BVFA Team
Michelle Backhouse (she / her)
BVFA Alliance Coordinator
Michelle is originally from Ontario, Treaty 13, also known as the Toronto Purchase. In 2012, she visited Treaty 7, where she saw a sign that said “I'm living your dream vacation” and moved here the same year. Passionate about well-being, she is always looking for ways to integrate her knowledge, curiosity, critical thinking and decolonization learnings into her life as well as innovative ways to amplify community voices.
Michelle is curious about the critical role that food plays in our everyday lives and is excited to take on the Alliance Coordinator role with the BVFA. She has a dynamic skill set and is enthusiastic about food sovereignty, bringing an infectious approach to community collaborations and leadership. She deeply believes in the vision of the BVFA and is excited to use her skills to bring the BVFA strategic plan to fruition.
Collective Leadership Team
Jill Harrison (she/her)
Collaborative Lead
Jill Harrison has been advancing food security since 2016, through her work with the Community Development portfolio with the Town of Banff. In 2018, she founded the Bow Valley Food Alliance (BVFA) to bring together food support groups and community partners for more coordinated action. Her efforts have encompassed a broad spectrum of initiatives, including community-based consultations with grassroots organizations, nonprofit groups, and institutions, academic research, the creation of the Bow Valley-wide Food Charter, coordinated COVID-19 responses, advocacy, education, fund, and policy development. When Jill began her work in 2016, food insecurity was a little-discussed issue, primarily recognized by experts and food banks. Today, it is a widely acknowledged and pressing concern. Under Jill’s leadership, the Bow Valley Food Alliance has become a pivotal support network, with its knowledge and experience now serving as a model for other municipalities and food security groups across the region.
In addition to her BVFA work, Jill coordinates the weekly Community Table Lunch, and many Ethnocultural and Indigenous food events. She is also co-creator of the Banff Community Social Assessment.
Jill has been living, working, playing, and volunteering in the Bow Valley for 30 years. She is recognised for fostering relationships and collaborating, rooting for the underdog, and inspiring change. Originally from England, she has an honours degree in English from the University of London.
She can be contacted at jill.harrison@banff.ca
Photo Credit: The Archive Studios
Shauna Kelly (she / her)
ReconciliAction and Communications Member
Originally from Calgary, Shauna’s passion for food security and food sovereignty stems from time spent picking berries in a small garden with her parents and hands-on education programs.
She has spent the past three years here in the Bow Valley working with The Howl Experience to deliver land and community based learning programs that engage Indigenous and non Indigenous youth in wellness, climate action, reconciliation, and community building.
Through this work, she has partnered with BVFA on food security and food sovereignty education, and she is excited to become more involved through a role on the board.
Laura Clippingdale (she / her)
Communications Member
As a long-time Bow Valley resident with more than 25 years of community involvement, Laura brings a focused communications perspective and a depth of local knowledge to the board. Her professional background spans municipal, nonprofit strategy, and corporate collaboration, with expertise in public engagement, visual communication, and messaging.
Complementing her career is a sustained record of volunteer and community leadership, including roles with the Assessment Review Board, school councils at Our Lady of the Snows and Canmore Collegiate, the Canmore Preschool (Vice Chair), the Harvie Heights Community Association, and the Whyte Museum.
She is known for her ability to connect people, elevate community voices, and strengthen local networks. Passionate about food security, Laura believes that access to healthy, affordable food is fundamental to building a resilient and equitable community. Her leadership, strategic mindset, and deep local knowledge continue to drive our mission forward with care and impact.
Grace Gillman (she / her)
Projects Member
Grace has lived in the Bow Valley for 2.5 years, originally from BC, and has been an active volunteer with the Canmore Rotary Club, where she chair the annual Earth Day event, Bow Valley Climate Action board member, the Good Food Box, and the Biosphere, where she now works. She is also supporting the growth of a secondhand market in the Bow Valley that aims to reduce textile waste.
Her passion for food security began when she took over an organic farm on Vancouver Island, and deepened through her environmental science degree, where she dove into the connection between climate change and our food system.
She has sought to merge food systems with her work in the environmental industry, including an internship analyzing drought conditions on agricultural land, and she am currently completing a certificate in plant-based nutrition.
Javan Mukhtarov (he / him)
Ethnocultural Relations Member
He moved to Canmore 10 years ago. He grew up during a time of great change—the collapse of the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan’s early years of independence. Food was often scarce, and from a young age, he had to work to help his brother and father provide for their large family.
