Program
2026 Nourish Food for Health Symposium Who Health Care Feeds
Please note that the program will continue to evolve and be updated on an ongoing basis as details are finalized.
Territorital Acknowledgement We gratefully acknowledge that the Symposium 2026 gathering will take place on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, who have cared for these lands since time immemorial.
“Land-based food connects us to our ancestors. Our traditional food is healing and nourishes our spirit. We are who we are because of our ancestors and the Indigenous foods that sustain us in a holistic manner. Our traditional food is healing. Mother Earth provides, therefore we must harvest with love and respect.” Jenny Cross, Haida Knowledge Keeper
Meet the Nourish Team Amy Ford is Nourish’s Director of Planetary Health. With a decade of health care food leadership, she is intimately aware of the enabling factors for teams to achieve improved procurement values, community collaboration, waste reduction, and menus that are culturally mindful and low-carbon. Amy lives on land that has long existed in reciprocity with Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. Hayley Lapalme is Nourish’s co-Executive Director. Hayley is a systems thinker and facilitator who has spent a decade working with public institutions on pathways to more sustainable futures. Drawing on a background in adult education and systemic design, she weaves collaborations that rebuild connections to land, health, and each other. A franco-Ontarian settler, Hayley is now based in Victoria. Jennifer Reynolds is Nourish’s co-Executive Director. She believes that aligning mission, mandate, and margin can transform systems, and that delicious food will drive innovation in healthy eating and sustainability. Based in Halifax, she has over 20 years of experience in local food promotion, sustainable agriculture, food security, and food policy. Ngaire (pronounced Ny-ree) Leaf is Nourish’s Manager of Events and Operations. Ngaire has a background in education planning, professional development, and nonprofit work, with a focus on food security. Passionate about sustainability, Ngaire embraces plantforward food and enjoys life with her family on the traditional unceded and ancestral territories of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), Máthxwi (Matsqui), & Se’mya’me (Semiahmoo) First Nations. Roya Damabi is Nourish’s Director of Innovation and System Transformation. Roya is a systemic design practitioner and design facilitator, with over 15 years experience working with toolkits from policy, systems and complexity, biomimicry, and design justice to shift sticky systems. Roya makes home in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ), Edmonton, in Treaty 6 Territory.
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Symposium 2026 brings together inspirational speakers and thought leaders. Learn. Connect. Gain inspiration. Together with health care and food system leaders, practitioners, and partners, we’ll explore urgent and inspiring questions at the intersections of food, culture, climate, and care. Nourish is proud to collaborate with Vancouver Coastal Health to co-host Symposium 2026.
Get Social! Sharing an inspirational quote, interesting statistic, or important takeaways on social media? Please tag Nourish and use the hashtag #NourishSymposium26
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We are harvesting stories of your insights and experiences at Symposium 2026 - please head to our Nourish Storyprompt and record your video! No downloads or apps required.
Please note that there will be photography taking place at the event.
Travel Guide Venues Symposium 2026 will take place across multiple locations throughout Vancouver, offering participants the opportunity to experience a variety of learning environments. Keynote sessions and workshops will be hosted at the Diamond Centre, Vancouver General Hospital and at UBC Robson Square, with additional Learning Journeys taking place at locations across the city. Gordon & Leslie Diamond Centre 2775 Laurel St, Vancouver UBC Robson Square 800 Robson Street, Vancouver
Getting Here Nourish is pleased to offer Air Canada as the preferred airline of Symposium 2026. An Air Canada flight discount code is available for Symposium registrants. Please visit the Nourish Commons Symposium 2026 space to access promotional codes.
Health & Safety Symposium 2026 is mask-friendly. Please bring your own mask if you would like to wear one. We will have some masks available in case of illness.
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Accommodations Stay in the heart of downtown Vancouver at the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, Nourish's preferred hotel for Symposium 2026. Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver 645 Howe Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2Y9 (604) 687-1122 Just a short walk from UBC Robson Square, the hotel offers stylish accommodations, complimentary Wi-Fi, an indoor pool and sauna, a 24-hour fitness centre, and exceptional hospitality. Guests can also enjoy the acclaimed Diva at the Met Restaurant & Bar, making it an ideal place to relax after a day of learning and connection. Nourish has secured a special discounted room rate for symposium attendees. Please visit the Nourish Commons Symposium 2026 space for booking details, promotional codes, and the latest information.
Symposium FAQs What’s the weather like in Vancouver? In early October, the average temperature in Vancouver is 10°C, reaching average highs of 15°C in the peak of the afternoon. After dark, temperatures dip down to a low of 7°C, so it’s best to dress in layers and bring a waterproof shell. The chance of rain is high. Check for weather updates here. What should I wear? We want you to feel comfortable as you enjoy the event - dress as you feel comfortable and best. Bring shoes suitable for walking, and keep in mind which learning journey you are signed up for when you plan your attire. What should I bring? A reusable water bottle and travel mug. To reduce our environmental impact as much as possible, disposable supplies will be limited. Journaling supplies - notebook and writing tools. You will be moving around and not always sitting at a table - something with a harder cover or writing surface is ideal. A small daypack or tote bag for you to carry your stuff during Symposium days A mask, if you would like to wear one. Please note that masks will not be publicly available from the Symposium organizers. Umbrella and/or waterproof jacket with hood - it is Vancouver, after all!
Nourish Commons Member Mixer Tuesday, October 6 | 5:00pm to 7:00 pm A special invitation-only event for Nourish Commons Organization Members
As you plan your travels for the Nourish Symposium, plan to spend part of your Tuesday evening with Nourish at this relaxed reception. Connect and reconnect with other Nourish Commons Organizational Members and invitees from Nourish’s broader community, including Symposium speakers, sponsors, and partners. Together, we'll kick off Symposium week by building relationships, sharing conversations, and celebrating our growing community. Invitations and additional details will be shared directly with invited guests.
