Our Team
Board of Directors
Holger Schwichtenberg
Chairperson of BCDA
MAINLAND
Sarah Sache
Vice Chair
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
Paul Davidson
Secretary
NORTHERN BC
John Kerkhoven
Treasurer
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
Mickey Aylard
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
John de Dood
SOUTHERN BC
Ken Miller
INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR
Phil Owen
SOUTHERN BC
Casey Pruim
MAINLAND
Dave Taylor
VANCOUVER ISLAND
Kevin Mammel
MAINLAND
BC Dairy Association Staff
Jeremy Dunn
GENERAL MANAGER
Jeremy joined BC Dairy in October 2019 and is responsible for the overall management of the Association. He has over 18 years of experience in communications, strategic planning, issues management and stakeholder relations
Milai Burnett
Director of Finance and Administration
Milai is responsible for the Association’s financial operations and reporting.
Catherine Green
Director of Digital Communications & Content
As part of the senior management team, Catherine is responsible for all BC Dairy Association's digital channels and strategies. Her team works to represent BC's dairy farmers, and contribute to the promotion of milk and dairy in BC.
Jennifer Wu
Digital Communications Coordinator
As the Digital Communications Coordinator, Jennifer works on BC Dairy Associations' digital channels. Jennifer contributes to the promotion of milk and dairy in BC through the management of social media and provincial initiatives such as BC School Sports and Milk Rewards.
Jennifer Woron
Director of Marketing
As Director of Marketing, Jennifer leads the strategy and development of BC Dairy Association’s provincial marketing initiatives. She works with her team to create advertising campaigns such as Pour A Little Happiness and Inspired by Farmers that contribute to the promotion of milk and dairy in BC.
Kristine Louie
Marketing Manager
Sydney Massey, MPH, RD
Director of Nutrition Education
As one of the registered dietitians at BC Dairy Association, Sydney contributes to the mission of promoting health in BC through leadership and innovation in nutrition education. This includes developing, evaluating and presenting programs and resources to teachers, health professionals and the general public throughout BC.
Joel Barohn, MS, RD Chef
Nutrition Educator
As one of the registered dietiians at BC Dairy Association, Joel contributes to the mission of promoting health in BC through leadership and innovation in nutrition education. This includes developing, evaluating and presenting programs and resources to teachers, health professionals and the general public throughout BC.
Carmen Gorlick, RD
NUTRITION EDUCATOR
As one of the registered dietitians at BC Dairy Association, Carmen contributes to the mission of promoting health in BC through leadership and innovation in nutrition education. This includes developing, evaluating and presenting programs and resources to teachers, health professionals and the general public throughout BC.
Wendy W. Kwok
Program Manager
As the Program Manager, Wendy communicates the delivery of nutrition education programs to teachers and schools in BC. In addition, Wendy supports and provides resources and tools to schools registered with the School Milk BC initiative (schoolmilkbc.ca).
Lynne Sawchuk, MPE, RD
Nutrition Educator
As one of the registered dietitians at BC Dairy Association, Lynne contributes to the mission of promoting health in BC through leadership and innovation in nutrition education. This includes developing, evaluating and presenting programs and resources to teachers, health professionals and the general public throughout BC.
Vicki Crites
Director of Policy & Sustainability
As Director of Policy & Sustainability, and with support from the BCDA team, she is responsible for the development of strategic approaches to ensure the sustainability of BC’s dairy sector. Vicki leads a dedicated team, which includes the Manager of Policy and Research and the proAction Program Coordinators and on-farm Validators. This team is the lynchpin that provides the support for dairy producers in administering the national proAction program on-farm. proAction is a quality assurance program, which promotes continuous improvement of sustainable dairy farming practices.
Emma Strazhnik
Policy and Research Manager
As Manager, Emma is responsible for policy consultation and strategic implementation of proAction, our national on-farm sustainability initiative. She also manages the Dairy Industry Research and Education Committee (DIREC) and has specific expertise in animal welfare science.
Kelsey Zalot
Policy and Sustainability Program Coordinator
As a program coordinator, Kelsey works on the day-to-day administration of our on-farm proAction program. Her duties include producer training, farm follow-up and on-farm technical support visits.
Tamara Pottrick
Policy and Sustainability Program Coordinator
As a program coordinator, Tamara works on the on-farm proAction program as well as daily administration. Tamara's responsibilities include producer training, farm follow-up and on-farm technical support visits.
Christine Terpsma
Director of Producer & Public Affairs
As the Director of Producer & Public Affairs, Christine Terpsma represents all dairy farmers in British Columbia. Together with the BCDA General Manager, she is an advocate for the dairy industry with all levels of government, media, special interest groups, environmentalists, and other industry associations. She is also the strategic lead for a variety of industry programs ranging from innovation, research, industry education, and public outreach.
Reet Sidhu
Producer & Public Affairs Manager
As the Manager of Producer Relations and Communications, Reet Sidhu manages BC Dairy's internal and external communications initiatives, including taking the lead on developing print and digital publications. She works closely with the Communications Director to help advocate with all levels of government, media, and other industry associations. Reet also plays a key role in supporting the public outreach activities of the organization.
Carla Soutar
Producer Services Manager
In her role as Producer Services Manager, Carla liaises with BC dairy producers, industry partners and BCDA staff to deliver industry-led initiatives and events. Carla coordinates the annual BC Dairy Expo farm tours, in addition to organizing producer involvement and attendance of the BC Dairy Industry Conference.
Aimee Laity
MDCE Program Coordinator
As the Mobile Dairy Classroom Experience (MDCE) Program Coordinator, Aimee leads the day-to-day administration of our agricultural educational program. Her duties include organizing school visits, event attendance and working closely with our team of MDCE staff.