Executive Director

With extensive leadership, governance, and change management experience, Jessica engages with organizations to improve inclusive governance, advance intersectional feminist practices, and support strategic program implementation. As Executive Director of SeedChange, she brings expertise in public engagement, government relations, and community-based program design—locally and internationally. Jessica lives on SḴŦAḴ (Mayne Island, BC), the unceded territory of Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), one of the five communities of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation, located off the coast of Vancouver Island in the Salish Sea.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-wood-115b21178/ mailto:jwood@weseedchange.org

Director, International Programs

Jeff de Jong rejoins SeedChange as Director of International Programs, after having served in the role from 2016-2021. Jeff is an accomplished leader with over 20 years’ experience promoting and advancing equitable and inclusive global food systems. He has held leadership, management and consulting roles with private sector and non-governmental organizations. Jeff has worked extensively in international development providing strategic and operational support to partnerships and programming in Latin America and Africa, specializing in food and seed sovereignty, climate-resilient agroecology, and cooperative business development approaches.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-de-jong-34a3a768/ mailto:jdejong@weseedchange.org

Director, Canadian Field Program, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Aabir is the Director of our Canadian field program, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. Aabir developed his passion for seeds (and an obsession for garlic) while working at Everdale Farm, where he helped Seeds of Diversity Canada grow their Great Canadian Garlic Collection. He completed a Master of Environmental Studies at York University, researching organic seed systems in Ontario, before joining SeedChange. Aabir has been instrumental in shaping and leading the initiative’s training, research, and policy programs. Aabir is thrilled to be working with seed producers and farmers all over Canada to promote seed security coast-to-coast. (he/him, Guelph)

mailto:adey@weseedchange.org

Director, Partnerships and Outreach

Laura specializes in gender equality and the connections between humanitarian aid, development, and peacebuilding, especially in food security, climate change, and resilience. She’s been working in international cooperation and humanitarian response for over 20 years, with hands-on experience designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-s-064380203/ mailto:lsewell@weseedchange.org

Program Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

Lauren grew up in Calgary and attended the University of Calgary for her undergraduate degrees. She has an M.A. in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, where she focused on econometrics and international policy. She has worked to develop effective monitoring and evaluation systems for a wide variety of international non-profits in health systems, education, economic development, gender equity and agriculture, and is passionate about using data strategically to continuously improve and support development work. In her spare time, she loves yoga, running, reading and, of course, travel! (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:lbrander@weseedchange.org

Donor Engagement Manager

Katie Breen is the Donor Engagement Manager at SeedChange. She has a Masters in plant ecology, and a background in environmental science, education and program management. Katie joined SeedChange in 2014 to develop curriculum about seed diversity for Canadian school children, then worked as our Outreach Manager, before transitioning into her Donor Engagement Role in 2020. She loves SeedChange’s approach to preserving and enhancing agricultural biodiversity and tries her best to preserve her own small share in her backyard. When not working, Katie is happiest outside on cross-country ski trails or canoe trips with her family. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:kbreen@weseedchange.org

Senior Assistant to the Executive Director

Marie has been with SeedChange since 1984, starting as a translator before moving into volunteer coordination, project management, and then, Senior Assistant to the Executive Directors since 2005. Not only is Marie the organization’s longest serving and most multi-talented member, she is also an enthusiastic home chef who loves sharing great food with her family and colleagues. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:mdulude@weseedchange.org

Program Manager, Asia and Ethiopia

Kate has been a Program Manager at USC Canada for more than 25 years, supporting partners in Nepal, Timor-Leste and now Ethiopia. Driven by a passion for seed saving, she’s also been an active contributor to Canada’s seed movement, serving on the board of Seeds of Diversity from 2012-2017 and now volunteering with the Ottawa Seed Library. Kate has degrees in history, rural planning and food security from Queen’s, the University of East Anglia (UK) and Ryerson University. In her time off, she enjoys camping and paddling as well as keeping an eye on her small organic garden. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:kgreen@weseedchange.org