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How do I access important updates or contact the Nourish team during Symposium? Keep up with all things Symposium on the go! We recommend all Symposium participants download the Mighty Networks App to your mobile device to make sure you have access to all the happenings during the Symposium. In the Symposium 2026 Space on the Commons, you will have access to: Symposium Feed: Important event announcements and updates from Nourish. Resources tab: Access to the digital program, learning journey information, and more. Participants tab: See who is coming to Symposium and connect with them on the Commons. The Hub: Your space to share photos, insights, and reflections during and after Symposium. Pop by, share a photo, connect with other participants, ask a question - it’s your space to curate. We can’t wait to see your photos and reflections! If you have need to contact Nourish, tag us @Nourish Leadership or send us a direct message on the Commons - a Nourish team member will respond as soon as possible.
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Symposium Wayfinder
Make sure to grab some breakfast before Symposium begins!
Remember to check your learning journey email for where to meet!
DAY ONE
9:00 am START Begin your Symposium experience at your Learning Journey or System Partners Workshop location - you’ll receive email instructions on where to meet.
Lunch Provided
Talking Trees, System Partners Indigenous Foodways, Workshop and Health Care
Cooking Up a Healthier Future
Designing Menus for Food Justice and Systems Change People and Planet
Growing Food, Growing Change
1:00 pm Travel to the Robert & Greta Ho Auditorium at the Diamond Centre for a break and our afternoon session. Travel is provided via shuttle bus.
2:00 pm to 4:30 pm Afternoon Session at the Diamond Centre
4:45 pm Grab the Symposium shuttle bus and head to Skript Kitchen rooftop for food and drinks at our Sunset Social and to celebrate with everyone at the Nourish Awards Ceremony.
Breakfast, snacks, and lunch are served at Symposium today!
8:00 pm End of Day One Make your own way back to your hotel or keep dancing the night away and make your own next stop.
DAY TWO
We’ll invite you to choose your workshops in the moment.
8:00 am Meet at UBC Robson for breakfast. 8:30 am START We’ll be at UBC Robson together all day. 5:00 PM END OF SYMPOSIUM 2026
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Schedule at a Glance: DAY 1 - EXPERIENCE TIME (PT)
SESSIONS Please make your own way to your learning journey or workshop.
9:00 AM START
Learning Journeys (includes lunch)
1:00 PM
Travel to the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre (transport provided) and break
2:00 PM
Symposium Welcome and Opening
3:00 PM
Transformational Leadership toward Planetary Health through Food Plenary Session hosted by Vancouver Coastal Health
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
System Partners Workshop (by invitation only, includes lunch)
Nourish Sunset Social Rooftop Gathering & Nourish Awards Ceremony Food and drinks provided.
Join us: Nourish Sunset Social Wednesday, October 7 | 5:00pm to 7:00 pm After a day of learning and conversation, Nourish invites all Symposium participants, speakers, and sponsors to join us as we cap off the day on a beautiful Vancouver rooftop. As the sun sets over the city, enjoy music, food, and beverages while celebrating the relationships, learning, and collaborations that make Nourish unique. We hope you'll join us for an evening of great conversations, new connections, and shared inspiration. #ElevatedConnections
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DAY ONE: Learning Journeys Day One of Symposium 2026 is a day for learning journeys. Learning journeys are guided excursions that blend real-world application, practice, and reflection into memorable learning experiences that stick. Learning Journeys are not conventional tours. You will be welcomed by guides and invited to suspend what you think you know, attend to your assumptions and reactions, and see each setting through the perspectives of hosts and fellow travellers. Guided observation, dialogue and structured reflection will help each group develop new insights, together. You will emerge with sharper questions, fresh possibilities, and a more grounded understanding of what change requires in the real world. Journeys will take place at various locations throughout Vancouver. Registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to register for one of the learning journeys.
Symposium 2026 Learning Journeys Growing Food, Growing Change UBC Farm Human activity has pushed seven of the nine planetary boundaries beyond their safe operating space. Food production and consumption are a key part of the story. Step into one of Vancouver's leading urban farms and explore how food can nourish both people and the planet. Tour the UBC Farm alongside Executive Chef David Speight, Dr. Claire Kreman, and others who are reimagining local food systems. EAT–Lancet Commissioner and UBC biodiversity scholar Dr. Claire Kremen will co-host this exploration, helping participants see the connections between what is grown, how it is grown, and what institutions choose to put on the menu. What would it mean for health care to treat biodiversity and ecological limits as material considerations in menu design and procurement? Where can plant-forward menus and purchasing choices create real leverage, despite the constraints of price, supply and scale? Through stories and conversation, discover how collaboration, sustainable agriculture, and community partnerships are helping shape the future of food in health care and beyond.
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Talking Trees, Indigenous Foodways, and Health Care Stanley Park With the land of Stanley Park as host, this journey invites you to encounter food, medicine, and health through relationships that long predate health care as we know it. On Talaysay Tours’ Talking Trees walk, Indigenous Cultural Ambassadors will share how plants and trees of the Coast Salish territories have sustained communities physically, culturally and spiritually across generations. Guided throughout by Kitty R. Lynn Lickers and Moe Mathieu of the Nourish Indigenous and Allies Advisory (NIAA), participants will consider what these teachings ask of healthcare organizations now. What changes when food is understood as relationship, identity, and medicine? How can institutions shift from acknowledgement to practicing Indigenous food sovereignty and accountable relationships with the lands and peoples where they operate? *Please note that there is an additional registration fee for the Talking Trees learning journey only.
