board of Directors
Kari Martin - President
Kari joined the LFI first as a member and volunteer, then as a contractor for the Garden and Art Tour. Raised in the prairies, she had an early understanding of the importance of growing and foraging. From helping on her grandparents farm, to berry picking and fishing with the family, there were always things to do surrounding food. After travelling for a bit, Kari moved to Revelstoke in 2008. She was eager to settle in, plant a garden and get back to her roots.
Nadja Luckau - Vice President
Nadja Luckau has lived in Revelstoke since 2011 and has been involved with the LFI since. She was a founding member of the LFI, and has served on the board for several years before moving from Revelstoke. After a brief period on Vancouver Island she moved back to Revelstoke and is excited to be back on this board to serve the community.
Nadja is passionate about all things local food: picking fruit in the Okanagan valley when she first arrived in Canada got her interested in food production. After an apprenticeship on an organic farm she moved to Revelstoke to start her own market garden. Nadja loves to play in the mountains and grow as much of her own food as possible.
Melissa Hemphill - Secretary
Melissa's passions are all things food related, with a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Guelph and a diploma in Natural Nutrition. She helped to create Revelstoke's first community garden and establish the Local Food Initiative as a society, and continues on in a board member position.
Melissa works to build socially just and environmentally sustainable local food systems within British Columbia through a variety of projects, studies, and collaborations. When she isn't busy tackling community food security issues you can find her in the garden, on the trails, or teaching her kids the wonders of the world.
Rosie Denton - Director of Marketing
Originally from England, Rosie travelled and chased powder for several years before moving to Revelstoke in 2015. Growing up she always enjoyed maintaining a garden with her family and growing her own veggies, however her transient lifestyle meant she wasn’t able to pursue her love of gardening until she settled down here.
Knowing where food comes from, supporting local farmers as well as reducing your waste and carbon footprint are really important to her. Being part of the LFI allows to promote local food and help work towards food security and sustainability in Revelstoke. With a background in events Rosie coordinated the annual fundraiser Midsummer Nights Green for 2 years before joining the board in Spring 2019. In her free time Rosie can be found skiing, biking or finding another way to enjoy the outdoors.
Sammy Blair - Director at Large
Sammy has worked in many roles across the food system; in gleaning, food security, waste management, food education, and farming. She has a Master of Science Research degree in Integrated Land and Food Systems from the University of British Columbia. Sammy specializes in community-based work, and recently has been involved with developing school farm implementation resources for Farm to School BC and working as the food security coordinator for Land to Table's regional community food hub. Sammy moved to Revelstoke in 2022 and is excited to work with the LFI to engage the community in our local food system. During her free time you can find Sammy gardening, skiing, hiking, and playing outside with friends and family.
Claire Davies - Treasurer
Claire has several years of diverse food systems experience, including farming, food education, gleaning, food security, and agriculture policy research. Claire holds a Master's in Public Policy, where her thesis focused on identifying and reducing barriers to the adoption of agricultural nature-based solutions in British Columbia. She has also been involved in sustainable agriculture efforts with organizations such as the National Farmers Union and La Via Campesina. During her free time, Claire can be found in the mountains or gardening in Revelstoke, located on the traditional territories of the Sinixt, Secwepemc, Syilx, and Ktunaxa Peoples.
Claire joined the LFI board in April 2023.
Jas Clancy - Director at Large
Since 2016, Jas has called Revelstoke home—initially drawn by the legendary winters, but ultimately staying for the vibrant local food network. Their passion for eating locally and understanding where food comes from began as a teenager after reading a newspaper article on the 100-mile diet. Professionally, Jas is an exploration geologist with extensive project management experience in remote, logistically challenging environments. Working in bush camps has fostered a deep appreciation for food security, the complexities of global food systems, and an even deeper love for sun-kissed, market-garden-grown vegetables.
Jas joined the LFI board in April 2024.
The Team
Executive Director - Amanda Cockburn
Amanda is bringing her passion for community building and helping others to the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative. With 20 years of leadership and project management experience behind her, she is enjoying being able to make an impact on the community. She joined the LFI as the events coordinator in the summer of 2023, hosting the midsummer night’s green fundraising dinner, and the inaugural LFI “Revelstoke Garlic Festival” at Queen Elizabeth Park.