Atlantic Canada Program Manager, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Steph has worked with The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security since its launch in 2013. She officially joined the SeedChange team in 2019, where she contributes her expertise in communications, facilitation, and program design. Steph has a Bachelors degree in International Development Studies from St. Mary’s University, and ten years’ experience working in the non-profit sector in Nova Scotia and internationally on land conservation, environmental justice, and regional food security. When she isn’t helping Canadians make the connection between food, seed, and social change, Steph is busy hiking, swimming, and working towards her masters degree in adult education. (she/her, Halifax)

mailto:shughes@weseedchange.org

Senior Program Manager, Rural Women Cultivating Change

Victoria has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable community development in Africa and other regions. She has spent this time managing and providing technical support to development programs in agriculture, food security, climate change adaptation, marketing, village savings and loans, natural resource conservation and health programs. She authored a cookbook for people living with HIV/AIDS and support workers to promote nutrition-sensitive consumption habits. Victoria has a master of philosophy in agriculture (horticulture). Victoria, a.k.a. Mai waTatenda (meaning “Tatenda’s mother”), is married to Martin and they have two girls, Tatenda and Kholeka. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:vmachakaire@weseedchange.org

Regional Program Coordinator, Quebec, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Before joining the Bauta Program in spring 2017, Hugo worked alongside food sovereignty organizations in Quebec as a researcher, advocate and consultant. Hugo has conducted policy scans and authored publications with peers on policy and collective action. His work with Bauta involves building new partnerships and supporting farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing and market development in Quebec. Hugo holds a BA in political science from McGill University and a Master’s Degree in municipal food governance at Concordia University. Since joining the Bauta Program, Hugo has discovered a passion for seeds, varieties and plant breeding. (he/him, Montreal)

mailto:hmartorell@weseedchange.org

Fundraising Assistant

Marta joined SeedChange in 2011, after many years in client services. She works with the fundraising team where she responds to donors’ questions, makes sure they get their tax receipts on time and keeps their information up to date. Marta has enjoyed getting to know our long-standing donors over time and loves to hear about what made them so passionate about the cause! If you have a question about making a donation to SeedChange, she would be happy to hear from you. Marta holds a BA in History from Carleton University. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:mmonaghan@weseedchange.org

Office Manager

Denise came to the organization over 20 years ago with a strong background in administration, website maintenance and desktop publishing. She had worked for several non-profits throughout her career, but was attracted to SeedChange’s focus on “helping people help themselves.” Denise loves contributing to SeedChange in a wide variety of ways. Since joining the team, she has taken over the management of the office, IT network and equipment, as well as a growing number of financial administrative responsibilities. Denise was born and raised in Ottawa, where she raised her daughter and still lives today, with her adorable pooch. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:dparadis@weseedchange.org

Finance Analyst

Norbey joined SeedChange in September 2016. He holds a Bachelor in Economics from the Universidad Central de Las Villas in Santa Clara, Cuba, and is currently pursuing a Chartered Professional Accountant designation with CPA Ontario. Norbey grew up in rural Cuba, where agriculture is the primary industry. He is passionate about SeedChange’s work supporting rural communities in the Global South to implement sustainable farming practices and attain food security. (he/him, Ottawa)

mailto:nperez@weseedchange.org

Gender and Social Inclusion Analyst

Sheila is a feminist anthropologist with many years of experience in food justice, food systems research and development in Canada and overseas. Her research examines the health and political economic impacts of nutrient-rich food production on women farmers. Her recent collaborations with civil society organizations include: public consultations on feminist foreign policy, and research on the organizational capacity for addressing gender equality. Her approach considers a feminist, inclusive lens that prioritzes the everyday lived experiences of both men and women, and in particular, their food labour in context-specific settings. (she/her, Ottawa)

mailto:srao@weseedchange.org

Program Specialist, Seed Systems and Plant Genetic Resources

Pratap first joined SeedChange in 2009. He has a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of East Anglia and a PhD in participatory technology development and local knowledge systems from the University of Wales, UK. Pratap has been working in agricultural research and development for nearly 30 years, particularly on participatory crop improvement, seed systems, community-based approaches to biodiversity conservation, and policy. In 2014, he worked as an advisor, helping the Government of Timor Leste draft its National Seed Policy. Pratap also led the development of SeedChange’s innovative Seed Security Assessment methodology. Pratap is passionate about working with farmers and supporting policies that protect their rights and livelihoods. (he/him, Pokhara, Nepal)

