Workshop: Food Banks & Local Policy: Advocacy Strategies for Municipal Change

Laura Anonen is a tenant advocate with over 12 years of experience working in the non-profit sector and municipal government. She currently works as a Community Developer at Don Valley Community Legal Services, a community legal clinic in Toronto’s east end. She previously worked with Toronto City Councillor Paula Fletcher.

Laura has also served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations (FMTA) since 2021 and is the current Co-Chair.

She works with community members, tenant groups, organizations and elected officials on various advocacy issues and law reform. She has been advocating for a renovictions bylaw in Toronto since 2018 (which comes into effect July 31, 2025!).

Laura has a B.A. Honours from the University of Toronto in Political Science and Environmental Policy, as well as a Certificate in Strategic Public Relations from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She completed the Maytree Policy School in 2024.

Ateliers: Nervous System Reset; Strategic Plan Operationalization

Emily Branton is the founder of Boss & Buddha, a boutique coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations fulfill their mission- without all the burnout.

Drawing on over a decade of experience leading social enterprises, Emily combines strategic business thinking with soulful coaching to help leaders build resilient, high-performing social impact organizations.

Emily was part of the founding team at Link2Feed and led the platform’s initial rollout across the Feed Ontario network. During that time, she also served as Board Chair and client intake volunteer at The Inn of the Good Shepherd in Sarnia. She later led SaraWorks, a government software platform supporting individuals with barriers to employment, where she continued to champion inclusive, people-first leadership in a period of significant growth.

Emily holds an MBA and an International Coaching Federation (ICF) credential, and is also a certified yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness instructor. Her TEDx talk “Bad at Math” has inspired thousands, and her writing has been featured in national media including the Financial Post.

She lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her partner Matt and their silver lab Baloo- whose name is a reminder that all you really need are the “bear necessities” in life.

Workshop: Removing Barriers to Food Access for 2SLGBTQIA+

Maria del Mar Londoño Forero is a Program Support Coordinator at the Daily Bread Food Bank, where she works to maintain trusting and supporting relationships with the over 100 member agencies that make up the Daily Bread network across Toronto. These members run food banks, meal programs and drop-in spaces and Maria provides a multitude of supports aimed at increasing and maintaining equitable, accessible, and transparent food access throughout the GTA. She was previously the Market Coordinator of the Scarborough Co-op Market, a community-led initiative aimed at increasing food access and economic participation in Southwest Scarborough. Her background in Social Work and passion for food justice and food sovereignty, along with her experiences as a Latina migrant, inform the Anti-Oppressive lens through which she centers her work.

Ateliers: Building Community-Centred Solutions to Food Insecurity; Beyond Emergency Food: Building Alliances for Systemic Change

Ben Earle is the Chief Executive Officer of Feed the Need in Durham, a regional food distribution hub supporting emergency food providers across Durham Region. A seasoned leader in the nonprofit sector, Ben also serves as the General Manager of Basic Income Canada Network, where he advocates for progressive social policy and income security initiatives. His career has been defined by a deep commitment to social justice, with extensive experience leading community development efforts and shaping innovative social policies to address systemic inequities.

At Feed the Need in Durham, Ben is focused not only on meeting immediate food access needs but also on driving long-term food system change, building more resilient and equitable food networks across the region. His work is grounded in collaboration, advocacy, and a strategic vision for community well-being, ensuring that every initiative he leads helps move communities toward greater security, dignity, and sustainability

Workshop: Building Community-Centred Solutions to Food Insecurity

Dr. Chris Hergesheimer is a sociologist, a charitable food program manager, a citizen activist, a rational optimist, a musician, and now basic income advocate and researcher.