Cooking Up a Healthier Future Skript Kitchen Health care is adept at telling people what to eat. It is less often equipped to help people translate that advice into food they can prepare, afford, enjoy and recognize as their own. At Skript Kitchen, roll up your sleeves for an interactive culinary experience where food is a catalyst for learning. Experience the teaching kitchen model from the inside, preparing and sharing a meal while exploring how practical culinary learning can support health, food literacy, cultural connection and lasting behaviour change. Guided by Chef Rick Powless (Six Nations), Elaine Chu (Fraser Health) and Julia MacLaren (University of Calgary), participants will prepare a delicious and nutritious planetary health-inspired lunch while exploring how culinary innovation can support healthier people, communities, and the planet. Through cooking teamwork, conversation, and a shared meal, discover the power of food to inspire change.
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Designing Menus for People and Planet Dogwood Care Home Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VHC) foodservice team helped lead Canada’s first hospital-wide Planetary Health Menus project. At Dogwood Care Home, they open the kitchen door on what culturally-informed institutional menu transformation actually requires: not an idealized recipe, but hundreds of daily decisions spanning nutrition, procurement, culinary practice, resident preference, culture, labour, cost, and waste. The team explores how they translate Canada’s Food Guide and the Planetary Health Diet into institutional practice, using both to advance health and well-being while honouring a responsibility to all our relations. The session is co-hosted by Tiffany Chiang and Liena Pow from VCH and includes a hands-on culinary workshop component led by Chefs Will Lew and Sharon Chan. Participants will harvest ingredients before heading into the kitchen to prepare and enjoy a lunch of their own making, experiencing how plant-forward, lower-impact food becomes delicious, nourishing, and workable in a complex care environment. Along the way, you will trace a meal from purchasing and production to the plate, surfacing the operational ingenuity, leadership, and cross-departmental relationships needed to move from a successful pilot to routine practice at institutional scale. Food Justice and Systems Change Sole Food Street Farms Hospitals encounter the consequences of food insecurity every day: chronic disease made harder to manage, recovery undermined by inadequate nourishment, and patients discharged back into the conditions that contributed to ill health. These are not simply failures of individual choice. They are symptoms of food and health systems that are under-delivering on social and ecological justice. In conversation with community food leaders including Marissa Alexander from Food Secure Canada, you will examine the necessary tension between meeting urgent needs today and changing the structures that reproduce those needs. Explore how community-based organizations and leaders are working together to address the root causes of food insecurity, working with the tensions between vital shorter-term actions and longer-range systems change aspirations. You’ll learn directly from those advancing food justice, reducing food waste, strengthening community food hubs, and creating new partnerships between health care and local food systems. This learning journey will ask you to consider how health care institutions can move beyond treating the clinical consequences of inequity and use their purchasing power and public voice to shift the status quo.
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System Partners Workshop Who Health Care Feeds: Building Regional Food Value Chains UBC Robson Square This invitation-only Systems Partners Workshop will explore how healthcare procurement can strengthen regional food value chains, improve population health, and build more resilient food systems. Canadian healthcare organizations spend approximately $5 billion annually on food services, representing one of the country's largest opportunities to improve population health while strengthening regional food economies. Producers and processors are seeking more stable domestic markets that public institutions can provide. Yet, between them sits a persistent "missing middle": limited aggregation and processing capacity, costly certification requirements, fragmented distribution networks, and healthcare buyers without the time or resources to develop new supplier relationships one contract at a time. Using British Columbia and emerging initiatives from across Canada as working examples, this workshop brings together diverse food and health system actors from health authorities, governments, producers and processors, food hubs and distribution partners, Indigenous organizations, researchers, and prospective funders. Together, participants will examine both promising models and instructive failures to understand what farm-to-health care value chains actually require for scaling: investment, procurement policy and practices, regulation, and organizational capacity. Rather than asking how institutions can purchase more local food, our discussion will explore how public procurement can become a strategic instrument for health, climate resilience, reconciliation and regional economic development. What would enable healthcare organizations to move beyond isolated local purchases toward reliable regional supply at scale? Where would targeted investments unlock change? Our goal is to move beyond a familiar catalogue of barriers towards a shared agenda for action: identifying the partnerships, policy reforms and strategic investments needed to strengthen regional food value chains in British Columbia and across Canada.
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DAY ONE PANEL EVENT
Transformational Leadership toward Planetary Health through Food Planetary Health Menus: how bold leadership and strong partnerships are reinventing health-care food - a special panel hosted by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
What if one of the most powerful actions we can take to improve the health of people and the planet starts with what's on our plates? Join senior leaders from VCH and healthcare foundation partners for a panel discussion on how bold leadership and strong partnerships can drive meaningful change in healthcare. This engaging 90-minute plenary session will explore VCH's journey to creating a more sustainable, plant-forward patient menu. You'll hear the compelling case for why planetary health matters, how food systems impact both people and the planet, and why healthcare organizations have an important role to play in driving change. Discover how VCH implemented changes to hospital food services, built support across diverse interest holders, and demonstrated the benefits of more sustainable food choices. Panelists will share firsthand insights into the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned throughout this transformative initiative and highlight the critical role of leadership and partnership in supporting this innovative work and accelerating system change. Panelists Darcia Pope is Vice President, Strategy, Innovation, and Planetary Health at VCH where she oversees strategic and health systems planning, innovation partnerships and initiatives, and organizational environmental sustainability, leading transformation initiatives that help VCH become a sustainable, lowcarbon organization.
Sean Parr is the Associate Vice President, Corporate Services at VCH, where he leads teams including Food Services, Environmental Services, Protection Services, Facilities Management, Capital Asset Management and Planning, and Contract Management. Sean partners with teams to deliver innovative and sustainable support services that help create safe, welcoming, and efficient environments for patients, residents, staff, and communities. Dr. Roger Wong is Vice President, Medicine and Academic Affairs at VCH where he collaborates with all medical staff and health-care leaders, as well as community teams and partners, to champion clinical excellence and support continuous learning, quality and safety, and person-centered care for everyone to empower healthy lives in healthy communities.
