Read more about the 2012-2013 TYFPC team:
Michelle (German) MacIntosh (Chair) hails to us from the great state of Maryland where she spent her childhood hiking through the Appalachian Trail and nibbling in her mother’s garden. She has spent the past 7 years studying and working in Toronto’s local food movement. During her time in Toronto she has worn a variety of hats including youth educator, urban farmer and food policy researcher. Michelle is currently working on the Mobile Vending Pilot Project at the Food Policy Research Initiative, representing the TYFPC as a Board member of Food Forward, Council member of the Toronto Food Policy Council and finishing up her Masters. She has been an active community member of the TYFPC since the beginning and has experienced an immense amount of support and love from this community that she considers home. As the Chair Michelle is honored and ecstatic to give back to the community that has treated her so well and can be happily reached at michelle@tyfpc.ca!
Sasha McNicoll (Vice Chair) is a Master’s student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and is studying Canadian food policy. After having worked at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam for two years, she moved to Toronto to work with Sustain Ontario and Food Secure Canada. She is currently completing her thesis, working with the West End Food Coop and sitting on the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council and the Toronto Food Policy Council.
Coly Chau first realized her passion for food security and policy while completing her undergraduate degree in political science and economics at UofT. She currently works as an education coordinator at a not for profit organization in family health, and occasionally digs into whatever volunteer opportunity that pops up in the city. Her main interests are social justice in food; diversity, cultures and identities surrounding/of food; as well as, the interconnectedness of food to broader global and local issues.
Jenn Fong comes from the glorious west coast after doing her BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience at UBC. Currently she’s living in Toronto completing her Masters of Public Policy at University of Toronto. She hopes to focus her policy acumen on food policy and its surrounding issues and is excited to be a part of the team. In her free time she is looking for the next thing she can braise and having friends over for board games.
Michelle Gudz (MeShell) began her interest in social justice and food issues at a young age by volunteering with Food Not Bombs in her hometown of Edmonton and continued with involvement in other groups across Canada. She completed computer science and biochemistry as an undergrad in university, but enjoyed getting her hands dirty at horticulture club most of all. In her spare time, Michelle likes cooking up a storm with locally grown produce, experimenting with veganic farming, playing video games, blogging, and weightlifting. She is excited to join the TYFPC where she can combine her love of technology and social media, with her passion for a just and ethical food system.
Heather Lee Heather is currently completing her Master’s degree through the Department of Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her thesis focuses on transparency in federal policy-making with respect to human consumption of genetically engineered (GE) animals. She moved to Toronto in January 2010 so that she could become more involved in shaping her food system. Heather looks forward to connecting with youth through the TYFPC’s Network Committee. She enjoys foraging for mushrooms, shopping at farmers’ markets, and sharing good food with friends and family.
Jessica Reeve is currently working on a Master’s with the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University with a focus on food policy and community activism. Jessica spent the summer of 2012 doing internships with Cultivate Toronto, The Cutting Veg, and Food Forward and hopes to be able to continue to connect food policy work with her passion for growing food in the future. Jessica is part of the networking committee on the TYFPC and is looking forward to making food policy connections with youth across the city.
Kaitlin Vandenbosch grew up in the countryside near London, Ontario. Coming from a family with a long tradition of farming, food was always on her mind. In high school, she discovered that it was possible to study food science and went on to complete her undgrad in this field at UBC. Unsure of what to pursue after graduating, Kaitlin spent a year learning French in France. The next summer while travelling in Ireland, she decided that she really wanted to learn a traditional/artisanal way to preserve food – and she chose brewing! Kaitlin completed her Masters in Brewing and Distilling in Edinburgh in 2010. Upon graduating she was hired as a brewer at Mill Street Brewery and she has been working there for just over a year. Kaitlin is looking forward to being a part of the TYFPC for a second year. She is eager to continue work with the Education Committee and is interested in learning more about food issues in Toronto.
Kathleen Ko first became interested in food issues from a nutrition and wellness perspective. Upon getting involved with various food groups in Toronto, quickly realized that food security and advocacy was what she really wanted to be a part of. She’s come a long way from being an art director at a magazine publisher to working for Real Food for Real Kids, Young Urban Farmers, and a dedicated member of they TYFPC. In her down time, she loves rolling down green hills, and tending to her humble little balcony garden!
Joel Fridman joins the TYFPC with great enthusiasm to engage peers in discussions of food politics, food policy, and food-system change. Joel first engaged with food through his stomach, learning to cook and appreciate food in his family kitchen. After studying Political Science at the University of Victoria, Joel reconnected with food through a social justice lens working in a community resource center in his home town of Edmonton, Alberta and then as an intern in New York City’s international relations NGO sector. Having moved to Toronto one year ago, Joel is completing his Masters degree in the Geography department at the University of Toronto. His research is motivated by the possibility of a food system that provides accessible, healthy, and culturally appropriate food that is produced and consumed sustainably.
Sarah Robicheau grew up in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, which fostered an early interest in the role food and agriculture play as an intersection of environmental, social, cultural and economic issues. She moved to Toronto in 2007 to earn her Masters in Environmental Studies and her law degree in the joint degree program offered by York University and Osgoode Hall Law School. Her MES Major Research Paper was modified into the chapter “Helping Good Things Grow: Creating Nurturing Policies and Programs for New Farmers through Civil Society-Government Collaboration” in the book Health and Sustainability in the Canadian Food System, edited by Rod MacRae and Elizabeth Abergel. By day, she is an environmental lawyer; by night, she really, really, likes jigsaw puzzles and tea.
Rebecca Hasdell moved to Toronto in 2009 by way of Calgary, AB, to pursue her Masters in Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) at the University of Toronto. Now in the 2nd year of her PhD at DLSPH, Rebecca carries a love of the environment nurtured by prairie lands and mountain skies into her work on creating healthy environments that promote population health. Her work addresses food system governance, citizen participation in decision-making, and healthy public policies. Rebecca has worked on projects with a number of food organizations in Toronto, including the GTA Community Health Centre Food Security Network and the West End Food Coop.
