Dr. Christine Noronha obtained her Ph.D degree in Entomology from McGill University. On completion of her degree, she worked as a researcher at University Laval in Quebec City and at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge. In 2000, she moved to her current position as research scientist (Entomology IPM) at the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, PEI. She is an adjunct professor at UPEI. Dr. Noronha’s research has focused on developing pest management strategies for major pests on agricultural crops and provides cutting edge knowledge and technology to the industry and the scientific community. She invented the NELT™, a solar powered trap for click beetles, the “ Stem Crusher” for European corn borer, and developed a crop rotation strategy for wireworm suppression. Her leadership in developing innovative pest management strategies to reduce insecticide use has had a significant impact on the agricultural sector and has resulted in frequent request for consultations, advice, and presentations from growers, industry groups and scientific conferences across Canada and Europe. In 2016, she received the Agrologist Recognition Award for outstanding contributions to agriculture from the Prince Edward Island Institute of Agrologist, and she was selected as the an Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture for 2022. Dr. Noronha has published several scientific papers, book chapters and fact sheets, and has presented her research results at both scientific and grower association meetings. She works closely with the agricultural industry and individual farmers from across Canada and agricultural consultants from France, Italy and the UK.

Jan VanderHout is a Greenhouse cucumber grower from Hamilton Ontario, where he and his brother Dale operate 30 acres of greenhouses since 1985. Jan has served as a director on the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers board of directors for over 15 years, is Chair of the Ontario Greenhouse Alliance, and past Chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. He has been on the board of The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada since 2018 and currently serves as its President.

Adekunbi (Kunbi) Adetona is a Research Scientist with the Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) Initiative (University of Calgary) and the Transition Accelerator. She will soon join Natural Resources Canada’s Policy Analyst Recruitment Program, where she will gain valuable experience in the Energy Systems Sector. Kunbi earned a master’s degree in Soil Science from the University of Saskatchewan. She worked as an Environmental Scientist for a consulting company in Calgary before joining the University of Calgary to earn a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. Her research and publications explore nature-based solutions to climate change, with a particular interest in carbon and energy management in the agri-food and forestry systems.

As President of TELUS Agriculture, John leads a growing global organization of 1,600 innovative team members across four continents who serve customers in over 50 countries. TELUS Agriculture’s mission is to empower and connect customers, from producers to consumers, around the world, improving the quality, safety, distribution and sustainability of food and consumer goods.

From farm to fork, the TELUS Agriculture team helps address complex data management challenges, driving efficiencies and profit for farmers and ranchers, agribusinesses, and food, beverage, consumer goods and retail companies. TELUS Agriculture offering solutions includes farm management software as well as, precision agronomy, traceability, supply chain and trade promotion management solutions.

John joined TELUS Agriculture in 2021 with more than 20 years of global experience in data science and the digital agriculture sector. Before joining TELUS Agriculture, he held progressively senior leadership roles at Bayer’s Climate Corporation and Monsanto. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Systems Management from the University of Missouri, Columbia. In addition to pursuing a professional career in the sector, he has been involved in production agriculture throughout his life, operating a family farm that grows corn and soybeans, and tenant farms cotton and peanuts.

Kristjan Hebert is the managing partner of Hebert Grain Ventures, a 30,000 acre grain and oilseed operation in southeast Saskatchewan. Kristjan was born and raised on a family farm. He left the farm to get his business degree with a major in accounting & finance, and obtained his CPA with Meyers Norris Penny, a large accounting firm in Canada. In 2008 he returned to the family farm - Hebert Grain Ventures - in partnership with his wife, and his parents. At the farm, Kristjan’s passion is solving agriculture’s puzzles in order to fulfill HGV’s purpose of “Respect the past, Grow the future!” He is also the co-founder of Maverick Ag Consulting which provides custom designed lending, accounting and insurance solutions to producers.

The purpose of “Respect the Past, Grow the Future” has led to Hebert Grain Ventures receiving the Top Producer Award in January of 2020 as well as being selected as a winner in the Corteva Agriscience 2021 Global Climate Positive Leaders Program. Besides farming, he most enjoys coaching hockey, travelling and creating experiences with his son Bentley, his daughter Ivy, and his beautiful wife Theresa.

Claire Citeau is the Executive Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA).

In this leadership role, Claire advocates for trade liberalization and competitive market access for Canadian agri-food exporters through free trade agreements. Claire has actively represented Canadian agri-food exporters in the negotiation and implementation of many of Canada’s largest trade agreements including the CETA, the CKFTA, the TPP/CPTPP and the new NAFTA as well as agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Prior to joining CAFTA, Claire held senior positions with Alberta’s Ministries of Agriculture and International Affairs leading trade and investment attraction initiatives in Europe and the Americas. She also led innovative business development partnerships for the Historica Foundation of Canada and worked as an analyst for RBC Dominion Securities. Ms. Citeau has built a reputation for forging strong partnerships with governments and business and policy leaders in Canada and abroad and managing complex, priority trade initiatives.