Building on 15 years of experience in local food circles, food sovereignty-oriented international value chains and the charitable food sector, for the last year, Chris has been working on a postdoctoral fellowship at Royal Roads University in the School of Humanitarian Studies. Under the guidance of Canada Research Chair Tracy Smith-Carrier, the broad focus is on poverty reduction & income security. Exploring the intersections between laudable innovations in the charitable food space and basic income as both a lever and an evaluative framework is one area of interest. Chris lives with his family on the traditional, unceded and ancestral lands of the Shishalh (Sechelt) Nation on thde Sunshine Coast, in British Columbia

Workshop: Mastering High-Impact Communication in High-Stress Environments

Diana is the President of The Soft Skills Group Inc., an on-the-job learning boutique firm headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area. She is a seasoned training and development professional with over two decades of experience in delivering, designing, and consulting with Fortune 500 companies, universities, and colleges across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Diana has collaborated with organizations spanning diverse industries, including finance, legal, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, natural resources, not-for-profit organizations, governments, and crown corporations. Her extensive experience encompasses working with a diverse range of professionals, from new hires to seasoned executives, and has garnered over 20,000 clients to date

Workshop: Feeding our Futures: How we can Support Young Ontarians

Heather has lived nearly her entire life in Bobcaygeon. From a young age she knew this is where she would plant family roots. She is a mother, wife, backcountry camper, reader and connector. Heather has worked in the not-for profit sector for over 20 years, getting her start with environmental organizations. She has substantial experience with strategic planning in the non-profit sector, management and optimization of multi-agency collaborations, fund development and reporting, stakeholder communications, program and partnership development, and non-profit business operations and governance.

In her past role as executive director of Kawartha Lakes Food Source from 2016-2025, she led the organization’s fund development strategy, worked with member food banks to increase distribution capacity by more than 50 per cent, and developed and implemented novel programs to teach and feed people in rural and urban communities. In 2024, Food Banks Canada recognized her work with an Excellence in Food Banking award.

Heather started in her current role of Executive Director of Food4Kids Ontario in February 2025. Under Heather’s leadership, Food4Kids Ontario will refocus on chapter relationships and system improvements so existing Food4Kids chapters in Ontario can grow their capacity, track and share impact, and become more resilient. Additionally, she will oversee the development of new and emerging Food4Kids programs in Ontario to ensure kids and communities benefit from lasting and reliable food security support.

Workshop: Building Community-Centred Solutions to Food Insecurity

Ariela Kong is a dedicated advocate for community development and sustainable change. Bringing a wealth of management experience and a background in providing direct support to vulnerable communities within the social service sector, Ariela is the driving force behind FTND’s commitment to enhancing frontline programs and improving network alignment.

Ateliers: Rebuilding Relations with Current & Lapsed Donors; The Three Rules of Sustainable Fundraising

During his 30-year career in fund development, Mike Paquet has helped several community-based and grassroots non-profit groups throughout Southern Ontario to implement long-term sustainable fundraising and resource development programs. Driven by the concept that “people give to people”, Mike has enabled several organizations to discover the enormous potential of major gift fundraising. Currently, Mike is the Chief Fundraising Strategist of People First Fundraising Solutions and remains steadfastly committed to guiding non-profit groups towards long-term viability by emphasizing the importance of cultivating strong relations with individual and institutional donors in the community.

Daisy Raudales is the founder of DRPR, who specialize in media relations, brand awareness campaigns, and creating impactful partnerships. Working closely with clients to craft compelling stories that drive visibility and impact, her relationship-driven approach and industry expertise, ensures that every campaign she executes delivers positive results. At DRPR, they don’t just secure media coverage—they create meaningful relationships and stories that last.

Workshop: Beyond Emergency Food: Building Alliances for Systemic Change

Sheila Regehr is a founding member of the Basic Income Canada Network and former Executive Director of the National Council of Welfare. Her 29 years of federal public service spanned frontline work, policy analysis and development, international relations and senior management, with a focus on improving fairness and equality, and on gender and race in particular. She has policy expertise in areas of income security and taxation, such as child tax benefits, child support, maternity/parental benefits, pensions and social assistance.

Workshop: Removing Barriers to Food Access for 2SLGBTQIA+

Sreya Roy is the Training and Education Coordinator at the Daily Bread Food Bank, where she develops and delivers educational workshops and resources for volunteers across the Daily Bread member agency network to learn how to improve the quality and accessibility of their programs. Sreya is a skilled workshop facilitator and curriculum developer, having previously worked at Wisdom2Action, a small queer-owned consulting firm, as a Project Officer where she successfully supported a multi-year, national education campaign to raise awareness and prevent gender-based violence against 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. She is new to the food banking sector, but her work is guided by the rich tradition of gathering over food that she was raised in as a Bangladeshi immigrant.