Board of Directors
President: Josh Smee (he/him)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Food First NL
Joshua is a connector, advocate, and community-builder working to build stronger food systems in Newfoundland and Labrador.Joshua is the CEO of Food First NL, a provincial non-profit organization that works with communities in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure everyone has access to affordable, healthy, and culturally appropriate food.Passionate about systems change and the power of collective action, Joshua has taken a lead role in many coalitions and campaigns.
Joshua co-chairs the provincial Food Security Working group with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and sat as a member of the province’s Health Accord Task Force, tasked with a fundamental redesign of Newfoundland and Labrador’s health system.Outside of work, Joshua is deeply engaged in work around civic engagement, local food, and the arts. As Chair of the St. John’s Farmer’s Market Cooperative, he helped lead the work to establish the city’s thriving, permanent community market.Joshua lives in the heart of downtown St. John’s with his partner, violinist Lauren, and their young daughter Tamsin. He spends just about every spare moment he has outdoors and has hiked every inch of the East Coast Trail, most of it many times over.
Dr. Monika Korzun (she/her)
Assistant Professor | St. Thomas University
Dr. Monika Korzun is an Assistant Professor in the Environment and Society program at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Monika has been working in the food systems space since 2010. She completed her PhD at the University of Guelph and completed two postdoctoral fellowships – one at Dalhousie University and one at Saint Paul University. More recently her research has focused on food systems governance and social sustainability in food systems. Although her research interests are diverse, Monika’s research aims to bring to light the experiences and voices of those who are often ignored in food systems decision-making processes. In addition to working in academia, Dr. Korzun has several years of experience working in the private and not-for-profit sectors. Favourite vegetable: Kohlrabi
Secretary: Gillian Kerr (she/her)
Gillian Kerr has worked within Canada’s environment community for almost 30 years as an ecological economist and environmental policy expert. She is also an active researcher, teacher, supervisor, and champion of understanding the value of nature. Currently Gillian works at the Smart Prosperity Institute as a Senior Researcher and teaches at RRU.Before that, she worked for Alberta Environment for 12 years and has worked as an academic, consultant and within several areas of the environmental non-profit sector.
JUSTIN CANTAFIO (he/him)
director of policy | centre for local prosperity
Justin Cantafio is anchored by a steadfast belief in the power of small-scale, community-based businesses to build truly sustainable social and economic development. It’s what drove him to spend his master’s degree living and working on ten organic farms from Quebec to the Pacific Coast.He’s since helped with managing Atlantic Canada’s first sustainable seafood subscription program through Off the Hook Community Supported Fishery, worked with the Ecology Action Centre to spearhead a Canada-wide program to promote locally-sourced food in schools, universities, and hospitals, and connected small-scale fishers and aquaculturalists with high-value markets across Nova Scotia and beyond with Halifax’s Afishionado Fishmongers.When he’s not crafting up ideas to re-localize our economy and promote local businesses, you might find Justin running in the woods, cooking up big hearty meals with friends, or relaxing in his tiny cabin by the sea.
suzanne fournier (she/her)
executive director | national farmers union new brunswick
Suzanne Fournier is the Executive Director of the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick, a nonprofit accredited farm organization. The NFU-NB promotes policies that aim to revitalize agriculture in New Brunswick; on local, national and international levels, the NFU advocates alternative structures and government policies that resist corporate control of food. Suzanne studied Political Science at Carleton University, and has been working for the NFU-NB for 7 years. She lives in Western NB and is chronically ill.
Florence blackett
sustainability program coordinator| Mi’kmaq native friendship centre
Bio coming soon.
JILL VAN HORNE (she/her) – on leave.
Network Director | Food for all New Brunswick
Jill Van Horne is the Director of Food For All NB, where she has been engaged in food systems and food security work since 2017. In this role, and through her previous work with Our Food Southeast NB, she’s focused on building resilient food systems and addressing food security challenges across New Brunswick. She brings expertise in national and provincial school food initiatives, Atlantic regional food systems collaboration, food and climate-related projects, and community food action initiatives – bridging grassroots efforts with policy-level impact. Jill lives on unceded Mi’kmaq lands in Moncton, N.B.