Kevin Lim
Conference Emcee
Behind the mic, on-stage, over the airwaves and on-camera, Kevin Lim has been entertaining, storytelling and connecting with audiences for 20 years. And he’s BACK by popular demand as the host of the BC Dairy Conference for the 2nd year in a row!
As one of the West Coast’s most sought-after emcees, Kevin has brought energy, connection and laughter to hundreds of live events. Whether hosting conferences, corporate events, high-profile galas or national award shows, his signature humour, audience interaction and creativity turns events into memorable, lively experiences. Clients include: Team Canada (Olympics), BCIT, BMW, BC Tech, Beedie Luminaries, Encore Global, BOMA Canada, CPHR BC, The Georgie Awards (CHBA), RE/MAX, CIO 100 and Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.
“Wait…that voice sounds so familiar!” Kevin’s adaptability and authenticity are rooted in a 20-year career as a morning radio and TV host. Known from his nationally-syndicated Mornings with Kevin and Sonia show (KiSS RADiO Vancouver & Toronto, 102.7 The PEAK, 99.9 SUN FM), celebrated as one of Vancouver’s Favorite Morning Shows and awarded “Performers of the Year” by the BC Association of Broadcasters.
As an accomplished professional voice actor and voice-over artist, Kevin has been hired by some of the top global brands including Disney, Nintendo, KitchenAid, Best Buy, Dr. Pepper and Finish JetDry, plus starred in video games such as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Warframe, enjoyed by millions worldwide.
Passionate about making a difference, Kevin dedicates his time to causes like the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and Men’s Health Foundation. Last year, he partnered with Make-A-Wish to help grant a teen’s heartfelt Wish to become a voice actor, a project which debuted to a live global audience of over 500,000 people.
Honourable Lana Popham
Lana Popham was first elected as the MLA for Saanich South in 2009.
Lana was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food in November 2024. She previously served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and most recently held the role of Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.
Lana was raised on Quadra Island in a do-it-yourself community, where growing food, raising animals and harvesting from the sea was a way of life.
Her interest in urban planning led her to UBC where she graduated with a degree in geography.
In 1996, Lana made her home in Saanich South. She co-founded and operated Barking Dog Vineyard, the first certified organic vineyard on Vancouver Island. She also managed a crew of vineyard workers who took care of many vineyards on the Saanich Peninsula.
Lana became politically active in 2007 when the economic viability of over 90 food producers in Saanich was threatened by increased property taxes. Lana gave voice to the wave of public reaction that forced the Campbell Liberals to back away from their misguided farm tax policies.
Lana served on Saanich’s Planning, Transportation and Economic Development Committee and on the Peninsula Agricultural Commission. She was also president of the Vancouver Island Grape Growers Association, chair of the Certification Committee for the Islands Organic Producers Association, and a member of the Investment Agriculture Board.
Lana previously served as the Official Opposition Spokesperson for a variety of files, including agriculture and food, small business, and tourism, arts and culture.
David Wiens
President, Dairy Farmers of Canada
In July 2023, Mr. David Wiens was elected President of Dairy
Farmers of Canada.
David has been the chair of Dairy Farmers of Manitoba since
2006. He was first elected to the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba
board in 1995.
He has also been a Director with the Dairy Farmers of Canada
board since 2009 – and in 2011, he was elected to the position of Vice-President. During his time on the board, David has been the Chair of the Promotion Committee and is currently serving as the Chair of the proAction committee and of the Canadian Dairy Research Council. David also chairs the committee that is reviewing and updating the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle.
David farms with his brother Charles near Grunthal, Manitoba, where they milk 230 cows and have 1,600 acres of cropland.
David continues to take a keen interest in dairy policy on a provincial and national level. He appreciates the opportunity he has been given to shape policies that make it possible for dairy farmers in Manitoba and across Canada to have viable farms.
David has a Bachelor of Theology from the Canadian Mennonite University. He is married to Denise and they have two grown children, Jasmine and son-in-law Nick, and Elizabeth.