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Lorraine Blackburn is Vice President, Professional Practice and Quality at VCH where she oversees professional practice, clinical education, clinical informatics and virtual health, and the systems and processes across clinical and service teams that help make meaningful, sustainable quality improvements that transform how patient care is delivered. Dr. Andrea MacNeill is a surgical oncologist and Planetary Heath Medical Director at VCH where she is working to mitigate the health-care climate footprint while creating health and social value. Andrea is also the founder and principal investigator of the UBC Planetary Healthcare Lab, a novel interdisciplinary research collaborative dedicated to creating health systems that promote both human and planetary health.
Tiffany Chiang is Director, Food Service Transformation and Strategic Projects at VCH where she leads the planning and execution of strategic, innovative initiatives to transition hospital food services to become more sustainable, accessible and culturally relevant.
Nick Smith is a Project Manager on VCH’s Sustainable Clinical Services team where he supports projects and initiatives that improve clinical efficiency, optimize resource use, and enable the delivery of sustainable, low-carbon care.
Angela Chapman is President & CEO, VGH + UBC Hospital Foundation, the primary philanthropic partner of VCH and the leading charity investing in health-care innovation in BC. Angela is a champion of transformational change through philanthropy, bringing together donors, clinicians and researchers to improve health-care delivery and care. Spencer Gall is the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Richmond Hospital Foundation where he partners with donors, physicians, and health-care leaders to help transform and elevate health care. Spencer leads fundraising initiatives that strengthen urgent and acute care services at Richmond Hospital, to services that support health and wellness throughout the surrounding community.
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Schedule at a Glance: DAY 2 - GATHER TIME (PT)
SESSION
8:00 AM to 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:30 AM
DAY TWO BEGINS Welcome and Opening Plenary Provocation Dr. Shannon Waters Keynote Address Two Row Wampum and the Future of Health Care Dr. Ojistoh Horn Panel Conversation Soil, Gut, Plate, Nature Magic Stephen Beckta, Trevor Hancock, and Valerie Palda
10:45 am
Snack Break
11:00 am
Morning Workshops*
12:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm
Move to Workshops
1:40 pm
Afternoon Workshops*
3:10 pm
Snack Break
3:30 pm
Harvesting and Closing Together
5:00 PM
END of SYMPOSIUM 2026
*Please see the following pages for workshop descriptions. Participants will be invited to choose one morning and one afternoon workshop to attend. No pre-registration is required for Day Two workshops.
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DAY TWO: Workshops Day Two is for coming together in plenary conversations and workshops. Curate your food for health adventure by choosing your own morning and afternoon workshops.
Morning Workshops Delicious Nutrition: Designing Menus That Feed People, Culture, and Planet Stephen Beckta, Ned Bell, Tiffany Chiang, Aissatou Nyode, Kelly Gordon, and Eleitha Bocksei 1A
How can healthcare menus become living demonstrations of planetary health? Explore plant-forward, seasonal, culturally meaningful, microbiome-supportive food that patients and staff actually want to eat. Featuring local and global examples, including Vancouver Coastal Health, Santé Québec Centre-Sud-de-l’Îlede-Montréal – Universitaire, and The Ottawa Hospital, this session looks at how menus can become instruments of healing, culture, and climate action. People-Centred Food: How to Maximize Engagement Elaine Chu, Liz Dalton, and Rick Powless
1B
Patients, residents, and clients experience food not as a procurement category, but as care, dignity, culture, comfort, and survival. What would healthcare food look like if it were designed around lived experience? Through practical examples and stories from the field, learn how to authentically centre the voices of patients and residents, maximize engagement in food service improvement, and gather feedback that leads to better meals. The session culminates in a hands-on food sampling fair, showcasing an engaging model for taste-testing and co-design that participants can easily replicate in their own organizations. Two-Row Foodways: Indigenous Food Access, Policy, and the Right to Nourishment Dr. Ojistoh Horn, Kitty RLynn Lickers, Moe Mathieu, Marissa Alexander, and Fiona Devereaux
1C
Traditional foods remain difficult to access in many healthcare settings, not because of lack of need or leadership, but because policy, food safety, procurement, and colonial systems still get in the way. Grounded in Two Row Wampum teachings, this workshop explores what must change to support Indigenous food sovereignty, cultural safety, and rightful access to traditional foods in health care settings.
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Afternoon Workshops Impact Purchasing: Capital Stack Coordination to Build the Missing Middle for Farm-to- Institution Laura Melly, Wendy Smith, Jesse Veenestra, and David Speight 2A
Health Care cannot buy local and sustainable food at scale if the infrastructure does not exist to aggregate, process, distribute, finance, and de-risk it. This applied workshop explores how health systems, schools, food hubs, farmers, policymakers, philanthropy, and investors can coordinate demand and capital to build resilient regional food value chains. Future-Proofing Through Food: Leadership, Accreditation, and Resilience Zayna Khayat, Myles Sergeant, Tiffany Kautz, John McGraw, Darcia Pope, and Amanda Laboucane
2B
With sustainability accreditation creating new momentum, growing expectations to support planetary health diets, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, and increasing recognition of food’s impact on patient outcomes, health systems have a timely opportunity to elevate food from an operational function to a strategic priority. This workshop explores how leaders can develop and position a food strategy as a cornerstone of future-ready health care. Examine emerging trends, strategic foresight, accreditation opportunities, and real-world examples of organizations embedding food within broader goals for health, sustainability, resilience, and community wellbeing. Together, we will explore a central question: what kind of food system will healthcare need ten years from now, and how do we begin building it today? Leading the Shift: The Human Side of Food Transformation Dr. Jeff Thompson, Kelly Gordon, and Dr. Annie Lalande
2C
Food is often the visible expression of deeper organizational culture. This workshop explores how healthcare leaders can cultivate trust, shared purpose, and collective ownership to make ambitious food system change possible. Through stories of successful transformation, participants will examine how to move from compliance and projects toward lasting cultural change. Featuring Dr. Jeff Thompson and other leaders who have led large-scale organizational transformation. How do we create the conditions for people to choose transformation rather than resist it?