Claire holds a double MBA in international business as a graduate of the University of Alberta and the Montpellier Graduate School of Business in France. She has lived in Senegal, France and Canada.

Petrina Gentile is a contributing writer for The Globe and Mail, but she's a farm girl at heart. She has been writing for The Globe and Mail since 2003 and appears regularly on CTV NewsChannel, BNN Bloomberg, CP24, and CHCH TV. She has written several non-fiction books for kids including "Big Trucks, Big Wheels," "Dirt Movers," and "The Ballet School." From a young age, she worked on her family farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario picking and packing fruit. The farm is still in the family, but rented to a soybean farmer. In her spare time, she loves gardening and grows nearly 400 tomato plants, from seeds brought back from Italy in the 1970s as well as approximately 200 pepper plants, butternut squash, eggplant, kale, zucchini, lettuce, and a variety of herbs - mostly used to make 200-300 jars of home-made tomato sauce annually. Petrina has a Master of Journalism (MJ) from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours English - Rhetoric and Professional Writing and Applied Studies - Co-operative Program) from the University of Waterloo.

Blake grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Soil Science from the University of Saskatchewan and is a professional agrologist with the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists. Blake also serves as Applied Research Lead at the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm and holds a Research Chair with Saskatchewan Polytechnic, overseeing a number of applied research and demonstration projects with the goal of developing practical solutions for Canadian farmers. His research focuses on utilization of various data layers to optimize agricultural productivity while limiting adverse environmental impact.

A farmer, industry leader, long-time agriculture champion, former senior government executive and experienced corporate director, Alanna Koch is the Board Chair of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan. She is on the board of SeedMaster Manufacturing and the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, is Chair of the CN Agricultural Advisory Council and an active member of the Global Farmer Network. She works with farmers and the agriculture industry through her consulting company, KoHert Agri Inc. Prior to this, she served as Deputy Minister to Premier Brad Wall and Cabinet Secretary and was the Saskatchewan Deputy Minister of Agriculture for nine years. As one of the longest serving Agriculture Deputy Ministers in Saskatchewan and Canadian history, Alanna worked closely with farmers and industry and her priority was to build and maintain public trust in agriculture by focusing on science-based decision making and communicating the benefits of innovation and modern tools and technology. Alanna has been involved in the agriculture industry, both professionally and personally, for most of her life. Before joining government, she was President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and was a Director with Agricore United (a predecessor of Viterra), and Executive Director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. She has been widely recognized for her contributions to the agricultural industry and her community, but her greatest honour was her induction into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2011 for outstanding achievement in the sector. Alanna and her husband, Gerry Hertz, farm at Edenwold, SK, and are committed to sustainable crop rotation practising minimum tillage and utilizing advanced crop technology growing grains, oilseeds and pulse crops. As a farmer and advocate for agriculture, she actively promotes how agriculture is a solution for environmental, economic and social sustainability. She knows first hand that farmers and ranchers are responsible stewards of land and livestock – the challenge is to connect with consumers on shared interests and communicate how sustainable agriculture is providing safe, nutritious, plentiful and affordable food to Canadians and the world.

Jillian Moffatt was appointed Chief Technology Officer of McCain in September 2020. 

Jillian first joined McCain in 2008 as Chief Financial Officer of McCain Foods Canada and progressed her career with the company in increasingly senior roles including VP One McCain, VP Financial Planning & Analysis, VP & Group Treasurer of the McCain Eurocenter, Interim Chief Financial Officer, and Global Leader, Sustainable Cost Advantage Strategy.   

In her role as Chief Technology Officer, she is accountable for the strategy and execution of the Information Technology, Digital and Data teams.  As CTO, she works to progress McCain’s journey in transforming agriculture practices to become more data driven. She supports and empowers farmers with insights that impact their business, including utilizing satellite data to monitor the progression of crops and predict yield of seasonal crops, while also leveraging data to connect agriculture and manufacturing. Within McCain, Jillian has transformed the availability and utilization of data by accelerating the use of analytics to solve business challenges, such as better understanding and anticipating shifts in demand through the pandemic. 

Prior to joining McCain, Jillian began her career at Deloitte, followed by Unilever and Campbell Soup in progressive finance roles. Jillian holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Saskatchewan and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation (Canada).  She lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul and two children Kristina and Aleksander.  

Charlie Angelakos is Vice President, Global External Affairs & Sustainability at McCain Foods. In this role, Charlie leads the company’s external communication, public affairs and sustainability strategy across 160 countries.