That experience shaped his understanding of the importance of nutritious food as a basic human right. Through his work with immigrant communities and volunteering with grassroots initiatives like Banff Food Rescue and Canmore Food & Friends, CYAN he’s seen firsthand the challenges many people face in accessing food.
He says he is grateful to BVFA team for the opportunity to bring his knowledge and experience to the Bow Valley Food Alliance, supporting its mission to build local food systems that are healthy, socially just, collaborative, diverse, and accessible.
Valentina Bravo (she / her)
Finance Member
Originally from Chile Valentina has lived in the Bow Valley for 6 years. She is an accountant and tax specialist who has worked with Deloittes and KPMG. She volunteers at ArtsPlace and Theravada Buddhist Community and Monastery in Canmore. She wants to help build strong connections to ensure everyone has access to healthy food, supporting a healthy lifestyle for all.
Juli Ohsada (she/they)
Project and Curriculum Design Member
Juli is a second-generation Japanese Canadian, born and raised on Treaty 7 territory in the Bow Valley. She is an educator and collaborator with experience supporting community-based initiatives through curriculum design, facilitation, and project coordination.
She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a minor in Environmental Studies, from the University of Victoria. Juli spent over three years at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, where she co-developed Indigenous-led, culturally grounded learning programs.
Juli brings an interdisciplinary and relational approach to her work, with a focus on strengthening communities through meaningful connections and transformative change. She is passionate about supporting initiatives that advance food security, sustainability, and community well-being in the Bow Valley.
Outside of her professional work, Juli enjoys outdoor adventures and is an avid Ultimate Frisbee athlete.
Community Research
Lauren Kepkiewicz (she / her)
Community-Based Researcher
Lauren is a community-based researcher and postdoctoral associate in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary. Her current research examines food systems and food sovereignty in mountain communities, with a focus on the Bow Valley.
Her work draws from her experience as a research assistant and management team member for the Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE): Community Food Sovereignty Hub as well as her participation in the National Farmers Union Indigenous Solidarity Working Group (ISWG), the Canmore Community Garden, the Food Equity and Activist Study Team, the Collaborative Alliance of Farmer Training Ontario, Food Secure Canada Youth Caucus, and Africa Youth for Peace and Development. She has taught undergraduate courses on food systems and has published work in both academic and populararticles and books. Lauren has a PhD in geography with a focus on food studies from the University of Toronto and has been involved with the BVFA since 2017.
Outstanding Citizen Award
About the Award
In January 2021, the board adopted an annual BVFA “Outstanding Citizen” of the year award to recognize volunteers within our network that have been doing important work in moving our organization forward.
This award is open to BVFA members that have shown by their words and
actions that they possess the qualities and characteristics of an outstanding
citizen. This includes:
Participating in committees and working groups within the BVFA
Showing a positive attitude towards members of the BVFA and the community
in generalDisplaying an understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility
Possesses strength of character and the courage to do what is right
The recipient of the BVFA Outstanding Citizen Award will receive a $500 value
gift card(s) from locally-owned food businesses in the Bow Valley in recognition
of their work.
Dawn Saunders Dahl
2025 Outstanding Citizen
Since 2019, Dawn has been a steadfast ally and valued friend of the Bow Valley Food Alliance (BVFA). From the first Indigenous Community Dinner and Conversation to the Taste of Cultures events held in conjunction with National Indigenous Peoples Day, as well as celebrations for St. Jean Baptiste Day and Multiculturalism Day, she has consistently recognized the importance of tradition, ceremony, and gathering around food. Dawn understands that these practices are not only culturally vital—they are foundational to community health. They strengthen relationships, foster belonging, and create the conditions for marginalized communities to thrive. She also recognizes that knowledge-sharing and the simple act of sharing a meal go far beyond kindness: they build confidence, offer encouragement, and give artists and culture-bearers the courage and support to share their gifts with the wider community. In addition to her hands-on leadership and advocacy, Dawn played an instrumental role in helping BVFA secure a substantial grant from The Calgary Foundation for the Food Is My Teacher project. This funding has provided critical stability and has opened the door to meaningful, transformative relationships between BVFA and Indigenous Peoples—relationships grounded in respect, reciprocity, and long-term community wellbeing.