mailto:pshrestha@weseedchange.org

Research Coordinator, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Michelle has been planting culturally significant crops and saving seed in her family’s backyard for as long as she can remember. This experience inspired her to pursue a MSc in Molecular Science with a specialty in botany at Toronto Metropolitan University, while also working at urban farms throughout her degree. Through her time both in the lab and the field, Michelle became especially passionate about how researchers can actually support farmers in making agriculture more farmer-led, ecological, sustainable, and accessible. She is also interested in incorporating cultural stories into the agricultural field to reconnect people with land, seeds, plants, and food. As Research Coordinator with The Bauta Family Initiative, she hopes to collaborate alongside farmers, researchers, and other partners to make a more resilient and sustainable seed system. (she/her, Toronto/Tkaronto)

mailto:mdang@weseedchange.org

Communications Manager

Jacqueline brings a wealth of experience to SeedChange, having worked with a diverse range of non-profit organizations and start-up enterprises in Canada and internationally. Her commitment to human rights and passion for stimulating local economies through culturally-sensitive practices have taken her across countries and continents, including Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Communications and Development from City, University of London. Outside of her professional life, Jacqueline is a proud mother to an active toddler, an avid runner, a community volunteer, and a lover of road trips near and far. (she/her, Toronto)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinestein/ mailto:jstein@weseedchange.org

Senior Advisor, International Programs

Beatriz Oliver is a cultural anthropologist with a specialization in participatory action research and sustainable agriculture. She has worked with community-based and international cooperation organizations in Canada and Latin America over the course of 25 years. Beatriz has a Ph.D. in anthropology from McGill University based on her research with food sovereignty networks and women’s agroecological cooperatives in Uruguay. She teaches and has published academically on popular education, food sovereignty and feminist agroecology. Currently Senior Advisor with International Programs at SeedChange, Beatriz previously managed programs with partners as part of the Seeds of Survival program for ten years, and was Director of International Programs from 2021 to 2023.

mailto:boliver@weseedchange.org

Chair

Ericka is currently the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager at Santé Monde (formerly CCISD), where she has worked since 2008, first as development officer and project manager. She has worked and lived in rural Guatemala, Mexico and Vermont, interned with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements in Germany, and grew up in France, Alberta and Guinea. Her training includes environmental law and public health. She speaks French, English and Spanish, and—despite being a bit of a rootless nomad—is also a constant “mercenary gardener.”

Vice-Chair

Cimoan Atkins is a finance and accounting professional with a focus on working with nonprofits and research groups. She holds a double major degree in international development and African studies along with additional educational training in accounting. Cimoan currently consults on the finance operations of two research groups and leads the finance team of a non profit organization that builds and maintains IT infrastructure for its national membership and that provides resources that are accessible for individuals with print disabilities.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cimoanatkins/

Treasurer

Danielle Payant has been an external member of the Finance Committee of the SeedChange Board for nearly ten years. She is Director, Accounting Operations for the Canadian Government where she supports the CFO and DCFO through effective leadership in directing the development, delivery, integration and alignment of strategic and corporate functions, in the areas of financial operations and Grants and Contributions, which, in turn sustains, supports and enables the department to fulfill its mandate and objectives, while complying with legislative, public sector accounting standards and financial policy requirements. Danielle lives in Orleans, Ontario.

Director

Alejandro is a practitioner with 20 years of experience connecting communities and peoples working to change the food system through sustainable agriculture, and seed and food sovereignty. He has worked with diverse knowledge systems, supporting farmers and Indigenous peoples to nurture seed diversity, practice agroecology and produce healthy and nutritious foods. Alejandro is experienced in developing bottom up policies that support Indigenous peoples and small-scale farmers. He is the previous program director of Asociación ANDES and is currently working with the Swift Foundation as Director of Programs and Andes Amazon Lead. He is based in Cusco, Peru.

Director

Being a food lover and specialized in biodiversity conservation, Constanza focuses on seeds and food as the expression of biocultural heritage exploring how local foodways thrive in these turbulent times. Currently, Constanza is a postdoctoral researcher at the Pontifical University of Chile looking at the ways small-scale farmers, especially women, keep resilience of the food heritage through biocultural memory in the La Araucania region of Chile. Conversations by the fire, walks through the forests collecting edibles, cultivating home gardens, sharing seeds, cooking and eating are the means through which she learns from the keepers of biocultural memory and share their struggle to keep it alive and vibrant.

