Meet the team

Gillian Flies (she/her) is the Executive Director of The New Farm Centre, and a co-founder of The New Farm. Gillian is a farmer and an active leader in movements for regenerative and organic farming. Known for her ability to convene and connect stakeholders from different areas of the food system, Gillian has been instrumental in creating strategies and policies to support on-farm climate action in Canada. She is a representative on the federal government’s Sustainable Agriculture Strategy Advisory Committee, a board member and past President of the Canadian Organic Growers, and a founding member and past board chair of Farmers for Climate Solutions. For almost twenty years, Gillian and her husband Brent have owned and operated The New Farm, a profitable organic vegetable operation near Creemore, Ontario. In 2023 they transformed their farm business into The New Farm Centre, a charitable organization dedicated to mitigating climate change by developing, demonstrating and advocating for a regenerative farming system.

In addition to her farming career, Gillian has worked as a public sector management consultant and in international democratic development in Africa, Asia and South America. She is committed to building a food system that is just and sustainable.

Brent Preston (he/him) oversees farming operations and is the Director of Policy at The New Farm Centre, as well as a co-founder of The New Farm. He is the President of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, and is a founding member, past Executive Director and current President of Farmers for Climate Solutions. Brent is the author of The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution, a national bestseller. Brent worked as an election observer, human rights investigator and journalist on four continents before launching his farming career.

Sophie Duncan (she/her) is the Director of Programs at the New Farm Centre. Sophie’s previous work as a consultant, researcher, and project manager has been at the intersections of social, economic, and environmental justice issues. Her food systems experience includes work as a Fulbright Researcher in Morocco, collaboration on development strategies for a farmworkers rights organization in the United States, team coaching related to food justice in the GTA, behavioural insights research on Canadian food policy, and food access programming in Vermont. Sophie also coaches teams and is a former co-manager of the Leading Social Justice Collective. She is a board member at the Fair Finance Fund and holds an MBA from UofT’s Rotman School of Management.

Sarah Martin-Mills (she/her) is the Farm Manager at the New Farm Centre. Sarah grew up in the suburbs of Toronto where farming and agriculture were not seen as viable career choices. After trying office jobs and social work she finally leaned into her passion and purchased a small piece of land in Cambridge with her husband and three boys. In 2015 she married her love for the land and social work in starting Growing Hope Farm. Over time she grew and managed her own herd of cattle, goats, chickens, pigs and turkeys. Sarah is passionate about regenerative agriculture and showing the world that farming can be done in a way that heals the land and fights climate change.

Jenn grew up on four acres of greenhouses just outside London, ON, where she propagated a lifelong love for plants of all kinds. She holds a BFA in Theatre Production from York University and spent a decade working as a Stage and Production Manager before returning to the country to raise a family. Prior to joining the New Farm in 2019, she was the Production Manager for the environmental education charity Earth Rangers for six years, followed by running her own artisanal business for another 5 years. Jenn coordinates a number of annual events for the Dunedin Village Hall, where she sits on the board. Jenn is thrilled to bring her three decades of event management and production experience to the Centre.

Meghan Robbins (she/they) is the Garden and Volunteer Coordinator at The New Farm Centre. Prior to coming to The New Farm, Meghan was a Toronto Chef for 15 years. In an effort to switch gears within the realm of food; it was their interest in community, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture that helped redirect their passions.

Meghan sought out to connect with growers utilizing organic and traditional land practices to begin their journey in varied vegetable production. Their previous culinary experiences and current farming philosophy helps to keep them grounded in ideologies surrounding food security, diversity, food waste, and climate change.

Sanna Huyssen (she/her) is the Farm and Education Coordinator at The New Farm Centre. She is a recent graduate from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Horticulture, and has returned to the farm for her first full season to keep building her career in agriculture.

Raised in Collingwood and surrounding area, Sanna’s work outside of agriculture has included retail and customer service, child care and education, wilderness guiding, and more. Sanna’s role at The New Farm Centre allows her to combine several passions: climate conscious food production, educational programming, and food security work.

