauve Smith is the Organizational Leadership Coordinator at the Kamloops Food Policy Council and works to develop the network’s internal capacities and other communications related responsibilities.

Fauve is a passionate community researcher who has a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences degree from Thompson Rivers University. Her thesis research focused on the intersection between social inequalities and food security in the Kamloops and surrounding area. Fauve has worked throughout the Kamloops community to address systemic community concerns surrounding homelessness, racism, and food security. 

Eden Mackay

Food Sovereignty Coordinator

Eden is the Food Sovereignty Coordinator at the Kamloops Food Policy Council, where she is responsible for leading the groundwork to foster interconnectivity between the KFPC’s diverse food sovereignty programs. She is also the facilitator of the Kamloops Community Seed Library.

Eden is a trained horticulturist whose work currently focuses on food security and urban ecological health. 

Faith Bellamy

Gleaning Abundance Program Coordinator

Faith is the Gleaning Abundance Program Coordinator. With her passion for taking care of plants and background knowledge in horticulture, Faith is eager to support the community by building positive connections, distributing local fruits and veggies, and helping Kamloops achieve food sovereignty.

In her spare time, Faith loves to get her hands dirty at her community garden plot, practice and teach yoga, and create abstract paintings to sell at the Kamloops Farmers’ Market.

Elliot Andrew

Butler Urban Farm Coordinator

Elliot is the Farm Coordinator for our Butler Urban Farm. He takes care of plants and farm maintenance, and introduces visitors and volunteers to the space. He is going into his final year of Natural Resource Science at TRU and is passionate about gardening, community building, cooperatives, foraging, and native plants and ecosystems.
Elliot is excited to provide free produce for our community through BUF. He is also attempting to document all of the different insect/arthropod species observed at the farm.

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.

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

Farm to School BC

Sonya wears many hats, including Regional Community Animator for Farm to School B.C., part-time teacher in both SD73 and SD83, and Outreach Educator for the Grasslands Conservation Council of B.C.

Sonya joined the KFPC as a volunteer and network member before applying to be on the board. She is humbled to be situated in the presence of some powerful, honest, and engaged people.

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.

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

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