Director

Emma is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo and currently works in capacity development for the Green Municipal Fund at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Emma’s experience includes working on the Great Lakes bi-national management plans for Environment and Climate Change Canada, working for the Green Budget Coalition, and experiencing the political process first-hand as a page in the House of Commons. As a volunteer, Emma has engaged with a broad spectrum of organizations in the Canadian conservation sector. Emma is currently based on Anishnaabe Algonquin territory and is fluently bilingual (English/French). As a participant in FORA’s Rise on Boards program, Emma is excited to be joining the SeedChange board!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-kirke/

Director

Mary Richardson is a social anthropologist and consultant. She works primarily on issues related to agriculture, the environment and rural communities. She conducts action research, project evaluations, and training, using qualitative methods and participatory approaches. She is also a fibre artist and avid gardener. She resides in Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec.

Director

Nickey Alexiou consults to not-for-profit organizations in strategic planning, governance and organizational structure. Previously, she held executive human resources and organizational development roles in both private and not-for-profit sectors. Her clients and her own volunteer work reflect her interests in food security, social justice and education. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Director

Peter Gubbels has 32 years of experience living and working in West Africa promoting community led initiatives for agroecology, including agroforestry, farmer managed seed systems, women’s empowerment in agriculture, adult literacy, water supply, strengthening community organization and capacity of local leadership. He is active in advocacy through engagement in several African alliances and networks. He served for 10 years as Vice President of International Program for World Neighbors. He co-founded Groundswell International in 2009 and currently serves as Senior Advisor for West Africa. Peter lives six months of the year in Quebec and six months in northern Ghana.

Director

Ruth Nyambura Kilonzo is a Kenyan feminist and activist-scholar whose work is on the intersections of gender, economy and ecology. For the last 14 years, Nyambura has worked within the agrarian and environmental justice movement spaces in Africa and the wider Global South/majority – (as a researcher, popular political educator, cultural worker and more recently as a grant-maker). Nyambura’s organising work is guided by a politic anchored on the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist intellectual and organising histories of liberation in Africa. She presently convenes Ramani Collective – (formerly the African Ecofeminist Collective). Nyambura is also a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Liège, Belgium (Faculty of Law) with co-supervision and affiliation with the (BioEconomy Project) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on the legal-regulatory regimes of accumulation concerning seed privatisation laws across Africa.

Director

Sally Humphries retired from the University of Guelph in 2020. As Professor Emerita, Sociology and Anthropology/Guelph Institute of Development Studies, University of Guelph, Ontario Sally continues to work in research and in graduate advising with colleagues (former graduate students) at the University of Guelph, as well as at the University of Waterloo. She also continues to collaborate with colleagues in FIPAH, the Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers. She resides in Guelph, Ontario.

Director

Shelley Spruit has a long relationship with, diverse history, and serious passion for farming and food sovereignty. As a serial entrepreneur, she has founded and ran four businesses over her 35-year career, all the while maintaining 50% ownership in the family farm. Concerned with the loss of agriculture biodiversity and seed availability for grains, Shelley began the venture that led her to found Against the Grain Farms. With persistence, she worked to adapt ancient grains from around the world to the Ontario climate and developed over 15 products for her company, along with supplying 27 other companies. Shelley is the recipient of the 2018 Canadian Nuffield Scholarship, studying the Participatory Plant Breeding and has had her work published internationally. Her latest project is developing teaching curriculum for Environmental Sustainability and Food Sovereignty for International NGO projects.

Director

Born and raised in Ethiopia, Teshome Hunduma Mulesa is currently the Senior Advisor for Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems at the Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment (ForUM. He holds a PhD in International Environment and Development Studies, as well as an MSc in Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), where he resides in Ås, Norway. Additionally, he earned a BSc in Applied Biology from Addis Ababa University (AAU). With over two decades of experience, Teshome has worked across research, policy, and development practice, focusing particularly on seed systems, plant genetic resource governance, and farmers’ rights. His extensive experience encompasses academia, NGOs, and advisory roles, and he has worked in various countries across Africa (including Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) and Asia (including Bhutan, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). His work has emphasized pluralistic and climate-resilient seed systems, community-based biodiversity management, and policy advocacy. Teshome has published widely in leading journals and has made significant contributions to the global discourse on access to and governance of plant genetic resources. He is passionate about enhancing smallholder farmers’ seed sovereignty and promoting inclusive, resilient food systems. (he/him, Ås, Norway)