Board of Directors

Current Board of Directors

Kevin Klippenstein- Chair
Kevin is co-owner of Klippers Organic Acres, a working farm, restaurant, cidery, and on farm guest suites. He grew up in the Lower Mainland with a passion for hospitality, and at the age of 26 moved to Cawston with his wife, Annamarie, with the desire to grow healthy, living food for themselves and their customers.

Together they took their original 5 acres and have now expanded to 60 acres of both fruit and vegetables. They added guest suites, a cidery, farm store, and an award winning restaurant. They were recognized in 2011 as Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers.  Over the last 20 years of building the farm to what it is today Kevin has sat on the board of directors for Vancouver Farmers Markets, Chair of the Organic Farming Institute, Chair of the BC Turkey Marketing Board, on numerous committees and is currently sitting as Chair of the BC Chicken Marketing Board.

He strives to foster innovation daily and is continually working on partnerships with Vancouver chefs, and fostering new relationships and connections with people from all different fields.

Lana Shipley – Vice Chair
Lana grew up in the Fraser Valley, where she spent summers shelling peas and eating carrots fresh out of the dirt in her parents’ large backyard garden and picking enormous buckets of strawberries and raspberries with her siblings at local farms. She has been a regular customer of Vancouver Farmers Markets for over 20 years and still gets excited to see the first greens in the spring, the first peaches in the summer, the first butternut squashes in the fall and the first Brussels sprouts in the winter. Lana is proud to be part of an organization that is so integral to our city, providing opportunities for engagement with local and regional farmers, producers and artisans and giving back to the community through programs like the Fresh to Families Fund.

Lana practices corporate and commercial law at Lawson Lundell LLP in downtown Vancouver, and specializes in the areas of energy, environmental and Indigenous law. She has an undergraduate degree in Bio-Resource Engineering from the University of British Columbia with a focus on soil management and irrigation and drainage systems and planning, and worked for three years with undergraduate students as a Residence Life Manager in the UBC Residence Life program prior to law school.

Geneviève Blanchet – Secretary
Geneviève was born and raised in the eastern country side of Québec surrounded by maple trees, apple orchards and vegetable gardens. At an early age, she was introduced to foraging wild plants and harvesting fruits and vegetables from her family’s land. Through this experience, her passion for food was born. In different capacities, much of her life has been spent around food; she is a registered holistic nutritionist, recipe developer and owner of Le Meadow’s Pantry, handcrafted preserves inspired by the season and award winning marmalades. Geneviève has been a vendor at the Vancouver Farmers Market for almost 10 years and chair of the Vendor Advisory Committee; she understands the importance of community and is dedicated to making strong connections between farmers, small business owners and VFM.

Bree Hayden
As a passionate advocate for sustainable food systems and community connection, Bree is thrilled at the opportunity to serve on the Vancouver Farmers Markets Board of Directors! Many of you know her from her dedicated journey with VFM, as a loyal shopper, enthusiastic volunteer, Riley Park Summer Market Manager, and ultimately, Development Manager until October 2023. Her heart is deeply rooted here.

Currently, as Manager of Philanthropy for Chor Leoni, Bree leverages her proven track record in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and strategic relationship building to foster thriving communities. Bree’s governance experience includes serving as Chair of the Board at City Gate Co-op, equipping her with essential insights into effective non-profit governance, collaborative leadership, and inclusive decision-making. Additionally, her active membership on Vancouver’s Food Policy Council aligns seamlessly with VFM’s mission to strengthen regional food systems and food security.

Bree is excited about contributing expertise in fundraising, governance, and community engagement to further VFM’s vision. It is an honour to continue growing and nourishing our vibrant local markets together!

Jeremy Dyson
Jeremy currently runs programming for a non-profit agency called GROWcery Food Network Society that focuses on empowering people to grow their own food. Last year the organization created a modern sub-irrigated community garden in New Westminster with a group of participants who were retraining for the workforce. The project also included trainee landscaper positions from a temporary housing complex that the garden backs onto, where each trainee also grew a food garden.

Prior to his work with GROWcery Food Network, he managed programs for Western Canada Community Projects, including First Nations racing canoe building programs. Tapping into his film and photography background, he has produced a short documentary on intergenerational knowledge transfer within a local canoe carving family that is currently playing film festivals world-wide.

Jeremy obtained his degree in environmental geography from UBC and has pursued various passions since graduation including producing films, commercial photography, and more recently has turned his attention towards food security initiatives. Previous volunteer work includes 7 years on the Vancouver Aids Memorial Society and 3 years with the Pacific Club Vancouver. This is his first board position since becoming a parent.

Jeremy lives in North Vancouver with his wife, 2 kids and 2 cats and spends a lot of time in the Cariboo.

Monique Pongracic-Speier

Monique is a long-time attendee of the markets.  She started with the Trout Lake market in its early days and went on to the monthly winter market at the Wise Hall, the fledgling West End Market and, more recently, the markets at Kits and Riley Park.  Monique believes that forging connections between local producers and consumers builds solidarity and makes for healthier, more resilient communities.

In her day-to-day life, she is a litigation lawyer at Ethos Law Group LLP, where she focuses on constitutional, administrative and Aboriginal law.  Monique has a long history of advising and representing organizations in the not-for-profit sector.  She hopes to combine her skills with her passion for good food and strong communities, in service of the Vancouver Farmers Markets and the people the markets bring together.

Ramneek Kingra
Ramneek Kingra is the Operations Manager at Mandair Farms, a family-run farm based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Originally from Squamish, Ramneek moved to the Fraser Valley to pursue an undergraduate degree in Science—a move that serendipitously introduced her to the world of farming. What began as a casual summer job helping her now brother-in-law, Sajan, at local farmers markets soon blossomed into a full-time passion and career.

At Mandair Farms, Ramneek wears many hats. From marketing, sales, and bookkeeping to fieldwork and jam making, she is deeply involved in all aspects of the farm’s operations. Her dedication to sustainable farming and community engagement is reflected in every role she takes on, as she strives to promote fresh, locally grown produce throughout the Lower Mainland.

Beyond the farm, Ramneek continues to advocate for local food systems through her roles on the boards of both the Squamish and Whistler Farmers Markets. She brings her experience, insight, and unwavering enthusiasm to support and strengthen the local farming community.

Ramneek’s journey from science student to agricultural leader is a testament to her adaptability, passion, and commitment to meaningful, community-rooted work.

Sarah Mackenzie

Sarah Mackenzie is a dedicated food systems advocate in both professional and personal life. Having connected with farmers markets as a lifelong shopper, a former farmer-vendor in the Sea to Sky corridor, Sarah is now a weekly shopper at the Vancouver Farmers Markets.

Sarah is currently working as the Education and Curriculum Manager for Canadian Organic Growers, supporting farmers and farm-advisors through education, resource development, and program/extension event planning. Over the past five years in the non-profit sector, Sarah has worked closely with boards and staff teams on governance, strategic planning and policy engagement.

Before joining COG, Sarah was a vegetable farmer in Pemberton and sold at weekly markets in Pemberton, Squamish, and Whistler. Upon returning to the city, Sarah worked with Sole Food Street Farms, deepening connection to the local food system and the urban context of growing/selling produce.