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Become a Symposium 2026 Sponsor
For Nourish Symposium 2026, we’ve created a suite of sponsorship opportunities that make clear how your support is making an impact. For donations of every size, type (monetary or in-kind), we will work with your team to create a meaningful, aligned, and dynamic sponsorship opportunity. As a sponsor, you’re not just supporting the conversation - you’re making it possible. Join Nourish’s 2026 Symposium Sponsorship Team and position your organization at the forefront of meaningful change. Nourish welcomes conversations with partners interested in co-creating opportunities aligned with their values and impact goals.
Check out our Sponsorship Prospectus
Help Lift Our Work Nourish is driven by a mission to create lasting change in food and health systems, but we cannot do it alone. We invite you to join us by contributing to our cause. Every donation, whether big or small, plays a crucial role in elevating our work throughout the year.
Donate
Thank you to our sponsors for helping to bring Symposium 2026 to life.
Nourish thanks our funding partners for your ongoing support.
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Speakers, Moderators, and Guides Our list of speakers will be updated on an ongoing basis as speakers are confirmed.
Amanda LaBoucane is a Métis citizen and mother of two strong Métis-Ojibwe daughters. Born and raised on Coast Salish lands, her work focuses on transforming health care environments to address Indigenous-specific racism while fostering systems of care rooted in respect, reciprocity, kindness, courage, and accountability. Amanda currently serves as interim Vice President, Indigenous Health & Cultural Safety and Food & Clinical Dietitian Services with Fraser Health. She is passionate about creating healthcare systems that recognize food as medicine, nourishment, culture, connection, and healing. Her work reflects a deep commitment to reconciliation, relationshipbuilding, and ensuring safe, dignified, culturally informed, and person-centred care for all. Amanda holds a Master of Public Health and is completing her MBA at Simon Fraser University. Annie Lalande is a fifth-year General Surgery resident at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Dr. Lalande completed her medical degree at McGill University and earned her PhD in 2025 from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC. Her doctoral research explored how hospital food systems can improve patient nutrition while advancing environmental sustainability. At Vancouver General Hospital, she evaluated baseline menu performance, identifying gaps in patient satisfaction, nutritional adequacy, and high levels of food waste, alongside the environmental impact of animal-based proteins. She then led the development and evaluation of a novel planetary health menu. Her work demonstrates that plant-rich diets can be successfully integrated into acute care settings, with co-benefits for patient care and climate mitigation. Aissatou Ndoye is a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist and head of food services at Santé Québec du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-deMontréal – Universitaire where she leads food operations across three sites. What interests her the most is how food connects domains we usually keep apart such as clinical care, social life, the environment, population health, and what a One Health lens brings to how institutions feed people. Aissatou sees institutional food less as a service to run than as a place where these threads meet, and where small changes can ripple across several of them at once. She is part of Nourish's Delicious Nutrition Working Group, looking at how the way patients experience a meal can turn food into a therapeutic lever.
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Claire Kremen is the President’s Excellence Chair in Biodiversity with a joint appointment in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and in Zoology at University of British Columbia. Dr. Kreman is an ecologist and applied conservation biologist working on how to reconcile agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation. She has held faculty appointments at Princeton and Berkeley, where she was founding Faculty Director for the Center for Diversified Farming Systems and the Berkeley Food Institute. She worked for over a decade for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Xerces Society, designing protected area networks and conducting biodiversity research in Madagascar. Her work both then and now strives to develop practical conservation solutions while adding to biodiversity science. Dr. Kreman is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Conservation International and Field Chief Editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
Darcia Pope is VP Strategy, Innovation & Planetary Health at Vancouver Coastal Health where she draws on years of experience in health care, including roles in change leadership, information technology, strategy and transformation. In her current role, Darcia leads the Planetary Health Strategy for VCH. She believes that health professionals have a tremendous opportunity to protect those they serve from the impacts of climate change by working to create sustainable, climate-smart health systems.
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David Speight is the Executive Chef and Culinary Director at the University of British Columbia, where he leads one of Canada's largest campus dining programs with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and exceptional culinary experiences. With more than 30 years of professional experience, David is a certified Red Seal chef and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He has championed initiatives that advance local food purchasing, plantforward dining, and food waste reduction, while fostering strong community partnerships. A recipient of the UBC President's Staff Award for Leadership, David is passionate about using food as a catalyst for environmental stewardship, student wellbeing, and a more resilient food system.
Elaine Chu is a Registered Dietitian and Director of Food Services Transformation & Strategic Projects with Fraser Health in BC. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare food services, Elaine sees every meal as an opportunity to make a positive difference in the health of people and planet. This belief continues to guide her work and shapes how she approaches system design, decision‑making, and leadership. Elaine enjoys turning dreams into actions. Her areas of interest include using technology to improve process flow and service quality, advancing culinary medicine, embedding sustainability in hospital food service, and fostering meaningful cross‑sector collaboration. At the heart of Elaine’s work is a simple belief: every system, meal, and decision is a chance to improve the everyday experience of care and the environment we live in.
Elietha Bocksei Coming Soon
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Jeff Thompson is the former CEO of Gundersen Health System, pediatrician, and author of Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community. He was CEO of Gundersen Health System for 14 years, responsible for improving quality, lowering costs, and advancing care into the community. His long experience as an intensive care pediatrician and senior executive has shown him how leading from one’s values can affect tremendous lasting change. During Dr. Thompson’s tenure, Gundersen Health System decreased GHGs by 95% and hazardous pharmaceutical wastes by 98% - while decreasing the cost of care and improving the local economy. Gundersen was repeatedly recognized nationally for excellence in quality and cost-effectiveness. Dr. Thompson received the inaugural Practice Green Health Visionary Leader Award and was the only US provider to speak in the Blue Zone at the Paris Climate talks. He is a recipient of the White House Champions of Change Award.