Lucie Bérubé
Interim Chief Executive Officer, Dairy Farmers of Canada
Lucie Bérubé is Interim Chief Executive Officer for Dairy Farmers of Canada
since April 2025. She joined the organization as Assistant Director, Nutrition
Québec, in June 2017. Since then, she has held a number of functions, including the positions of Interim Director, Marketing, Interim Director, Member Services, Senior Director Services and Vice-president Services. Since January 2025, she has held the position of Chief Operations Officer and Business Development. In this role, Lucie was responsible for overseeing the overall operations of the organization, as well as member service agreements and the development of new services and programs offered in various regions across Canada. She has over thirty years’ experience in the agri-food sector, including more than 15 years in the dairy sector. This extensive experience is shared between consulting and large-scale business. Lucie has a solid professional background, having held numerous management positions in nutrition, consumer research, food product development and marketing. Lucie holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Université Laval and is a member of the Ordre des diététistenutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ). She also holds a graduate diploma in public health from the Université de Montréal and an MBA from HEC Montréal.
Annie AcMoody
Vice President, Policy & Trade, Dairy Farmers of Canada
Annie AcMoody serves as the Chief Policy & Economics Officer for Dairy Farmers of Canada. She has been with the organization since October 2020, overseeing policies, analysis and recommendations that support DFC’s objectives in policy and trade. This includes programs supporting sustainable production practices in the industry, including proAction and DFC’s sustainability strategy. Before joining DFC, she served for ten years as the Director of Economic Analysis for Western United Dairies, an association representing dairy farmers in the state of California. Throughout her time there, she provided analysis of the potential impact on dairy farmers of current and proposed policies at state, national and international levels. Annie is originally from Québec City, where she graduated from Laval University with a degree in Agricultural economics and management. She also holds a Master’s degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University.
Dan Wong
President, Western Dairy Council
Dan Wong is President of the Western Dairy Council, the association for dairy processors in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Prior to the formation of the Western Council in June 2017, he was Executive Director of the British Columbia and Alberta Dairy Councils.
As head of Right Hook Business Strategies Ltd., a public affairs consulting firm, Mr.Wong has provided business strategy, public policy and communications services to major national and international corporations and to state governments in the US. Earlier, he led the Corporate Relations practice at Dairyworld Foods and was Vice President of Corporate Development at BC Ferries Inc.
Outside the dairy industry, Mr. Wong is Chairman of Encorp Pacific (Canada), operator of beverage container and electronics recycling services in British Columbia, and President of the Canadian Product Stewardship Council. He has also served as a Director of the Recycling Council of British Columbia and Director of the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association, among others.
Mr. Wong holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Political Science from the University of British Columbia as well as the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors/Rotman School of Management.
Gilles Froment
Senior Vice President, Government and Industry Relations, Lactalis Canada Inc.
Gilles Froment is the Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations at Lactalis Canada Inc. Gilles joined Lactalis Canada in 2016 and is a member of the Executive Team responsible for overseeing milk supply, regulatory affairs, trade, internal and external communications as well as relations with dairy farmers, government, industry stakeholders and associations.
As an economist, a trusted advisor and a recognized leader in the dairy industry in Canada and worldwide, Gilles came to Lactalis Canada in 2016 from the Canadian Dairy Commission where he served for almost 20 years culminating in the position of Chief Operating Officer after holding positions at the Canadian Turkey Marketing Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
He serves as an executive member on various industry Boards and associations including the Dairy Processors Association of Canada where he chairs the DPAC Policy Committee. He is also an Executive Board member and former Chair of the Ontario Dairy Council (ODC) and a founding Board member of the Western Dairy Council (WDC).
Gilles was also recently elected President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) after serving on the Board of Directors for the past 4 years and as IDF Treasurer since 2022. Within this role, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Dairy Platform and as a Governor of the Dairy Sustainability Framework. Before that, he was Chair of the IDF Standing Committee on Dairy Policy and Economics from 2014 to 2020.
Dr. Joe Schwarcz, PhD, CM
Director, Office for Science and Society, McGill University
Joe Schwarcz, PhD, CM is Director of McGill University’s “Office for Science and Society” which has the mission of separating sense from nonsense. He is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public. He was the first non-American to win the American Chemical Society’s prestigious Grady-Stack award for popularizing chemistry. “Dr Joe” has hosted a radio show on science for forty-five years, has appeared hundreds of times on television, writes a regular newspaper column and is the author of nineteen best-sellers. He has been awarded four honorary doctorates and is a Member of the Order of Canada. Professor Schwarcz teaches a course on “Food and Nutrition” that with 2700 students holds the record for the largest enrolment for any university course in Canada. He is also an amateur magician, often spicing up his presentations with a little magic.