Before joining McCain, Charlie worked at Labatt Breweries of Canada for 18 years, most recently as Vice President, Legal and Corporate Affairs. He also spent time in Canadian politics, working as an advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Charlie is actively involved with the Jays Care Foundation and the Harbourfront Centre, along with several other charitable endeavours in the community. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Walrus, an award-winning independent news outlet. In 2012, Charlie received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his support of the True Patriot Love Foundation.

Arzeena Hamir earned her Bachelor’s degree in Crop Science from the University of Guelph and a Master’s in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of London, England. She worked as a CUSO volunteer in Thailand and as a researcher in Jamaica, India, and Bangladesh. She was the staff Agrologist for West Coast Seeds from 1997-1999 and served as the Coordinator of the Richmond Food Security Society from 2008-2012, and in 2010 helped launch the Richmond Farm School. She and her husband moved their family to the Comox Valley in 2012 and run Amara Farm, a 25-acre certified organic farm in Courtenay, BC. In 2018, Arzeena was elected to the Board of the Comox Valley Regional District where she serves as both Vice Chair and Director, Area B.

Evan is Director of Arrell Food Institute and a professor of Geography at the University of Guelph. There, Evan works to bring large and diverse teams together to develop strategies that balance our need to produce and distribute accessible, healthy, and nutritious food while stewarding the ecosystems on which we all depend for life. He believes that it is only by building bridges between the corporate sector, government, civil society, and academics that we will be able to create the food systems fit for the challenges of the 21st century.

Evan’s non-academic writings have appeared in dozens of publications including CNN and the Guardian, his 2010 book (co-authored with Andrew Rimas) Empires of Food: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, was shortlisted for the James Beard Food Literature Award and his 2020 book (co-authored with Ian Mosby and Sarah Rotz) was awarded an honourable mention by the Science Writers of Canada. He is looking forward to the fall of 2022 when his next book (co-authored with Lenore Newman) will be published. It is called Dinner on Mars: The Technologies That Will Feed the Red Planet and Transform Agriculture on Earth. Evan’s web video series on “feeding nine billion” has been watched over 600,000 times, he has self-published a graphic novel called #FoodCrisis about a fictitious food crisis that hits North America in the 2020s. Evan has also published a card game about global food security that won a gold medal at the International “Serious Play” conference. The videos, the graphic novel and the card game form the basis of high school lesson plans that are used in classrooms around the world.

As a researcher, Evan is a co-author on over 100 academic papers and book chapters, played a leadership role on teams that have raised over $100M in research funding, and mentored around 50 graduate students. He is one of Canada’s most cited social scientists working on food and sustainability and between 2010-2020 was a Canada Research Chair. Between 2014-17 he was a Fellow of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars.

Evan also sits on several boards that advise government, industry and charities. This includes co-chairing the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council and vice-chairing the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security. In addition, other past and present board roles include George Weston Ltd.’s Seeding Food Innovation scientific steering committee, the European Commission’s high level expert group on food system science, and participating on scientific advisory boards for Genome Quebec, Protein Industries Canada, Cubic Farms (a vertical farming start-up) and the University of the Fraser Valley’s Food and Agriculture Institute.

Ann Hui is The Globe and Mail’s national food reporter, using food as a lens to explore public policy, health, the environment, and agriculture. She began her career as a general assignment reporter in the national section, before covering Toronto politics from 2013-2015.

She is the author of the bestseller Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants.

Whabagoon is an Ojibwe elder and sits with the Loon Clan. She is from Lac Seul First Nation, Sioux Lookout, ONT. She is a Keeper of Sacred Pipes, speaker, land defender and water protector. Her grandmother, of Petawaway lineage, was a medicine woman; her mother, of Sapay lineage, a residential school survivor. Whabagoon herself, also of Sapay lineage, is a Sixties Scoop survivor.

In January of 2021, she accepted the inaugural position of First Peoples Leadership Advisor to the Dean, at the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. Whabagoon recently curated the Umbe Magada Mural at 1 Spadina Crescent, honoring the 215 children found in unmarked graves at the residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, in May 2021. She looks forward to guiding the Reconciliation path together in a good way.

She is co-founder and lead Elder for Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag, a University of Toronto Access program that works with Indigenous youth to connect their spirit with the land and water through Land-based teachings. Whabagoon has been honoured at High Table, Massey College, at the University of Toronto, for her community work.

“Our youth need to connect with the teachings of the land,” says Elder Whabagoon. “The program strengthens their cultural identity, gives a platform for their voice on environmental issues and guides them to envision their future role as caretakers of Mother Earth.”

Whabagoon leads Water ceremonies and Water Talks, to hold space for those who want to learn about the power of ceremony, land, and water. She leads opening ceremonies, speaks, sings, and drums for major initiatives, including the City of Toronto, Indigenous Affairs Office and StreetART events.

In her spare time, Whabagoon enjoys writing, painting, and sharing time with her partner of 24 years, Karl Shay, Knowledge Keeper of the Eastern Door, L’Nu Nation, Lynx Clan.