John McGraw is Executive Vice President, Product Strategy and New Business at HSO and Accreditation Canada. He is an expert leader in the transformation of products and services with the aim of creating value at every stage of their life cycle. He leads HSO’s green strategy, including the Climate Action Benchmarking Tool, developed in partnership with the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care (CCGHC), through both pilot and launch.
Jesse Veenstra is Executive Director of Farm to Cafeteria Canada, Canada’s leading capacity-building organization working to build school food programs that align with the National School Food Policy. Before joining F2CC in 2018, Jesse spent a decade working in the BC health system supporting strategic transformation across the continuum of care at both Provincial Health Services Authority and Vancouver Coastal Health. She also served two terms on Vancouver’s Food Policy Council from 2017-2021. Jesse holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Nutraceutical Science and a Master’s of Science in Human Health and Nutrition, both from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Food Security from Toronto Metropolitan University.
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Julia MacLaren is a registered dietitian with over 19 years of experience, specializing in culinary medicine and nutrition interventions for behaviour change. She has practiced in mobile diabetes care for Indigenous populations with Health Canada; team-based primary care in Edmonton area Primary Care Networks; and undergraduate nutrition and interprofessional education at the University of Alberta. As the Alberta Health Services Wellness Kitchen Consultant, she developed a systemlevel culinary medicine model integrating interdisciplinary clinical care with practical food-skills intervention. Julia’s MSc research evaluated a culinary medicine adjunct to specialty care. Currently pursuing a PhD in Health Services Research, her doctoral work co-designs and evaluates an RCT of a culinary medicine intervention for individuals living in supportive and transitional housing. Julia co-leads Nourish’s Culinary Medicine Community of Practice. Internationally, she co-leads the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative’s Nutrition Committee. She combines clinical, systems, and research expertise to develop and evaluate practical, patient-centered dietary strategies.
Kelly Gordon has worked as a registered dietitian for over 20 years, focusing on community wellness. Kelly is Kanyen’keha (Mohawk) and a proud mother of two energetic teenagers. A McGill University graduate, she has strived to use her experience and knowledge to support well-being in Indigenous communities. Kelly works with McMaster University as the Associate Director at the Indigenous Health Learning Lodge. Previously, she worked with Six Nations of the Grand River at the Department of Wellbeing in various health leadership roles and as a community dietitian. Kelly is a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, teaching Indigenous Food Systems in Canada. She volunteers as a Nourish board director, co-chairs the Nourish Indigenous and Allies Advisory, and is a board director at Community Food Centres Canada. Kelly has presented and advocated to a variety of audiences speaking to how “food is a pathway towards reconciliation”. Her work focuses on honouring Indigenous knowledge and how it can be foundational, supporting community members on their journey towards their own wellness.
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Kitty RLynn Lickers is a Grandmother, Mother, Auntie, Friend, scholar, educator, and community-engaged practitioner whose interdisciplinary work focuses on Indigenous food sovereignty, Indigenous foodways, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and the relationships between land, food, culture, & community. She holds a BA in Contemporary Studies and an MA in Social Justice and Community Engagement, and teaches Traditional Ecological Knowledge at the university level. Her research and teaching engage land-based learning, Haudenosaunee food knowledge, Indigenous food systems, seed and agricultural practices, and community/generational knowledge transmission. Through her work with Nourish and the Food Is Our Medicine program, she contributes to community-engaged approaches that position food as a site of knowledge, cultural continuity, relationship, and social justice. This is because of her firm belief that everything is about connections and relationship.
Laura Howard is a food systems strategist and social entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience strengthening local food economies, community well-being, and food sovereignty. Founder of Delicata Consulting and former Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Collectif Récolte, she focuses on mobilizing capital, partnerships, and infrastructure to reinforce the “missing middle” of Canadian food systems. Laura co-founded Taking Root, recognized with the Governor General of Canada’s Meritorious Service Decoration in 2018. She also supports the development of the pan-Canadian First Bite Fund and is Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University’s Business Administration and Sustainability program.
Laura Melly applies her experience in systemic investing, corporate finance, and strategic planning as an impact investor, ecosystem builder, and change catalyst, primarily to bolster Canada’s food resiliency. She identifies gaps, assesses a system’s leverage points, and co-creates priority interventions with collaborators. She has been involved in multiple scales and systems, ranging from global institutions to venture start-ups, charities, and community-led enterprises. With dual US-Canadian citizenship, she brings a cross-border perspective, networking, fundraising, and market development.
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Liena Pow is the Regional Manager of Food Service Transformation & Strategic Projects at Vancouver Coastal Health. A project management professional (PMP) with 10 years experience in food service management, Liena previously operationalized the Planetary Health Menu Project, an innovative pilot that reduced greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable procurement, introduced plant-based menu options, and raised awareness of the environmental impact of dietary choices while bringing diverse teams together to ensure seamless execution across departments. Liena's current focus is scaling this success across the region, embedding culturally responsive, climateconscious practices throughout the healthcare system.
Marissa Alexander is Executive Director of Food Secure Canada and founder of UpRoot Consulting. A registered dietitian who is passionate about anti-racism, food security, and equity, she combined those passions when completing her Master’s of Interdisciplinary Studies, Equity & Culture focus. Living and working on the traditional and unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, she has had the honour of working alongside First Nations communities in northern B.C. 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 dogs. 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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Maurice (Moe) Mathieu is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada, holding credentials in Culinary Arts and an Applied Degree in Culinary Operations. A certified Red Seal Chef and former Chef Instructor, Moe has built an extensive career in culinary leadership, nutrition, and food systems. Previously, he served as the Director of Nutrition for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, where he played a key role in advancing nutrition services and healthcare food programs. A proud Saskatchewan Métis citizen, Moe currently serves as the Food Security Coordinator for the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S), supporting initiatives that strengthen food security, food education, and food sovereignty across Métis communities. Passionate about sustainable food systems and community wellbeing, Moe is dedicated to empowering people through food knowledge and local food production. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys gardening and is always experimenting with ways to grow the world's best-tasting tomato.
