Kelsie Cosens

Charles's Bio

Charles Russell is the owner of Plains Pantry Pemmican, where he leads interactive workshops that bring the art of pemmican-making to life. Blending traditional Blackfoot teachings with modern science, Charles helps participants explore how this traditional Indigenous food continues to offer value in today’s world. His sessions create a bridge between traditional knowledge and contemporary understanding through storytelling, hands-on learning, and food.

Jason's Bio

Jason Hale has experience in the oil and gas sector, has been a cattle rancher in southern Alberta for over 30 years, was a professional bull fighter, and was an elected Member for the Eastern Irrigation District and Alberta Beef Producers.

As a former Member of Legislative Assembly (April 2012 – May 2015), Jason served on 3 legislative committees and was the opposition critic for Energy; where he provided critical assessment of government policy and programs. He sat on multiple community boards such as the Advisory Committee for the Medicine Hat College and Crawling Valley Recreations Society.

Jason has a Chemical Technology diploma from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

Mike's Bio

As the Sr. Manager, Environmental Sustainability at Nutrien, Mike leads Nutrien’s global sustainability work on water, biodiversity, waste, and climate as priority sustainability topics and how they relate to sustainable agriculture. He also supports Nutrien’s climate strategy and looks for opportunities around system solutions between the nature-climate-food nexus with agri-food value chain partners.

Mike received his Bachelor of Science with Distinction in Environmental Science and his Master of Science with a concentration in Hydrology from the University of Lethbridge. He is registered as a Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) and an Environmental Professional (EP), and currently serves as the Chair of the Water Committee for the Potato Sustainability Alliance in North America.

Nutrien

Dana's Bio

Dana has worked in the food industry for the past 20 years and has experience on the floor, in both meat and dairy processing. With Alberta Innovates, she supports research and development of innovative technologies that are poised to transform the agriculture and food sectors.

Dana has a passion for agriculture and food and loves seeing made-in-Alberta solutions. She believes that food is something we all have in common and is a great place for building connection and community.

Alberta Innovates