Membership

Dr. Lehman graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1999 and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Alberta.  

After working in private mixed animal practice in Barrhead, Alberta, Keith joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency where he worked in various position prior to joining Alberta Agriculture and Forestry in June 2014.  After two years with the Animal Health Section, he was appointed as Alberta’s Chief Provincial Veterinarian in June 2016.   

Dr. Lehman completed a two-year term as chair of the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers in December 2018.  He has also been involved with early development of the Plant and Animal Health Strategy, CanSURV BSE, the national Antimicrobial Resistance Steering Committee, and serves as an ex-officio member on the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association Council. Dr. Lehman represents the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers on the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council.

Dr. Rosengren graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 2001. After graduation Leigh worked in mixed animal practice in Humboldt and Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She received a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology from the University of Saskatchewan (2008) and established a consulting service for Canada’s livestock and poultry sectors with their animal health and food safety concerns.  Most recently, Leigh completed a Masters of Agribusiness from Kansas State University (2021) she oversaw the family cow-calf beef operation.

Leigh has recently joined the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association as their Animal Health and Care lead. She also sits on the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association as a director and serves as the Animal Health and Welfare committee chair.

Dave Taylor is the past Chair of the BC Dairy Association and a past Director with Dairy Farmers of Canada.  He is a passionate advocate for the BC and national dairy industry.  

He and his brother operate Viewfield Farms in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, although the success of their farm lies with all who are a part of the Viewfield team which involves 3 generations.      

The Taylors have been the recipients of the Top Quality Milk award for Vancouver Island for 8 of the last 10 years and have been in the top 5 herds for milk quality in the province each of the past 5 years.  They are strong advocates of DFC’s quality assurance program proAction.     

In 2008, Dave and his wife Lisa represented their farm in competition in BC, and then nationally in Calgary, where they were awarded the Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers Award.

The Taylors have been dairy farming since Dave’s grandfather bought his first farm in 1946 in Saanichton, just outside of Victoria, BC. They milk 130 registered holsteins.  

Matthew Atkinson, along with his wife and daughter, owns and operates a cow-calf operation outside of Neepawa, MB. He is currently chair of Manitoba Beef Producers and a director with Canadian Cattle Association. Matthew still works in meat processing facilities, troubleshooting equipment repairs and installations. Matthew brings a diverse experience, having previously ridden in and managed a community pasture, trained horses, groomed horses for the Canadian team, and commercially transported cattle and horses, both locally and internationally.

Luce Bélanger

is a chicken farmer from the Jacques-Cartier area, near Quebec City, Quebec. She holds a degree in animal science from McGill University (1994) and has been farming for 22 years. Luce took over her family farm in (1999), and then went on to study at Laval University where she obtained an MBA in agribusiness (2004).

Luce has been a Director on the Board of Les Éleveurs de volailles du Quebec since (2017) and has been Quebec’s Alternate Director at Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) since (2018).  She is also a member of CFC’s Production Committee and is a strong supporter of CFC’s Animal Care Program and On-Farm Food Safety Program. Luce joined the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council in 2021 as the CFC representative. Luce enjoys serving on various agriculture organizations because she believes in the importance of providing Canadians with food that is grown to the highest standards.

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Eastern Ontario by Dutch immigrant parents. Graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in 1981. Involved in mixed animal rural veterinary practice in eastern Ontario from graduation to present. Professional activity has been almost exclusively large animal (primarily bovine and dairy) since 1992. Graduated from the Dairy Health Management Certificate program in 1992, a 2 year modular continuing education program. It provided comprehensive instruction in dairy cattle preventative medicine and health management (a departure from the sick cow and emergency model that was taught at veterinary school). Continues to practice part-time and provide mentorship to the veterinary team. Has been involved in veterinary affairs with a variety of organizations for many decades, including the Canadian Association of Bovine Veterinarians, Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, and Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Gabriela Guigou is a biologist and the Director of National Animal Health at the Canadian Pork Council where she works on key animal health and welfare challenges of concern to pork producers.

In her role, Gabriela collaborates with FPT governments and industry stakeholders to improve disease surveillance and disease planning, preparedness and response. She represents producers on several committees working on animal welfare and antimicrobial use and resistance.

She is a member of the ASF Executive Management Board and the Industry Chair for the Canadian Animal Feed and Health Products Engagement Committee. She is also responsible for the oversight of the Canadian Swine Health Intelligence Network (CSHIN).

Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and a master’s degree in sciences from Laval University. Gabriela grew up on her family farm in Uruguay but has spent all her professional career working for Canadian agriculture.

Dr. Mary Jane Ireland is the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate, Policy and Programs Branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). She is also the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Canada and the OIE Delegate for Canada.

Dr. Ireland graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a post-graduate degrees in Veterinary Immunology and Business Administration. She began her career in a mixed animal practice in eastern Ontario.