Myles Sergeant is a family physician with 25 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, including new immigrants, refugees, individuals experiencing homelessness and addiction, and the elderly. He is dedicated to addressing the intersection of environmental issues and health. In 2023, he became the Executive Director for the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare. Dr. Sergeant also serves as co-lead of Partnerships for Environmental Action by Communities within Healthcare Systems (PEACH Health Ontario), is co-founder of Trees for Hamilton, and was the founding Medical Director of the Shelter Health Network in 2005. He is Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University. Dr. Sergeant collaborates with healthcare professionals and institutions to implement sustainable healthcare solutions and has launched national committees on sustainable procurement, food systems, and prescribing.
Ned Bell is a Canadian chef, keynote speaker, and sustainable food systems advocate based in British Columbia. Born in the Okanagan, he connects great food with environmental responsibility, focusing on responsible sourcing, food security, and the future of sustainable dining. Ned is co-owner of Hatch Hospitality, Creative Advisor for the Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism at Okanagan College, a Buy BC Champion and Ambassador, and Co-Chair of Sustainability at the Chefs’ Table Society. He is also the only Canadian chef member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force and is the author of Lure: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the West Coast. Follow along @nedbell on Instagram.
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Ojistoh Kahnawahere Horn is Kanienkeha:ka. Her mother is from Kahnawake, Québec and her father is from Akwesasne, which saddles the borders of Ontario, Québec, and New York State. Dr. Horn (MSc, MD, CCFP) works as a family physician taking care of her people through all stages of the lifecycle. Supervising medical students and family medicine residents during their rural rotations in Akwesasne, she emphasizes the complexities of providing primary care to Indigenous peoples and their communities. Drawing on both Western and traditional paradigms, working with like-minded physicians across the country and with a focus on the effects of the environment and pollution on health, Dr. Horn promotes the inclusion and support of traditional knowledge and “ways of being” in a framework for providing holistic and primary care to her people. Rick Powless (Lakhwawˀyʌ^hu meaning “good cook”) is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. He is a member of the Onʌyoteˀaká (Oneida Nation of the Thames, or “People of the Standing Stone”), Ohkwali (Bear Clan). He is a Red Seal Chef with over 35 years of industry experience. Chef Powless is a fourthyear PhD student in Education at York University, where his research focuses on food insecurity and the uneven economic disparities it creates. He is also focused on traditional Indigenous foods and food sources and their effects on our mental health. He focuses on diet, health, the environment, and their relationships. In promoting traditional foodways, it becomes apparent that the social and physical environment plays a key role in nourishing our minds, bodies, and spirits.
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Shannon Waters is Coast Salish and a member of Stz’uminus First Nation on Vancouver Island. Dr. Waters was honoured to work in her home territory as a family doctor, but became largely frustrated with the health system's focus on sickness and instead chose to focus on what keeps us well. She completed her specialty training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and has worked in this field federally, provincially, and at First Nations organizations. In 2017, Dr. Waters was honoured to come full circle and work in her home territory as the local Medical Health Officer with Island Health. Her priorities in her work were connection to the environment, mental wellness, and maternal / child / family health. In 2024, Dr. Waters became the first ever Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Planetary and Water Health in the province of British Columbia.
Stephen Beckta is the President of the Beckta Restaurant Group, which includes Beckta, one of Canada’s premier fine dining restaurants, along with the critically acclaimed, upscale neighbourhood restaurant Gezellig, and Curated By Beckta, which offers custom-curated wine packages alongside fine dining meal kits and in-home catering. Most recently, Stephen was hired by The Ottawa Hospital to develop an innovative food service program to enhance patient nutrition and experience, while positively impacting recovery times. Their 2025 trial at the General Campus won the Ontario Cancer Innovation award, and they plan to complete the transformation for the entire hospital in 2026, while finalizing the food service design for the new campus at Dow’s Lake, opening in the coming years.
Tiffany Chiang, RD (she/her) is the Director of Food Service Transformation and Strategic Projects at Vancouver Coastal Health, where she leads strategic initiatives that advance the future of food services across acute and long-term care settings. With over a decade of leadership experience, Tiffany is passionate about leveraging food as a tool to improve health outcomes while supporting environmental sustainability. She has helped lead initiatives focused on enhancing the patient dining experience and advancing sustainable healthcare food systems, including patient-centred meal service innovations, planetary health menus, local food procurement, and food waste reduction. Her work brings together patient care, operational excellence, and environmental stewardship to create healthier and more resilient food systems. Outside her role, Tiffany is dedicated to mentorship and community engagement. She is co-founder of UBC Nutrikids and a proud mother of two energetic boys.
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Tiffany Kautz is Vice President, Client Services at Accreditation Canada. Since 2021, she has contributed to national and international efforts to support health organizations in their accreditation and quality improvement journeys. She also serves as an Accreditation Canada Surveyor. With a health care career spanning more than two decades, Tiffany has held leadership roles in executive hospital administration, nursing, and quality and patient safety. Her experience spans a wide range of clinical domains, where her work has consistently focused on advancing health service transformation and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. A Registered Nurse by training, Tiffany brings broad clinical experience to her leadership, spanning various care settings and patient populations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s in Health Studies with a focus on Leadership. She is certified in quality and patient safety and holds additional credentials in change management. Tiffany is passionate about enabling care excellence and is recognized for her ability to build trust and engagement through thoughtful dialogue and collaborative leadership.
