FARMWORKS INVESTMENT CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Retired Lawyer, Former Director FarmWorks
Educator, Friends of Agriculture FarmWorks is for me one way of helping preserve what I have grown to love about Nova Scotia. I came to Wolfville, attracted by the warm, community minded people, plus access to the fruits and vegetables of the famed Annapolis Valley. Always concerned by nutrition and my personal and family's health and well-being I delighted in the possibility of having access to fresh local produce from farm markets and road side stands. However, I came to understand that the supply of this fresh produce, local meat, jams, jellies ...
Avila immigrated to Canada as a teenager and was drawn to the big city of Toronto with it's skyscrapers, transportation, theatre and multi-cultures. She began her career with Morguard Investments and after meeting her husband, moved to Halifax and continued with Morguard in a different role. She later took employment with Scotiabank after Morguard closed its office. Avila realized there is so much that is beautiful in Nova Scotia…the people, the hills and valleys, the lakes, rivers and oceans, the small friendly communities. Having recently retired from the financial industry with 35 ...
Barb grew up in the Annapolis Valley on a small hobby farm that grew strawberries, beans and apples. As a child, she always had an interest in food and cooking and learned to cook with her nanny, often with vegetables and fruit grown in their own garden. Summer eating was always focused around what was in season, with a particular favourite of hodge podge. After high school, Barb moved to Halifax to attend Saint Mary's University studying anthropology. After university, Barb worked with her partner to help build a property management business, ...
Charlie MacLean grew up in North Sydney, and spent many hours working in the family garden. Upon completing high school, he attended Acadia University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration. During the time at Acadia, he also worked in the Food Service Department to help make ends meet. Upon graduation he was employed with Saga Corporation as a Food Service Manager at Acadia, and later as Food Service Director at St. F. X. University, Saint John General Hospital, Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, and back to Halifax at University of ...
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
- Retired Professional Accountant
Chris Payne is a retired professional accountant (MBA, CPA) who spent 28 years working for the Province of Nova Scotia. He began his career in 1987 as a Tax Auditor and then with Finance running the tax credit programs. While at Finance he was asked to work with partner organizations to develop and enable the Community Economic Development Invest Fund (CEDIF) program. While with Economic Development he worked closely with colleagues at Finance and the NS Securities Commission to bring forward the enabling regulations to launch the CEDIF program. After launch and ...
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
Danny Martin is a well known local musician who has played the Trombone since he was thirteen. Besides serving 25 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a trombonist with the Stadacona Band, fronting his own bands like Salsa Picante or performing which such local acts as The Hopping Penguins, Rasta Gumbo and Mike Cowie he has also per-formed with international acts such as The Spinners, Anne Murray, David Clayton Thom-as and Gino Vannelli. In 2012 he wanted to invest money in Nova Scotia. When his friend Lil MacPherson told him about FarmWorks he ...
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Business Professor, Acadia
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Certified Financial Analyst
Ginny Point has a long standing interest in agriculture and healthy food. It started years ago when working at the Ecology Action Centre, with the agriculture committee. She was fascinated by the interconnections between sustainable agriculture, healthy people and a healthy planet. That led to wanting to learn more about the specifics of nutrition, so she enrolled in the School of Nutrition at Acadia University. After graduation, for many years Ginny worked at a dietitian, until her retirement in January 2018. For numerous years she managed the Food Services Department of Kings Regional ...
In 2014 Hana founded Afishionado, a sustainable, transparent and Nova Scotian based company that sources and markets Ocean Wise certified NS seafood across Canada and she was the sole owner until she sold the business in 2021. Afishionado grew from a one-person seafood counter to a CFIA inspected processing company with an artisanal in-house smoking facility and multi-million annual sales across Canada and the USA. Hana's CV includes a broad range of experiences: AcroSan, Haiti - Executive Director, for emergency sanitation systems for ...
