Back row: Margaret Walton, Collette Aeschlimann, Peter Peeters, Bernard Pope.
Front row: Bethanee Jensen, Mark Reusser, Mike Douglas, Megan Mills.
(Absent from photo: Judy Coward, Matt Colley, Spencer McDonald, Sara Epp.)
If you are interested in joining our Board of Directors, please contact us.
Margaret Walton: Chair
Margaret is a partner in PLANSCAPE, a planning firm that specializes in planning for rural and recreational lands and small communities. Margaret is considered a leading expert in agricultural planning, with over 30 years of practice in developing planning policies to support the agricultural sector, specifically in areas subject to urban growth pressures. Margaret has worked for all of the Regions, and a number of municipalities, in the GGH developing policies to sustain their agricultural communities. She is a proponent of a comprehensive systems-based approach to planning for agriculture that recognizes the need for flexibility and economic success for the sector to flourish. She is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI).
Peter Peeters: Vice Chair
Peter owns and operates his family beef farm in Omemee. His cattle, Pinzgauers, are a novelty in the area with their distinctive markings and docile nature. Peter is also a Board Director of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, and serves on the Victoria Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Victoria Beef Producers, and Peterborough ALUS.
Megan Mills: Secretary, Chair of the Land Securement & Stewardship Committee
With a background in ecology and as a member of the Law Society of Ontario, Megan has practiced law with a focus on property and boundary issues and has also worked as a policy advisory to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. She joined the OFT board in 2017 and has enjoyed working on a range of projects from land stewardship to governance. Currently, Megan is based out of Guelph Ontario where she works as a legal researcher and writer and is an avid hiker and gardener.
Bethanee Jensen: Treasurer, Chair of the Fundraising Committee
Bethanee is an accountant and a semi-retired sheep farmer near Brussels. She grew up in a farming family and always knew she wanted to be a farmer. She is a breeder of purebred Dorsets, sells freezer lamb, sheep skins and wool blankets, and also raises egg and meat hens. She is also on the board of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario and the Huron District Christian Farmers Association.
Bernard Pope: Director, Past Chair
Bernard is the Executive Director of Ontario Farmland Preservation, and the former Vice President of the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture. He has been surrounded by agriculture his entire life. His passion for protecting farmland stems from his childhood, growing up on and working on his parent’s farm, where he built a strong connection to the land.
Read more about Bernard’s connection to farmland here.
Sara Epp: Director
Sara is the Assistant Professor in Rural Planning & Development at the University of Guelph and a long-time supporter of OFT. Sara has a PhD in Rural Studies focused in Land Use Planning from the University of Guelph. Skilled in Rural Development, Sustainability, Data Analysis, Agriculture, and Research, she brings a wealth of knowledge to the board. Sara has participated in past Farmland Forums as a panelist, as well as an emcee and facilitator.
Judy Coward: Director
Judy has an extensive background in policy and economic development. Having recently retired, Judy had a successful career as the Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor for OMAFRA in the Peterborough area. Combining her experiences growing up on a farm in Lindsay Ontario, with her vast knowledge of municipal planning, zoning policies, rural economic development, and her experiences working with municipalities, the province, various agricultural and horticultural societies, rural businesses and farming communities, Judy has an astute way of seeing all sides on the topic of farmland protection.
Spencer McDonald: Director
Spencer is a Registered Professional Planner with an interest in agricultural communities, urban centres and the natural environment. He has worked in a variety of conservation planning and land use planning roles. Currently working as a development planner, and teaching planning courses to post-secondary students, Spencer is passionate about life-long learning, and seeks to find ways to improve local and provincial policy in order to better protect farmland, while also allowing communities to grow and prosper.
Matthew Colley: Director, Chair of the Policy and Education Committee
Matthew is a Development Planner with the Region of Waterloo. His passions are focused on community planning while ensuring the long-term protection of our agricultural resources. Matthew has been volunteering with OFT in varying capacities over the past several years.
Collette Aeschlimann: Director
Collette and her family immigrated to Canada to pursue dairy farming, so agriculture has been a fortunate constant in her life. She feels that naturally, those limbs branch out to growing an appreciation for nature and conservation. She is an avid hiker and enjoys the outdoors. Somedays, if the weather permits, Collette enjoys the smells and winds of the countryside on two wheels. When she’s done having fun, she enjoys working as a realtor, and living in a City deeply rooted with a conservation mentality.
Mike Douglas: Director
Mike manages a small farm in Ramara Township, Simcoe County and is actively involved with many environmentally minded groups and organizations. He has experience in the nuclear industry as a shift control technician with Ontario Power Generation, teaching and training adults with Georgian College, geophysical survey work in remote locations with MPH Consulting, chemical industry with Domtar Chemicals and alloy steel industry with Kubota Metal Corp, formerly Fahramet in Orillia.
Mark Reusser: Director
Mark is a farmer in Wilmot Township in Waterloo Region where he grows turkey, grains and hay. He is currently the Vice-President of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, and a Director with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Mark is passionate about how good urban and rural planning can help preserve both farmland and the natural landscape. In his spare time, Mark tends a large garden where he grows heritage tomatoes, watermelon and other assorted vegetables and also finds time to collect glass and porcelain insulators.