When she’s not working, she’s walking her wiener dogs in the mountains (or maybe they’ve barked at you at the flats), honing her gardening skills, watching her kids’ sports, or cheering at a Grizzlies game. Say hi if you see me out in the community :)
info@revelstokelocalfood.com
Isabel Kessi - Market Manager
Isabel loves food, anything from bigger scale productions to growing her own carrots in the garden excites her. Isabel is a trained Chef with a BSc in food science and technology. She immigrated from Switzerland in 2017 and now consults food manufacturers in BC. For over ten years Isabel has been selling food at farmers markets in Europe and Canada. Now market days are her social days where she gets to leave the home office and work with vendors to create a successful market.
When Isabel isn’t working at the market or at home you can find her in the woods, skiing, biking or walking her dog Yeti.
market@revelstokelocalfood.com
Samantha Green - Food Security Coordinator
Sam has a strong understanding of and commitment to the connection between food systems, vulnerability and community. She has spent the last 3 years working for Xeni Gwet’in First Nations - first as the Emergency Program Coordinator and then as the Climate Readiness Manager. In both of those roles she centered her work around food security programming and planning knowing that access to healthy, safe and local foods supports community resilience and determinants of health. Her role with Xeni Gwet’in provided her the opportunity to learn about food as culture, as a means for bringing community together and the value of being adaptable to all ways of life. She has spent her last 3 winters in Revelstoke enjoying the snow and has grown to have a deep appreciation for the Revelstoke community. She is always inspired and impressed by the ability of the people in Revelstoke to support one another and is grateful to be able to now call Revelstoke home.
foodsecurity@revelstokelocalfood.com
Teal Randle - Food Commons Coordinator
"Teal is an articling agrologist with an educational background in environmental and soil science. With two years of farming experience at an organic vegetable farm and two years of teaching soil and earth sciences at UNBC, Teal is deeply committed to sustainable farming practices that work in harmony with the environment to ensure resiliency within her community. Teal is excited to help foster a local food system that integrates traditional foodways with regenerative practices that can be enjoyed by the whole community for generations.
You might run into Teal and her dog June biking through the local trails, touring up the mountains, or paddling down the river."
foodcommons@revelstokelocalfood.com
Isaac Burkam - Compost Coordinator
Isaac recently moved to Revelstoke from rural Nova Scotia, where he grew up on an organic farm. Isaac has a masters of science in sustainability and business from the University of Leeds in the UK, as well as a bachelor of arts in economics and environmental studies from McGill University. Isaac is passionate about diverting food waste, improving the sustainability of rural Canadian communities, and helping people learn about the benefits of sustainable practices. In his free time, Isaac enjoys snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, gardening, and cooking yummy food.
compost@revelstokelocalfood.com
Mia Knobler - Events Coordinator
As a child, Mia love spending time in the garden with her mom. Since relocating to Revelstoke in 2020, her enthusiasm for growing her own food has flourished, driving Mia to explore new gardening techniques and sustainable practices. She is excited about the opportunity to leverage her skills in entrepreneurship, project coordination, and marketing to contribute meaningfully as an Event Coordinator for the LFI. She is dedicated to creating impactful and engaging events that bring the community together to celebrate local food and promote sustainable living. She loves all things Revelstokian including going for long walks with her dog Fitz and wandering the farmers market.
events@revelstokelocalfood.com
Georgie Hyland - Youth Education Coordinator
Georgie grew up and went to school in Edmonton where she attended University of Alberta school of business. After realizing that she wanted to stay far away from the corporate world, she moved to Revelstoke in 2020. That summer she became an avid pandemic gardener. After becoming more aware of the lack of food security and increasing impacts of climate change, she found her way to the UBC Farm Practicum in 2022 where she gained an education in small-scale, organic vegetable farming. Farming combines her passion for food, working outside, sustainability, and community building. In 2023 she started working for First Light Farm and is with them for a second season as the Greenhouse Manager and Post-harvest Lead.
You can find Georgie biking or skiing in the mountains, but her biggest joy comes from sharing food with fellow farmers, friends, and family. She is also tomato obsessed - apparent by 20 different weird and wonderful tomato varieties in her garden this summer
education@revelstokelocalfood.com
