BOARD MEMBERS
The board of directors provides overall management. The board is made up of organic farmers, organic grain companies, Prairie organic association representatives, a researcher, Prairie government organic specialists, and a member-at-large.
Martin Meinert
President
Farmer, SK
Throughout Martin's farming career he grew organic cereals, pulses, perennials, oilseeds and spices. He was involved with various organic research projects through Organic Canada, ADOPT and SPARC.
Martin was the Past President of OCIA Research and Education and the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD), Treasurer of SaskOrganics, TCO Board member and Finance Committee member, and a member of the Organic Advisory Committee at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre.
In non-farming life, Martin was a CPA with experience in accounting, tax, consulting and AgriStability.
Marika Dewar-Norosky
Vice President
Manitoba Organics
Marika is the Executive Director of Manitoba Organics. With a degree in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba and a strong connection to organic farming, Marika brings a unique blend of expertise and experience.
Growing up on an organic grain farm in Western Manitoba, Marika developed a deep-rooted passion for sustainability and a strong desire to feed the world responsibly. Marika advocates for regenerative farming practices, promotes organic certification, and fosters partnerships within the industry. Beyond their professional achievements, Marika finds joy in exploring nature and actively participating in community initiatives. Continuously expanding their knowledge in sustainability, they stay at the forefront of advancements in the field.
Vacant
Secretary/Treasurer
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Tracey Smith
Organic Alberta
Tracey is the Executive Director at Organic Alberta. With a rich blend of academic depth and entrepreneurial flair, brings invaluable experience to Organic Alberta. Most recently, Tracey was at the University of Alberta, where she made significant strides in honey bee research during her two-year graduate tenure.
Prior to academia, Tracey founded Beanstalk Honey, a thriving beekeeping and honey sales enterprise, fostering connections in Alberta’s agricultural community for over a decade. Her commitment to sharing knowledge led her to organize workshops, speak at conferences, and mentor others.
With expertise spanning conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, and bee biology, Tracey’s leadership at Organic Alberta is enriched by her multidisciplinary background. Her board roles in non-profits reflect her dedication to industry advancement.
With a vision for innovation and sustainability, Tracey is primed to lead Organic Alberta toward new heights, driven by her diverse skill set and steadfast community engagement.
Will Oddie
Farmer, SK
Will and his wife Elaine operate a farm northwest of Regina SK, that has been certified organic since 1991. Their production has focussed on growing a variety of field cash crops with rotations that have included alfalfa and sweet clover for saleable forage and plowdown. They have experimented with a variety of crops and techniques including cover cropping and intercropping. Recently they have incorporated the use of a neighbour's livestock (sheep and cattle) into the operation, with the hope of being able to graze throughout the whole growing season and beyond. The farm has been involved in an ADOPT project focusing on thistle control and has hosted multiple field days.
Will has extensive involvement in the organic community at several levels including being a past and current Board member for his certifying chapter TCO SK #4, an Executive and Board member for OCIA International, a past-president of both SOD (predecessor to SaskOrganics) and current president of SaskOrganics.
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Donna Ell
Farmer, SK
Donna grew up farming with her father, and she and her husband have now been farming together for 40 years. They farm 800 acres on land that, while currently used for agriculture, is the traditional Treaty 4 territory of Indigenous peoples. They are proud members of the Treaty Land Sharing Network and welcome Indigenous people onto the land they farm to gather medicines, hunt, fish, and practice ceremony.
Alongside farming, Donna spent many years in education, teaching senior mathematics and science, serving as the Math and Science Consultant for the Regina Catholic School Division, and working as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Regina until her retirement in 2022.
They have been farming organically since 2016 and achieved Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) in 2025. Their approach is guided by core principles that include minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing crop diversity, maintaining living roots year-round, and keeping the soil covered to support long-term soil health. They have grown a wide variety of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and forages, with a strong focus on soil health and long-term sustainability.
Donna brings extensive experience, serving on boards and committees for not-for-profit organizations, through her roles as president, vice president, and treasurer. These roles have strengthened my expertise in governance, financial insight, grant acquisition, and fundraising.
Andy Wagman
Farmer, AB
Andy, an ROC-certified farmer near Medicine Hat, has been producing organically since the 1990s. His farm includes irrigation, dryland, grazing, intercropping, cover crops, and on-farm grain separation. He raises cattle year-round using low-intervention methods, maintains pollinator habitats, and uses a weed zapper for invasive plant control.
Mark Vetsch
Farmer, AB
Bio unavailable.
Carrie-Anne Palmeri
Funder/Nature's Path
Carrie-Anne Palmeri resides in northern Vermont & central Mexico and currently serves as Organic Program Manager for Nature’s Path Foods, North America’s largest organic breakfast and snack food company, which produces Organic & Regenerative Organic Alliance certified foods sold around the world. Carrie-Anne has devoted her career to furthering regenerative & organic agricultural development on a global scale, with particular focus in Latin America, through diverse roles in the private & governmental sectors of organic regulation, public advocacy & public education. In her free time, she finds deep pleasure in mountaineering & gardening.
Scott Shiels
Funder/ Grain Millers
Scott Shiels has been in the grain industry since 1992, and has been the Canadian Grain Procurement Manager for Grain Millers since 2017. Scott grew up in the small farming community of Killarney, in southwestern Manitoba, and started his career with Paterson Grain in that same area of the province. He has been in Saskatchewan since 1996, and recently moved to an acreage outside of Yorkton. He and his wife Jenn have 5 children, along with 3 dogs and 3 cats.
Joanne Thiessen Martens
Researcher
Joanne Thiessen Martens is an assistant professor of soil chemistry and fertility in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba. Her research focuses on nutrient flows in agroecosystems, especially phosphorus dynamics in soils and plants as well as nutrient dynamics in all kinds of diversified farming systems. Much of her research and extension work has targeted organic and low-input systems, including phosphorus management and nutrient budgeting on organic farms. She lives in Winnipeg with her husband and two young adult children and enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time in the great outdoors.
Dunling Wang
Government, SK
Dunling is the Provincial Specialist, Alternative Cropping Systems in the Crops and Irrigation Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture in Regina. His major responsibility is to provide advice and technical support to alternative cropping systems producers, particularly those who are farming organically. His expertise includes soil fertility management, crop rotation and organic crop rotation design. Dunling obtained a BSc in soil science from Nanjing Agricultural University in China and received an MSc and PhD from the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to Government, Dunling worked as a research scientist at the Natural Research Council of Canada on water treatment and quality monitoring in municipal water infrastructure.