Cameron Stiff, President

Cameron is passionate about the development of sustainable, local and healthy food systems.  He has been working on environmental issues for over 12 years, focusing on climate, food systems, waste management, and community development. He is currently the Director of Finance and Development for Compost Montreal, Treasurer of Regeneration Canada, and Secretary of the board of the Urban Agriculture Lab (AU/Lab).

JJ Corker, Treasurer

Following studies in English Literature, JJ Corker became enamoured with agriculture by reading the poetry of Virgil, Wendell Berry, and John Clare. He later spent five years in England, where he received a diploma in Biodynamic Agriculture and then worked on a vegetable farm, a polyculture vineyard in the south of France, and an orchard with 3,000 laying hens, dozens of beehives and the best apples he’s ever eaten. He is very happy to be joining a group of dedicated individuals trying to bring food security to the region.

Adrian Burke, Secretary

Adrian is an archaeologist and a professor at Université de Montréal in the Department of Anthropology, with a lot of experience working for food-based organizations. When he lived in the USA, he was a working member of the Honest Weight Food Coop in Albany, NY, the second largest member run food coop in the USA, for six years, and a board member for one.  He worked as a member of the Regional Farm and Food non-profit for four years, where he organized farm visits and started the first farmer's market in the Capital district - still running in Troy, NY. He also worked on  the new USDA organic certification.  I also helped start and hosted most of the time a farm radio show on WRPI. (I have 4 years of experience in radio)
But maybe most important of all, he has been vegetable gardening since he was 10 years old (withpictures to prove it!). When he lived in the city, he had a community garden plot for many years. Now, living in Hudson, he currently grows a lot of his food.

Itzel Vazquez, Director

Itzel grew up on a farm was brought up with traditional foodways. As a child, she grew up eating only small-scale ecologically-raised meat. Thirteen years ago when she was pregnant with her first child, she became more aware and concerned with the industrial food system. For the past ten years she has intentionally eaten a diet that is over 90% organic. For the past eight she has worked on eating as local as possible, which may explain why she seems to personally know every local or organic producer and merchant around.  Her value-driven approach to cooking, especially when it comes to sourcing her ingredients shines through in her work as the Head Chef of the HFC Harvest Parties  and the Food Transformation Project Coordinator. 

Noel Dhingra, Director

When Noel became Farm Manager at the Heartbeet in 2019, he brought with him seven years of professional experience in organic agriculture, including two years as co-owner of Cadence Ecological Farm. Noel sees food as an integral part of how healthy environments and communities interact. He dedicated years to developing and delivering programming with Community Food Centres Canada that highlight food as both a social justice issue, and an influence on personal and community health. He seeks to increase access to sustainable agricultural practices and the dialogue around them so that more people participate in the role their local farms play within their community.

Nick Tosaj, Director

Nick has a PhD from the University of Toronto and teaches at John Abbott College as a member of the History, Economics and Political Science department. His work focuses primarily on the place of bread, wheat and staple carbohydrates in the modern French colonial empire. More broadly, as a food studies specialist Nick is interested in food systems, sustainability and decolonization. He is a member of the Culinaria Research Centre and a participant in the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery as well as being an avid baker and amateur gardener. A new arrival to Hudson, Nick is excited to work alongside members of the Hudson Food Collective towards producing a more sustainable food system in Vaudreuil-Soulanges. 

Frances Michaelson​, Director

When Frances graduated university, the world was hit by a fever... aerobic fever! A pioneer in the fitness field, she competed in the 1990s, opened a personal training studio in 2001, and introduced a line of exercise products to Canada, branded Muscleup. 

In 2008, having recognized the need to go deeper into studying the science of human physiology and chemistry she entered a school of naturopathy. Since graduating in 2011, she has counselled hundreds of people, providing them with the tools and support to lead a vibrant and healthy life. Her first book, Let’s Practice Health: Learn Why Your Gut is the CEO of Your Health tells the tales of clients who turned symptoms of discomfort and disease into true health and vitality. As a trainer and naturopath, she truly loves seeing people transform themselves by trusting their bodies. Practicing health is the only way to live the gift of life well! 

Based in Hudson, Québec, Frances is a frequent conference speaker, author, and blogger.

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