Jennifer Woron
Executive Director of Market Development, BC Dairy
Jennifer Woron is the Executive Director of Market Development at BC Dairy, where she leads marketing, communications, and advocacy. With 14 years in the dairy industry, she specializes in market insights and consumer trends, supporting a positive reputation for dairy farmers and driving market growth.
Zahra Abdalla Shamji
Executive Director of Policy and Industry Affairs, BC Milk Marketing Board
Zahra Abdalla Shamji is the Executive Director of Policy and Industry Affairs for the BC Milk Marketing Board with over a decade of experience in supporting executive leadership and managing key operational areas within the organization. Zahra has been instrumental in developing provincial, regional, and national policy positions for the Board of Directors, and has a proven track record of designing and implementing results-driven solutions for stakeholders.
Zahra’s dedication to the industry is evident through her participation in provincial, regional, and national industry meetings, representing the interests of the province of British Columbia and its partners in the Western Milk Pool. Zahra has developed strategies for industry consultations and maintained relationships with external stakeholders on behalf of the Board.
Daniel Scothorn
Owner/Leader, Scothorn Nutrition
Daniel believes he has the best job in the world! “I get to work with the top dairy producers on the east coast, network with bright nutritionists and accomplished business people, and walk through farms looking at cattle every week, all with the intent of producing one of the best foods known- Milk!” As a partner and leader of Scothorn Nutrition, Daniel’s job is to ensure “we are walking the talk” by providing well formulated diets for healthy cows while helping our clients maximize their profitability.
Focusing on the fundamentals of dairy nutrition- quality forage, highly digestible grains, feeding management and least cost formulation, are Daniel’s strengths. Influenced by his father, Donald Scothorn, a dairy farmer and Holstein Canada judge, and growing up on a dairy farm, Daniel learned how to work with cattle and observe cow signs at a young age. 4-H was a big part of Daniel’s youth and taught him cattle showmanship, entrepreneurship and public speaking.
Nutrition knowledge was gained when he earned a Bachelor and Master of Science at Dalhousie and the University of Saskatchewan. Daniel worked as a dairy feed advisor for Feed-Rite in Alberta, and then as the Ruminant Nutritionist with Co-op Feeds across Western Canada. Afterwards, Daniel and Heather partnered to unveil Scothorn Nutrition- a company designed to offer independent nutrition advising to farms wanting to improve feed cost and milk yield. Nutrition consulting has been provided to many farms and organizations globally such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Vietnam and Canada. Daniel has volunteered with Farmers Helping Farmers by helping small dairy farms in Kenya improve milk production and cow health. Soccer coaching, personal fitness, cooking, surfing, and seeing new places are favourite things to do. He has three amazing kids- Logan, Alexa and Zahra and a very supportive wife, Heather.
Shari Van De Pol
CEO, CATTLEytics
Dr. Shari van de Pol is a leading voice in Canada’s ag-tech movement, blending deep technical expertise with a passion for practical, on-farm impact. With degrees in Computer Engineering from McMaster University and Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College, she brings a rare and powerful cross-discipline perspective to the dairy sector.
As the founder and CEO of CATTLEytics, Shari is helping redefine how dairy farms operate. Her award-winning platform creates a digital twin of each farm, enabling producers to streamline staff communication, manage tasks and schedules, integrate data sources, and use AI-powered models to predict health, reproduction, and economic outcomes.
Under her leadership, CATTLEytics has been recognized as one of Canada’s top agri-tech innovators — helping farmers reduce costs, improve animal care, and boost sustainability. Shari’s work has been featured on Bloomberg News, on Dragon’s Den, and at major industry events across North America. She’s the recipient of numerous accolades, including the RBC Innovation Award, the 2024 Tech for Good Award, and Entrepreneur of the Year by WCT.
At its core, Shari’s mission is simple but transformative: give dairy producers the tools to make smarter decisions — and help farms thrive in a changing world.