In 2002, Dr. Ireland joined the Veterinary Drugs Directorate at Health Canada and held various positions, including Director General. In 2020, Dr. Ireland joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate.

As the Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Ireland leads Canada's efforts to effectively manage current and emerging disease threats in order to protect animal health and human health, and to maintain international trust in Canada's inspection and certification systems in support of market access.

As the OIE Delegate, Dr. Ireland represents Canada on the international stage, and plays an integral role in Canada's participation in the OIE standard- setting process for the development and adoption of animal health standards and guidelines. In this role Dr. Ireland works to ensure that the standards are appropriately and consistently implemented in Canada. She is also responsible for notifying the OIE of reportable animal disease occurrences in Canada.

Dr. Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk grew up on a beef ranch in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and is a Professor and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. Her interdisciplinary approach has focused on identifying measures and ways of improving the lives of animals under our care and she is among the first in her field to combine experimental and qualitative methods when addressing animal welfare issues. She has published over 250 peer reviewed publications and has received numerous awards, including the 2018 Hans Sigrist Foundation Prize, administered by the University of Bern, Switzerland, for her outstanding achievements as an international leader working in the field of sustainable food animal production. She was also awarded the American Dairy Science Associations Extension Award in 2018 and Award for Excellence in Dairy Science in 2013. She has received the Award for outstanding contributions to the field of ruminant well-being by the World Buiatrics Association in 2016.

Marie Ly holds a Master's degree in Management from the University d’Évry, France, and a Master’s in Economics from the University of Ottawa. With over 20 years in the Canadian dairy sector, she has worked with the Canadian Dairy Commission and Dairy Farmers of Canada. She is Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Dairy Processors Association of Canada. Marie is a Board member of the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and sits on its governance committee. She has recently
joined Animal Health Canada as a Board member.

Norine and her husband have a purebred sheep operation at Stavely, Alberta focusing on breeding stock production. Along with three partners they host an annual ram sale with approximately 150 yearling rams on offer. Norine also keeps a small herd of goats and markets the kids for meat.

In addition, they operate a wholesale meat business specializing in lambs and goats and market to specialty meat stores in Calgary and Edmonton.

Norine has a long history of involvement in sheep industry organizations. She has served as a director of Canadian Sheep Federation and as chair of both Alberta Lamb Producers and Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council.

Director of the Foodborne Disease and Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Division at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Stephen is responsible for oversite of several national public health surveillance systems and research studies related to population health and enteric infectious diseases, with a focus on enteric illness and antimicrobial resistance.

Stephen is a Certified Public Health Inspector with Bachelor degrees in Biology, and Environmental Public Health, as well as a Masters of Public Health. Over the last 25 years, he has worked in a variety of public health leadership roles at the local, provincial and federal government levels, with responsibly for delivering programs and activities dedicated to environmental public health.

Nicole Wanamaker has a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the Atlantic Veterinary College.

 Nicole has been a field veterinarian for the last 20 years in the New Brunswick Provincial Veterinary Service.  She has served producers, small ruminant clients and horse owners as well as attending Guernsey and Holstein cattle and other livestock on her own dairy farm.

 Now, as manager of the NB Provincial Veterinary Service, Nicole leads a team of 19 field veterinarians to serve producers and clients all across NB.   In this position she has also become the Chief Veterinary Officer for New Brunswick.

 Nicole represents New Brunswick on several committees such as the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN), the Veterinary Epidemiology Surveillance Network (VESN), The Chief Council of Veterinary Officers (CCVO), The Federal-Provincial Animal Welfare group (FPAW), and the Atlantic Canada Animal Health Surveillance Network.

 Nicole is enthusiastic,  eager and committed to serving her province and the animals and clients that she interacts with.

In September of 2019 Dr. Scott Zaari joined Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development as Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health & Welfare Branch. Scott holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Calgary with an emphasis in Ecosystem and Public Health and has completed an internship with the OIE in Paris, France. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University.

Originally from Alberta, Scott began his career as a mixed animal veterinarian in Brooks where he provided veterinary services to many of the cow-calf producers in the area. More recently Scott worked for the OIE as a Projects Officer in their Sub-Regional Representation in South East Asia. He supported the development of the OIE’s PVS Pathway Programme in nine member countries. Later he coordinated field projects for the OIE including Rabies control in stray dog populations as well as a large-scale Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Control program in Myanmar. In this role, he had the unique opportunity to work alongside the Myanmar government and small scale producers to operationalize their largest ever FMD surveillance and vaccination programme in the country that is still active to date.

He has joined the Department from his previous position as a clinical and welfare veterinarian in New York’s largest animal shelter, The Animal Care Centers of NYC. He is honored to accept the position of Chief Veterinary Officer and is looking forward to joining the team and collaborating on the many exciting efforts being undertaken in Manitoba.