Board

Becky Doherty

PRESIDENT
MEMBER-AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

Becky is a first-generation farmer and until recently focused on her career in Natural Resources working as a spatial modeller and analyst. She has a Bachelor of Science in Geography and is highly focused, detailed oriented and organized. In 2016, her and her husband along with their two young kids bought a farm and started Stonepost Farms. The farm quickly evolved into a direct marketing business focusing on providing nutrient dense foods including pasture raised meats, naturally grown produce, free range eggs and unpasteurized honey. The farm focuses on holistic and regenerative agriculture practices. Becky has a newfound passion in agriculture with a desire to promote education in regenerative agriculture. She now focuses fully on the farm and its direct marketing business. She looks forward to being able to apply her skills with Organic Alberta and to gain knowledge.

Daniel Wall

VICE PRESIDENT
NORTHERN REGION REPRESENTATIVE

Although he was raised on a small farm – feeding hogs, driving tractors, chasing cattle and fixing fences, Daniel Wall never thought he would be a farmer. He saw the direction farming was going, with technology requiring large investment and huge farms choking out small ones, and he wasn’t interested. However, after working at various jobs and spending some time in post-secondary education, he picked up a book called “You Can Farm,” which outlined the need for small farmers from a food security, ecological, and health perspective. That book led to studies in regenerative agriculture, permaculture, horticulture, agronomy, and to the creation of a direct selling farm food business, starting with a market garden.

Greg Wedman

TREASURER
CENTRAL REGION REPRESENTATIVE

Greg grew up spending summers on his grandfather’s mixed grain and livestock farm. He had no idea at the time, but that was his first exposure to organic regenerative farming. After graduating from university, Greg spent the next 20 years living and working in the city. In 2009 he was able to place a down payment on a small piece of land southwest of Edmonton and thus began his career in organic farming. It’s been a sharp learning curve filled with many challenges and rewards – but a great journey. Greg believes that building soil health while growing healthy, nutrient-dense food is an attainable goal.

Pierre Fillion

SECRETARY
NORTHERN REGION REPRESENTATIVE

Pierre is a third generation farmer in Donnelly, AB and after high school joined the family farm that began in 1916. This farm had its start as a mixed farm but by this time had evolved into a conventional grain farm. At the age of 38, a diagnosis of cancer in the right eye became pivotal. Pierre sought the care of a naturopathic doctor to help reverse the condition that brought on the cancer. From this, he soon realized the close connection between human health and soil health and what clean, nutrient-dense food can do. Less chemical exposure for himself and his family also became important so all of this made compelling reasons to not only eat organic food but to farm organically too. The farm is now at three different stages with 20% organic, 20% transitioning and the rest to transition over a few years. Pierre now shares the joys and challenges of organic farming with his wife and with his two children, potentially fourth generation farmers.

Andrew Mans

DIRECTOR
SOUTHERN REGION REPRESENTATIVE

Andrew is an organic farmer growing field and greenhouse vegetables, cover crops and cereals near Coaldale, Alberta.  His passion lies in regenerative agriculture with the intent of having the farm produce healthy food while improving the soil and the farms ecosystem as a whole.  He feels that the regenerative approach to farming is sustainable, profitable and enjoyable.

Dylan Joshua Edmiston

DIRECTOR
CONSUMER REPRESENTATIVE

Dylan has worked in the retail side of organic produce for over 20 years with most of it being at Community Natural Foods in Calgary. During this time, he has been purchasing organic produce direct from many farms across Alberta, British Columbia, and from organic produce distributors. He creates joy for himself and others by displaying the harvests that he helps bring to market from the farmers/pickers/packers both here in western Canada and across the globe.

Agnes Kulinski

DIRECTOR
CENTRAL REGION REPRESENTATIVE

Agnes Kulinski is a versatile professional blending scientific acumen, business prowess, and a passion for organic agriculture. With a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Experimental Medicine, she boasts expertise in chemistry, biochemistry, and food science. Transitioning into business, Agnes earned her MBA and played a pivotal role in launching a biotech startup focused on intestinal disease therapeutics. Her skills span technology commercialization, clinical trials, and strategic planning.

At the Poultry Research Centre, University of Alberta, Agnes led initiatives driving innovation in poultry genetics and conservation. Notably, her programs, like Adopt a Heritage Chicken, promoted genetic diversity and raised public awareness about food production.

As the owner of Pierogerie Polish Foods Inc., Alberta’s premier Certified Organic Polish pierogi-maker, Agnes champions sustainable farming. Pierogerie’s commitment to using certified organic ingredients, many from their own farm, reflects Agnes’s dedication to excellence and sustainability in organic agriculture.

