Chair
Jelena Putnik
Decades of experience with local food production, project management and regulation.
Treasurer
Janeen Sam
Secretary
Lisette Chevalier
Lisette Chevalier joined the Board of Directors in 2018 with a background in business administration and operations. She moved here in 2010 after leaving the financial industry and her hometown of Vancouver BC. Lisette is profoundly influenced and inspired by time spent volunteering on organic farms across Europe and the USA with the WWOOF program. In 2013, when her child was born, Lisette became even more clear about the importance of living in community and growing the food that nourishes a family. Lisette currently works in management at raw organic vegan Cafe Bliss and teaches yoga at Found City Yoga. In her spare time, she likes experimenting with gardening, playing with friends and family, practicing yoga, studying, and painting. As a long time fan of the good work done by Victoria’s Compost Education Centre, Lisette is thrilled to serve and support the organization. She remains eager to learn more about gardening, composting and soil health!
Members at large
Kay Hebbourn
Kay moved to Victoria from the UK in August 2017 where she was very involved in many permaculture projects and initiatives. She returned to Canada after a 30-year stint in England and was delighted to find the compost education center. She is a soil geek, passionate about grassroots growing initiatives and anything to do with living sustainably. She just finished doing a ‘No Spend Year’ having pledged to spend money only on needs (hers or the needs of others) for a whole year and about to embark on a plastic-free year. She has a background in health and digital marketing, is currently studying Ayurveda and teaches community yoga classes at Moksanna in Victoria.
Megan Chan
Megan is a student studying environmental studies and geography at the University of Victoria which is situated on the lands of unceded Coast Salish Territories, specifically of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ. Her interest in food systems sparked in her first year at UVic where she got involved with the Community Cabbage, a group that weekly diverts food from the waste stream and serves it for free at the university. This interest for food systems grew as she got a job working with CRFAIR for the summers where she has learned and is continuing to learn about the local food system. Now going into her third year she is returning to work for the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability and is working on topics related to food and sustainability in the University. Her passion for sustainable food systems has made her very excited to be a new board member of the Compost Education Center.
Tamara Summers
Director of Compliance for Victoria-based, venture-funded tech start-up, HYAS Infosec Inc., is a New Jersey transplant who simply adores being outdoors. Since moving to Victoria in 2010, she has become an active gardener. Combined with her love of food, avid gardening drove Tamara to learn, primarily through the CEC’s outstanding adult workshops, about composting, food-preservation and fermentation. A member of the Compost Education Centre’s Board of Directors since December 2013, Tamara brings to the table her legal background, desire to continuously promote and improve sustainable urban living practices, and knowledge of project management best-practices to the CEC’s governance. Additionally, she is the Co-Chair of the Esquimalt Community Garden Society’s Steering Committee and Treasurer for the West Coast Toastmasters Chapter of Toastmasters International. Being a bit of an adrenaline-junkie, outside of gardening and cooking, her passions lie in rock-climbing, surfing, ski-touring and practically any other adventure that comes her way.
Capital Regional District Representative
Avril Gilmour Ford
The current board of directors were elected at our last Annual General Meeting in June 2019. Terms run for two year. Elections are scheduled for our next AGM in June 2020. To discuss opportunities with the Board of Directors, please contact us.