Trevor Hancock, Hon FFPH (UK) is a public health physician and a 'retired' Professor of Public Health at the University of Victoria. The relationship between the environment and health has been a focus of Dr. Hancock’s career for 50 years. Thirty years ago, he was a co-founder of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and 25 years ago he co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Ten years ago, he led a Canadian Public Health Association working group that produced a seminal report on the ecological determinants of health. He is currently a leading member of the IUHPE's Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health and the Interim Convenor of an emerging Canadian health sector coalition, the Canadian Coalition for Planetary Health and a Wellbeing Society.
Food offers a straightforward, and delicious way for health care providers to improve planetary health. Coolfood is a globally-recognized, user-friendly way to quantify the climate impact of food, created by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and shared with Canadian hospitals in partnership with Nourish. Learn more by visiting nourishleadership/programs/planetaryhealth NourishLeadership.ca
Valerie Palda is General Internist at St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health), Clinical Epidemiologist and the Faculty Lead, Planetary Health, for the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Beyond the hospital, Dr. Palda is a regenerative farmer who has seen firsthand that how we grow food and what we eat is inseparable from human health and from the health of our planet.
Zayna Khayat, Ph.D. is the Chief Program Officer at AMS Healthcare, where she leads the strategic design and delivery of the organization’s flagship programs in Artificial Intelligence & Compassion and the History of Healthcare. Zayna is also adjunct faculty in the Health Sector Strategy stream at the Rotman School of Management and serves as the in-house health futurist with Deloitte Canada’s Healthcare practice. Zayna earned her PhD in diabetes research from the University of Toronto. A recognized voice on health system transformation, she advises health technology companies across Canada and internationally. She serves as board chair with Nourish.
Looking for a simple way to brief your colleagues, supervisor, or team on attending Symposium 2026? Download our handy one-page flyer.
Food Is Health Infrastructure A policy framework for healthy, sustainable food in Canadian Health Care After a decade of working alongside healthcare leaders to transform food in hospitals and long-term care, Nourish presents a clear set of policy recommendations for governments. Healthcare leaders have advanced this work within the limits of existing mandates and resources; sustained government leadership is now required to embed it across the health system. Learn more by visiting nourishleadership/programs/policy.
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Fostering a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between Indigenous foodways, Truth and Reconciliation, healing, and health care. Where are you on your reconciliation journey? As a nation, we are behind on our commitments. Deepen your personal and organizational journey to fulfill the TRC’s Calls to Action by signing up for 2026-27 Food is Our Medicine. Food is Our Medicine empowers health care providers to harness the power of food as a pathway to Truth and Reconciliation. The program is a unique opportunity to explore the intersections of food, culture, and healthcare. You’ll learn how to incorporate Indigenous foodways and culturally mindful approaches into your practice, fostering better health outcomes for all. Six Interactive Virtual Learning Circles: Shared space to unlearn, ask questions, and hear directly from Indigenous leaders in sessions guided by Nourish and members of the Indigenous and Allies Advisory. Honour Indigenous Knowledge: Deepen your understanding of how to respect and uphold Indigenous traditions while contributing to the ongoing journey of Truth and Reconciliation. Decolonize Health Care: Learn how to challenge systemic inequities and create a more equitable and just health care system. Improve Outcomes: Increase your abilities to enhance nutrition, reduce illness, and support patient healing through the power of food. Learn more at nourishleadership/programs/foodisourmedicine.
“Getting the opportunity to join Nourish’s Food is Our Medicine learning journey has been incredibly important and meaningful to me as a European settler and practicing dietitian in Canada. I feel the content is essential knowledge that all healthcare workers need, and I honestly wish it had been part of my formal education earlier. This truly didn't feel like joining an online course, but rather joining a community with the shared goal of learning, unlearning, and advancing reconciliation in health care.” Alex Kamp, MAN, RD | Registered Dietitian, Gordon Food Service
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Nourish Awards The Nourish Awards celebrate leadership and honour both longstanding changemakers and emergent voices in food-health transformation. Awards are given in both individual and organizational categories.
Margaret Edgars Reconciliation Award In honour of Margaret Edgars, who passed into the Spirit World in summer 2023, Nourish created the Margaret Edgars Reconciliation Award. The award is presented to individuals or organizations advancing Indigenous foodways in community and health care settings. These actions include acknowledging the history, land, and water in ways that create positive, lasting impacts for future generations. This also includes what Margaret always kept front and centre in our conversations: the importance of “putting the love in food.”
Nourish Planetary Plate Award The Nourish Planetary Plate Award recognizes those advancing the health of people and planet through thoughtful, systemic leadership in organizational food practices. Recipients demonstrate leadership in reducing the environmental impact of food in healthcare settings; advance climate-conscious food strategies that are culturally appropriate, nourishing, and rooted in equity and care; and, inspire change within and beyond their institution through education, collaboration, or innovation in planetary health.
Nourish Anchor Leadership Award The Nourish Anchor Leadershp Award recognizes bold leadership that harnesses the power of food to create resilient, equitable, and community-rooted health systems. Recipients of this award show courage and vision in making food a central strategy for health, economic justice, and community wellbeing. They leverage institutional influence, build authentic partnerships, and make bold policy and procurement choices to support regional economies, build food sovereignty, and strengthen local food ecosystems.
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We are so pleased to be able to recognize this year’s individual and team award recipients, to be announced at the Awards Ceremony at Symposium 2026.
Above (L) Remembering Margaret Edgars. Above (R) Michelle Stranges of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, recipient of the 2025 Nourish Anchor Leadership Award. Below The Planetary Health Menu Project Team at Vancouver Coastal Health, recipient of the 2025 Nourish Planetary Plate Award.
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2026 Food for Health Symposium Program
October 7-8, 2026