Andy Wagman

DIRECTOR
ALBERTA REP. AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL

Andy is an organic farmer with ROC certification. His farm is located at Medicine Hat which consists of irrigation, dry land and some grazing. He originally became an organic producer in the 90’s back before it was cool. Andy has successfully raised cattle year round with a no touch, no wean, bale/swath grazing program. Recently crops have involved intercropping, under-seeding, cereals, & cover crops plus on farm grain separation. Riparian area preservation & enhancement projects have taken place in the past couple years. Additionally, the farm has both honey and leaf cutter bees to promote pollination. In 2021, Andy purchased a weed zapper to control weeds such as Canada thistle, leafy spurge, wild sunflower and cochia by electrocuting them.

Megan Neudorf

DIRECTOR
MEMBER AT LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

Megan has farmed organically for around 14 years. Her Grandpa had an organic farm and she started farming with him when she was quite young, and he taught her all about organic farming. After her Grandpa passed away, Megan’s parents, who also had a small organic farm, started renting the land from her Grandmother. Megan has always loved organic farming. In the last few years, her family has wanted to make organic food more accessible, so they started up a flour mill, which now mills the wheat from their farm and produces organic flour. Starting up the flour mill has been a very interesting and challenging journey, but overall, it has been extremely fun to learn new things and to be a part of not only growing organic grain, but also directly producing an organic food source.

Alex Villeneuve

DIRECTOR
SOUTHERN REPRESENTATIVE

Alex Villeneuve has been passionate about local food, craft beer, and mushrooms since an early age. After highschool, he pursued his culinary ambitions by starting his chef’s apprenticeship at NAIT and in 2015, he enrolled at Olds College for their beer brewmaster program.

During the brewmaster program, Alex saw a large amount of waste being produced in beer breweries which he thought could be a valuable medium for growing gourmet mushrooms. He tested this idea with small scale mushroom growing experiments in his dorm room closet which proved successful. He incorporated Ceres Solutions in late 2015 and began scaling the farm to service restaurants and farmer’s markets. In the 8 years after incorporation, and with a tremendous amount of community support, Alex grew the farm to become the largest certified organic specialty mushroom farm in the Canadian prairies. Ceres now sells mushrooms across Western Canada and remains committed to growing high quality, affordable, and organic food.

Alex has been honored to be a nominee for the Outstanding Young Farmers award, inducted into Olds College’s hall of merit, and included in CWA’s 50 most influential people in Canadian AG

Our Team

Tracey Smith

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tracey, with a rich blend of academic depth and entrepreneurial flair, brings invaluable experience to Organic Alberta. Starting at the University of Alberta, she made significant strides in honey bee research during her two-year graduate tenure.

Prior to academia, Tracey founded Beanstalk Honey, a thriving beekeeping and honey sales enterprise, fostering connections in Alberta’s agricultural community over a decade. Her commitment to sharing knowledge led her to organize workshops, speak at conferences, and mentoring others.

With expertise spanning conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, and bee biology, Tracey’s leadership at Organic Alberta is enriched by her multidisciplinary background. Her board roles in non-profits reflect her dedication to industry advancement.

With a vision for innovation and sustainability, Tracey is primed to lead Organic Alberta toward new heights, driven by her diverse skill set and steadfast community engagement.

Cari Cowley

COMMUNICATIONS, FINANCE & OPERATIONS MANAGER

Upon graduating from MacEwan University with a degree in Communications, specializing in professional writing, Cari Cowley embarked on her journey with Organic Alberta in 2016 as a Communications Coordinator. Quickly discovering her passion for the industry, she honed her skills in crafting effective communication and marketing strategies to engage Organic Alberta’s membership and the wider public.

Today, Cari serves as the Communications Manager, spearheading all communication, marketing, and promotional endeavors across the organization’s diverse programs. Three years ago, she embraced an additional challenge as the Finance and Operations Manager, navigating a steep learning curve with determination and ultimately finding fulfillment in the intricacies of nonprofit finance and operations.

Sarah Preston

BAUTA INITIATIVE ON CANADIAN SEED SECURITY PRAIRIE REGIONAL COORDINATOR

Zachary Day

COMMUNICATION & MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR

Kayla Friesen

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Alex Pulwicki

YOUNG AGRARIANS CENTRAL ALBERTA COORDINATOR

Alex first forayed into agriculture when she joined (as a favour for a friend) the community garden club at the University of Calgary. The magical interplay of delicious vegetables, engaged community, and beautiful plants quickly wooed her into delving deeper into the world of growing food. Since then she’s volunteered at and toured numerous farms and continued to learn about the incredible networks of organisms that sustain us. Last summer she apprenticed with the Young Agrarians program at a mixed farm and has found a passion for small-scale dairy and cheese making. As part of the YA team, Alex is excited to help aspiring farmers find their passions and to support them as they embrace all the struggles and joys of farming.