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Communications Professor
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Engineer, Marketing, Big Spruce Brewing
Job Titles:
- Director
- FarmWorks Director
Robert MacEachern grew up in the Antigonish area and has moved back to New Glasgow with his wife and children after working for a year in Yellowknife. Previously he worked in Halifax as the Indigenous and Diversity Program Manager, Global Health Office, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University. Previously he was the Non-Insured Health Benefits Navigator / Policy Support for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, and Culture Program / Department Coordinator for the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health. Joe has served on the Executive or as a member of many Boards ...
Joe is a former FarmWorks Director (April 2013 - June 2015) and also a former FarmWorks supported business owner who paid off his loan in 2017. He looks forward to the opportunity to rejoin the board because he is passionate about local food and has a special place in his heart for FarmWorks and the experience of helping local producers and restaurants succeed. He has a wealth of knowledge about local food production and distribution and would love to put this knowledge to work to help FarmWorks grow into the future.
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
John operates Tuckamore Acres with his partner Lauren and his two children at the foot of the North Mountain near Woodville, Kings County. Founded in 2016, they raise grass-fed Highland cattle and operate a farrow-to-finish free-range pastured Heritage piggery. They sell direct to consumers, at farmers markets and also in retail stores. John's background is varied, having run a small media company for a decade, but whose formal training means he holds a MDiv. degree and is ordained minister in the United Church. He loves creating and building things. He uses all this training ...
Keith Rudderham, Lt.-Col., is a Point Edward, Cape Breton farmer and Commanding Officer of the Cape Breton Highlanders. He is married to Lori and they have three children, Cameron, Ian, and Emily. He graduated from Royal Military College with Bachelor of Arts Honours Economics and Commerce in 1992, and Master of Arts in Defence Studies in 2009, and holds the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning CPF designation. He brings to the Board: Public Service Experience, Management skills, Community Leadership, Public Budget Management. He is a Problem Solver, Consensus Builder, Team Builder, Logistics Expert, Employee ...
Founding Member, Co-chair and Treasurer of FarmWorks, Chair Friends of Agriculture in NS, Medical Microbiologist Linda Best grew up on a farm in the Annapolis Valley. Since graduating from Acadia University in 1966 she has been involved with the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax as a Medical Microbiologist (1966 - 1995), Medical Researcher and author of peer-reviewed Gastroenterology papers and presenter at Research Conferences (1995 - 2012) and as a Director of the Capital District Health Authority (2001 - 2005). For twelve years she operated Alderbrook apple orchard ...
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
Lindy grew up in rural Nova Scotia where, the youngest of five, she helped plant and grow the potatoes that the family lived off of through the winter. This taught her a big lesson about the importance of producing food locally, and created a connection with food that she has taken with her all of her life. One of her favourite activities is going to the Valley to enjoy the many diverse offerings; drinking wine in a beautiful vineyard, tubing down the Gaspereau River, picking peaches at an organic u-pick, paddle boarding in the ...
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Insurance Professional, Community Volunteer
Murray Coolican has held leadership positions in not-for-profit, government, political and private sectors. He has worked in the energy and natural resources sectors and in financial services as well as on environmental and aboriginal issues. He has served as senior vice president at Maritime Life, and as vice president at a number of companies including Nova Scotia Power, Corporate Communications Limited and National Sea Products. He was Deputy Minister of Native Affairs in the Government of Ontario and Special Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Robert Stanfield. He was executive director of the Canadian Arctic Resources ...
Robin McAdam has worked in business development for most of the past 20 years with a focus on renewable energy. He is currently Vice President Major Developments with Emera Inc., while previously Executive Vice-President Sustainability for Nova Scotia Power and President of Emera Brunswick Pipeline. He was a consultant with KPMG Management Consulting specializing in market and financial analysis and a Lecturer at the Wilfrid Laurier University School of Business. As a volunteer, he has chaired the Greater Halifax Partnership and the Municipal Affairs Committee of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. He is currently ...
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Food Economy Group, Former Director FarmWorks
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Business Consultant
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Digital Media and Social Marketing