STAFF

Viviana Ramirez Luna, who trained in Colombia as a marine biologist studying fisheries, and who now lives here in St. John’s, is the new Executive Director of Food Producers Forum. Viviana was an original member of our board. She has been involved in establishing community gardens in the city and has led the creation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Composting Co-op, a new group supporting and educating people about small scale composting, in communities right across the province. She brings to this position her training as a biologist, her knowledge as a mother and someone deeply committed to making our province a better place to live. With her help we will continue to develop programs to address the need for healthy food in local communities.

Anastasia Spirina is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Memorial University. She is completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Linguistics alongside a Certificate in Film Studies. Anastasia joined Food Producers Forum originally in 2023 as a co-op student. She has been helping us improve our communication strategies and materials ever since, as our Communications Officer. In this capacity, she has been creating social media posts, designing our monthly newsletters, and assisting the development of our new website.

Dan is a retired educator with a Master’s Degree in Curriculum Design from the University of Victoria. During a thirty-year career in education, he served as a teacher at the elementary, secondary and university levels, as a school principal in two provinces and worked as a developer of unique learner centered educational programs. This work earned an award from the Prime Minister of Canada in 2000. For two periods he led teams to create programs for the renewal of traditional indigenous languages, while collaborating with native elders. Since retiring from education and moving to Newfoundland, he has been active as a musical performer, arts administrator, writer and publisher. In the past he has led a series of community development, educational and arts groups. Here in Newfoundland he served as a board member of the Writers’ Alliance, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Musicians Association and founded and chaired the Pouch Cove Heritage Society. He is an accomplished author and musician. A local history book that he edited and designed, Pouch Cove: Our Home by the Sea, received the Manning Heritage Award in 2015. As a home gardener, he has built on his undergraduate degree in biology (Reed College, 1968) to develop new approaches to local food production. His workshops on Creating the Year Round Garden have been attended by more than 2400 people, and he has contributed to food security as facilitator of the Provincial Food Network and founding chair of Food Producers Forum. Along with written articles for regional magazines he produced a ten-episode radio series about gardening that aired on CHMR Radio called “Uncle Dirt.” His most recent book was published by Boulder Books in 2023: the northern gardening guide, Sun, Seed & Soil has become a regional best-seller.

Shawn Dawson is a full-time forager, grower, author, and passionate nature lover based in Newfoundland. He is the owner and operator of Barking Kettle, a local business dedicated to supplying wild Newfoundland ingredients to restaurants, farmers markets, and other local enterprises. A lifelong forager, Shawn has been growing and gathering food since childhood, steadily building his knowledge of both cultivated and wild plants. He is the author of The Forager’s Dinner (Boulder Publications, 2020), and is widely recognized for his expertise in harvesting mushrooms, berries, wild greens, and unique ingredients like chaga fungus. He has a talent for crafting remarkable pickles and preserves from natural sources and works closely with chefs and craft producers to develop innovative food, beer, and spirit products that highlight the island’s natural bounty. Shawn also shares his deep love for Newfoundland’s wild foods through guided foraging tours, food hikes, and cook-ups, inspiring others to reconnect with the land. As a vendor at the St. John's Farmers’ Market, he’s a familiar face known for his wild harvests and enthusiasm for local food culture.

Thelma grew up in the eastern part of Nigeria as the fifth child in a family of six children. During her childhood, her mother would take her and her siblings to the farm every Saturday morning, where they cultivated corn, cassava, yams, potatoes, and various leafy vegetables. Both of her parents are now retired and fully dedicated to farming. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Imo State University, Nigeria, and later attended the Nigerian Law School, where she was called to the Bar in 2015. Additionally, she is a Chartered Secretary and Administrator of Nigeria (ICSAN). Seeking to expand her expertise in business and project management, she relocated to Canada in January 2023 to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her career began in Legal Administration at CIG Motors Company Limited, where she quickly advanced to become an Administrative Supervisor and later an Administrative Manager. In these roles, she successfully organized corporate events, and optimized business operations, and customer engagement programs, while also overseeing supply chain management. Her contributions to the company earned her several accolades. Driven by a passion for impactful leadership, food security, and optimizing organizational performance, she embraced a new challenge as a Financial Officer Intern at the Food Producers Forum in Canada. In this role, she was instrumental in maintaining accurate financial records. After completing her internship, she was retained as a Project Assistant, where she oversees stakeholder coordination across multiple project sites. She is particularly drawn to organizations that foster societal change, aligning with her vision of making a meaningful contribution to teams that develop sustainable and transformative solutions. Outside of her professional pursuits, she is a strong advocate for continuous professional development and volunteerism. She enjoys reading, networking, and event planning. In her spare time, she actively participates in community service and mentors young career professionals. She volunteers for the CRA Community Volunteer Income Tax Program during filing season.

Born and raised in Mauritius, Megane embarked on a journey to Newfoundland to pursue her passion for engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Now in her second year, she is developing a strong foundation in mechanical engineering, with a keen interest in applying technical knowledge to real-world challenges. Currently, she is an engineering intern at Food Producers Forum, where she contributes to projects that support local food production and sustainability. As part of the project management and communication teams, she helps coordinate initiatives, ensure effective outreach to the community, and work on our website development. Her work aligns with her broader goal of using engineering principles to drive impactful change, particularly in areas related to food security and sustainable development. Through this role, she is gaining valuable hands-on experience in project management, problem-solving, and collaboration—skills that will shape her future career as an engineer committed to innovation and community-driven solutions.