Evan Fraser // founder

The Feeding 9 Billion initiative was spearheaded by Dr. Evan Fraser, Professor of Geography at the University of Guelph, Director of the Arrell Food Institute, and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security. Evan launched the Feeding 9 Billion initiative in 2012 with a series of YouTube videos elaborating on the causes and potential solutions of food insecurity. Since then, he has led the initiative to continue creating innovative educational materials to engage students on this important issue.

Evan’s passion for food stems from summers spent working on his grandfather’s farm and family gatherings enjoyed around meals. He has co-written three popular non-fiction books about the evolution of our relationship with food, and enjoys experimenting with teaching through different forms of media.

Rachel Lee // resource coordinator

Rachel joined Feeding 9 Billion in 2018. She has always enjoyed making education fun, taking inspiration from earlier work with the Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre, and the Hamilton Public Library. Rachel works closely with our collaborators and students, organizing the group's efforts to create resources that effectively communicate the research they are so passionate about in a format that is engaging and accessible to all.

Rachel holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and a Master of Information in Library and Information Science. In her free time, she likes to play board games, read science fiction, and be crafty.

Kimberley McLeod // creative consultant

Kimberley is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies in the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. Her research interests include digital performance; gaming; activist performance; satire and practice-based research, and her research on political performance and participatory media has appeared in Canadian Theatre Review, Performance Matters and Theatre Research in Canada. She is co-editor of the Views & Reviews section of Canadian Theatre Review. She is also a deviser/performer whose work has been seen in Canada, Ukraine, Belgium and the UK. She is excited to be part of a project with a deep commitment to social justice and crossing disciplinary boundaries.

Joanne Robb // education consultant

Joanne has been teaching secondary school Geography for over 20 years, having graduated from the concurrent education program at Queen’s University. She is currently a teacher at The Guelph Collegiate and Vocational Institute. Joanne is grateful to have been introduced to Evan Fraser a number of years ago and has really enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with him and his team on a number of projects. She is always excited to implement new ideas into her classroom and she loves the energy that the university students bring to the projects as well as their engaging classroom visits. 

Madeleine Arseneau // education and outreach assistant

Madeleine is a MSc Candidate in Capacity Development and Extension, who is passionate about food insecurity, agriculture and community development. She has volunteered across campus and in the community with Project Serve and The SEED where she developed her passion for community engagement and agriculture. Madeleine has helped with the growth and promotion of the F9B material developed by Dr. Evan Fraser, acting as the liaison between the program and teachers. Outside of F9B, Madeleine is continuing her work in the field by joining the CREATE-Climate Smart Soils team to examine the role of education and knowledge mobilization strategies used by farmers to access and apply soil related information into their practices.

Jeanna Rex // peer helper supervisor

Jeanna is the Education Coordinator for the Arrell Food Institute, an Institute focused on connecting food research and expertise across all fields of study with global partners to support sustainability, safety, and security in the food supply chain from field to fork. In her role, Jeanna connects graduate student scholars with external industry and community partners to work on projects focused on identifying solutions for today’s key agriculture and food challenges. As an educator, Jeanna believes we learn best by doing, reflecting and analyzing with others and that these types of experiences build better leaders.  She is thrilled to be supervising such an energetic and committed group of students while working on the issue of food insecurity in the community.  She is an avid gardener and camper and loves spending time outside. 

Julissa Litterick  // peer helper

As a senior Bachelor of Arts & Science student studying Neuroscience, Psychology, and Nutrition & Nutraceutical Sciences, Julissa has a passion for mental health advocacy, social justice, and B vitamins. Julissa developed her interest in food security and education at her previous volunteer position with Start2Finish Run and Read. Through this opportunity she saw the direct benefits that fresh food and exercise have on the academic performance of students at low-income schools. She is very excited to build on this experience as part of the Feeding 9 Billion team! When Julissa is not in class, at work, or with her Feeding 9 Billion friends, she can usually be found enjoying a vegan bean burrito at the Bullring. She has also recently acquired a love (obsession) for houseplants- she has 16 and counting.

Nathalie Amyotte // peer helper

Passion for food security is what originally encouraged Nathalie to join the Feeding 9 Billion team. As a regular volunteer at her local foodbank, Nathalie has seen first hand the effects food insecurity can have on families in Canada. Through this, she has made it her life passion to promote and improve food security on a global scale with the undergraduate degree in Agriculture and International Development she is currently studying for. Outside of class (when she isn't with her new F9B friends of course), you will likely find Nathalie in the lab preparing for her next Chemistry Club meeting. She looks forward to getting the chance to inspire the next generation of students to be innovative thinkers.

Mya Kidson // peer helper

Mya’s interest in food security began after attending the 2019 Food From Thought conference highlighting both the local and global importance of agri-food research. Mya is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences. And although dietetics was her main focus when starting at Guelph, it slowly shifted to a future career in knowledge translation, especially looking at how she can merge her passion for nutrition and advocacy for food security. A major part of her time here at UofG has been spent working for the SPARK program, which enables students to gain communication experience through research journalism. With over 17 publications and counting, Mya’s learned about various research across every college on campus.  Mya’s down-to-earth hippie lifestyle emerges in her spare time as she’s often reconnecting with nature on hikes with her dog, Watson, experimenting with new vegan recipes, volunteering at the Guelph Humane Society or thrifting at her favourite second-hand shops.

Maya Nickle // peer helper

Maya joined Feeding 9 Billion to learn more about food security. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Nutrition and, by joining F9B, hopes to incorporate food security into her knowledge of nutrition. She is very excited to be a part of the team and studying here in Guelph. Maya is from a small town in Northwestern Ontario, so she can usually be found at her cabin on the lake. When she's in Guelph, if not with friends or doing homework, you’ll find her in the kitchen trying a new recipe! 

Vivian Ma // peer helper

Viv is a third year student in the Bachelor of Arts and Science program studying International Development and Agriculture. Viv’s interest in food security began after volunteering at the SEED’s Upcycle Kitchen program, an initiative based out of Guelph that takes food that would otherwise be wasted and upcycle it into delicious food to share with the community. Viv hopes to centre her work around promoting food justice for those most marginalized within our food system. In her spare time, she likes to explore plant-based recipes, learn new skills, and spend time outdoors!

We would also like to thank AgScape, voice of Agriculture in the Classroom Ontario, for their invaluable feedback; helping us to design creative learning tools that fit into the Ontario curriculum and raise awareness of the agri-food system.