Staff + Projects Team

Meet the people who form the backbone of our organization.

  • 1

    Marissa Alexander (she/they)

    Co-Executive Director

    Marissa is a registered dietitian who is passionate about anti-racism, food security, and equity. Living and working on the traditional and unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, she has had the honour of working alongside 55 First Nations communities in northern BC. She is also privileged to be able to connect with many different peoples and communities through her anti-racism consulting work. In her very little spare time, she is working on her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on equity and cultural studies. As someone who is thankful to be a part of many, often oppressed, communities she is always looking for opportunities to elevate voices and lived experiences. When she is not focused on social justice work, she likes to spend time with family, friends, and her dog Ru. You can often find her crafting or creating, and she tries to include humour in her work as much as possible.

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    Wade Thorhaug (he/him)

    Co-Executive Director

    Having grown up on a farm in southern Saskatchewan, Wade has always been passionate about where our food comes from. After graduating from the University of Calgary (BSc Hons) he spent a number of years abroad working in education, and upon returning to Canada he took up residence in Iqaluit, Nunavut. There he gained a newfound appreciation for the diversity of local food systems in Canada, in particular long-standing yet threatened Indigenous approaches to land management.

    As president and later Executive Director, he was instrumental in vastly expanding the activities and impact of Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre. He was also deeply involved in a number of other non-profit and community initiatives, including the creation of the Nunavut Association of Non-Profit Organizations. As an advocate he has made numerous appearances before media and multiple levels of government to push for a more dignified and equitable approach to increasing food security, stronger regional food sovereignty, a dismantling of colonial food systems, and improved health of communities through good food.

    Newly based in Montreal, Wade is eager to get involved in the urban food movement while working towards change on a national level.

  • 6

    Charlotte Dumont (she/her)

    Communications Coordinator

    Charlotte is the Communications Coordinator for Food Secure Canada.

    Passionate about the power of words to connect, inspire and drive positive change, she enjoys exploring the intersections between literature, culture, and society, and thrives on discovering stories that resonate and spark meaningful conversations.

    Keen to foster engagement, she specializes in creating content that captivates and touches a variety of audiences. Before joining FSC, Charlotte worked with other non-profit organizations such as the Research Institute for Development (IRD), where she helped create, edit and translate engaging and promotional content.

    She describes herself as a lifelong learner, as she particularly enjoys traveling and discovering new cultures.

  • Staff 2024

    Andi Emrich

    Projects and Engagement Manager

    Andi's passion for food and farming blossomed from childhood summers spent tending vegetables with her father and sharing meals with loved ones. With over a decade of hands-on experience working in key roles in various agriculture and food organizations across Canada and the U.S., she brings a wealth of knowledge in food systems and expertise in project management, event planning, and coordination.

    Andi holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Leadership with a minor in Environmental Studies from the University of New Brunswick’s Renaissance College, along with a Certificate in Food Security from Ryerson’s Chang School of Continuing Education.

    She recently returned to the east coast of Canada with her husband and two daughters after almost a decade of living and working in the U.S. and is grateful to be working toward a more just and equitable food system back home. In her free time, Andi is an avid flower and vegetable gardener, loves to sew and cook for family and friends.

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    Gabrielle Nour Kacha

    Policy & Engagement Organizer

    Gabrielle Nour Kacha, originally from the Levant, has been living in Tiotià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal on-and-off since 2014. Unsurprisingly, her life has always revolved around the importance of good food. Her interest in food justice began when working in refugee camps in Greece and Lebanon.

    After completing her undergraduate degree at McGill she began managing small-scale agro-ecological fruit, vegetable, and seed productions in Quebec for 4 years. This experience then led her to pursue a MSc in Food Security at the University of Edinburgh. Following her MSc, Gabrielle worked as a researcher on climate adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers in tropical areas with the International Centre of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). She serves on the Administrative Board, as subject matter expert, of the NGO Social and Economic Action for Lebanon (SEAL). Her interests in the realm of food span from the social, to environmental and political. She is particularly motivated to fight for fair working and living conditions for farmers, for equitable access to food for consumers, for more agroforestry and agro-ecological methods of production, and for food sovereignty as a form of resistance.

  • 4

    Aaron Vansintjan

    Policy Manager

    Born in Belgium, Aaron lived in Central America, South Africa, and the United States before putting down his roots in Montreal in 2008. His interest in food justice began when he started working and volunteering at community kitchens and food banks in 2010. This inspired him to do an MSc in Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University on the political economy of food banks in Canada. In 2022, he received a PhD from Birkbeck College, University of London, for which he studied the intersection of food justice and gentrification in Montreal and Hanoi.
    Consultant for over a decade, Aaron has done research for political parties, non-profits, and research institutes. He’s excited to bring his writing and project management skills to Food Secure Canada. Co-author of the book The Future Is Degrowth, Aaron is currently working on his next book, The Sustainability Class. He is on a quest to try all kinds of food—on which he spends way too much money, and often gets side-tracked cuddling with his dog, Pan.