Steve Groff

Steve Groff is a regenerative agricultural expert who has been educating farmers, agriculture influencers, and investors around the world how to implement short term regenerative agriculture practices in the context of long-term goals. He has taught all over the U.S and Canada and in a dozen other countries.

Steve is developer of the Tillage Radish which is credited to be a spark plug for the current worldwide cover crop movement.

He published a book “The Future-Proof Farm; Changing Mindsets in a Changing World” that is available at SteveGroff.com.

Steve is a thought leader but what sets him apart is that he is grounded in the realities of modern agriculture in that he manages his 200-acre farm using the regenerative agricultural principles that he teaches.

Alex Cadel

Alex Cadel is the Climate Services Specialist for Nova Scotia, working in a shared role between the provincial Department of Environment & Climate Change and CLIMAtlantic, the climate services hub for Atlantic Canada. Alex’s work involves supporting Nova Scotians in accessing, understanding, and applying information about climate change. Alex holds a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph and a Master of Climate Change from the University of Waterloo.

Jim Abraham

Jim has spent over 45 years involved in weather, water and climate.  He is currently a Fellow and Past President of the Canadian Meteorological & Oceanographic Society (CMOS President from 2021 to 2023).  He is well known nationally and internationally and is frequently invited as an expert by the media and an invited speaker by a variety of organizations.

His most proud accomplishment was starting the Canadian hurricane forecast and research program, which included lead investigator for several reconnaissance flights into hurricanes threatening Canada…  and he survived.

Jim was awarded the Patterson Medal for Meteorology in 2003 and the Queens Jubilee Medal in 2013.

Michelle Lynn D’Souza, PhD

Michelle Lynn D’Souza is the Research and Innovation Manager for Global Agriculture Sustainability at McCain Foods in Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick and a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Guelph, Ontario. With expertise in establishing research priorities, leading innovation, and forging strategic partnerships, Michelle drives research and innovation outcomes that enhance sustainability and industry competitiveness at McCain. She has a PhD from the University of Guelph, specializing in molecular ecology and biodiversity conservation with a decade plus of expertise leading and collaborating on international research initiatives that improve the outcomes of communities whose livelihoods are dependent on the ecosystems around them. Her mission is to create a lasting positive impact on the intersection of business and biodiversity.

Rosalie Gillis-Madden

Rosalie Gillis-Madden has been a Certified Crop Adviser since 2010 and a Professional Agrologist with the Nova Scotia Institute of Agrologists since 2014. She has a B.Sc. from McGill University and a M.Sc. from Dalhousie University where she studied the nitrogen dynamics of novel green manures in Eastern Canada.

She started working in extension with the University of Vermont Extension in 2009, working predominantly with dairy systems and field crops. Joining Perennia Food and Agriculture as Nova Scotia’s Vegetable Specialist in 2015, Rosalie became the On-Farm Climate Action Fund Technical Project Manager in 2022, supporting farmers and agronomists in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador in sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gases through improved nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing.

Rosalie joined the Farmers for Climate Solutions team in August 2023, where she strives to support farmers and the agriculture industry in being environmentally and economically sustainable. She is passionate about soil health and supporting informed decision-making to enable the adoption of beneficial management practices that are suitable to each farm and business model.