Eve Clements (she/her) is the Communications Coordinator at The New Farm Centre.

Eve attended Carleton University where she studied Communications and Earth Sciences. After graduating in 2023, she pursued an independent career as a freelance marketing consultant before settling into her current role at The New Farm Centre. Eve’s interest in the environment, and her passion for earth and ocean sciences, is what drives her commitment to making new climate research accessible to everyone, no matter their academic background.

Heather recently retired from BDO Canada where she was the Office Managing Partner of the Collingwood office, and Group Managing Partner of 11 local regional offices. Over her long career at BDO, Heather was a client-facing partner in the areas of accounting, tax, financial advisory services, and auditing. Heather is now consulting, offering business strategy and financial oversight to a number of companies across Ontario. She is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia. Heather has particular expertise and interest in nonprofit finance, and serves on several boards, including at the Law Society of Ontario, the Victim Justice Network, and Elephant Thoughts Educational Outreach.

Working in education for over twenty years, Tina Jagdeo supports a variety of learning communities. Currently, she develops strategy and student programming at Upper Canada College in her role as Pluralism and Wellbeing coordinator. She has recently completed a certificate in Mindfulness Education and a certificate in Applied Positive Psychology. Her book, Bold School, is a practical guide to promote critical, creative and compassionate thinking. In her downtime, she loves to read, watch movies and spend time with her favourite people.

Since 2019, Wendy has served as the Co-CEO of Dragonfly Ventures, a small family office looking to advance solutions for a healthy planet and just society. In her role, she works in partnership with the founder and the rest of the team to creatively use a suite of financial tools from investments to grants in support of companies and organizations contributing to the health and well-being of people and the planet. Prior to joining Dragonfly Ventures, Wendy worked in the charitable and philanthropic sector for nearly two decades at a community, regional, and national level supporting a range of areas including land conservation, Indigenous youth leadership, freshwater health, and toxic elimination. She lives with her family in an old schoolhouse on Treaty 18 land, just outside the village of Creemore.

Tim is a lawyer, business advisor and community activist. Much of his career has been spent building tier-one legal services businesses and helping clients achieve their goals. His practice areas include M&A, financing and restructuring. He serves as a director of a number of private companies and funds. Tim spent 14 years as an expat based in London and then Dubai. He served in progressive leadership roles at Linklaters, Latham & Watkins, and Bennett Jones. His charitable and non-profit involvements include serving as Chair of the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship, Founder and Co-Chair of the Midtown Ravines Group and advisor to many more. Tim can often be found outdoors. He is an enthusiastic hiker and camper, occasional sailor, and keen skier.

Brian Lawson is a Vice Chair and a Director of Brookfield Asset Management. Brian joined Brookfield in 1988 and has held a number of senior management positions in Brookfield’s investment and finance operations, including serving as CFO of Brookfield Asset Management from 2002 to 2020. In 2013, he was selected as Canada’s CFO of the Year by PwC, FEI Canada and Robert Half International. He was previously co-chair of the Canadian CFO Chapter of the Prince of Wales Accounting for Sustainability.

Through the Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation, Brian is active in promoting changes in the food system to promote better outcomes for human health and the environment. Brian is Chair of the board of directors of Community Food Centres Canada and past Chair of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto. Brian is a proud recipient of the university’s Arbor Award for volunteer service as well as the Doctor of Sacred Letters (honoris causa) from Trinity College, University of Toronto.

As co-founder and president of the Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation, Joannah feels honoured to collaborate with other philanthropic foundations, not-for-profits, universities and think tanks to move Canada and the world toward nutrient dense food systems that are produced sustainably to help mitigate climate change.

Before becoming certified as a nutritionist, Joannah led a successful career in organization change management in the high-tech industry and was recognized with the Nortel President’s Award of Excellence in Innovation. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Toronto and is the proud recipient of the university’s Arbor Award for volunteer service as well as the Doctor of Sacred Letters (honoris causa) from Trinity College, University of Toronto.