Board of Directors

Laurie Gallant is the founding Executive Director for MASH and moved to the Bulkley Valley in 1999 and to the Hazeltons in 2010. She is a first generation small-scale farmer, a seasoned project manager and grant writer, and a semi-retired environmental planner specializing in municipal solid waste management and air quality.

She has been leading MASH’s efforts to strengthen our local food system and to date has introduced community-scale apple pressing, community-scale composting, community food preserving classes, and annual community forums to share and collect stories to facilitate learning and integration of local traditions and knowledge. She has helped communities across BC to design and implement strategies to meet environmental targets by introducing recycling and User Pay garbage collection services, piloting a Woodstove Exchange Program for BC, delivering education programs for backyard composting and reviewing and creating policies and regulations to support these initiatives.ymore. We cannot continue to bury and burn resources while our soils dry up and become depleted. It’s also clear that in small communities, there is plenty of room for private and grassroot initiatives when it comes to building community resiliency.

She bring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the organization by identifying as female, representing Gen X, and having lived experience as a fosterchild.  She is grateful and honoured to do this work on unceded Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en territory and supports the indigenous food sovereignty movement.

Chris has deep roots in the Hazeltons and has lived here on and off for the past two decades. He is currently owner/operator of Aurora Sporealis, an edible mushroom farm that sells fresh mushrooms, fruiting blocks and several dried mushroom products. With this venture, he has learned much about product development and marketing in the food industry. Chris recently relocated to Williams Lake but thanks to technology, can still participate on the Board.

When Chris still lived in the Hazeltons until the fall of 2023, he was a regular vendor at the Hazelton Farmer’s Market and sat on the Board for a season.

Chris has been hands-on with our Apple Pressing program and has helped us to refine our work flows and the mechanics of our equipment. He has also been a champion of providing business coaching and support services to individuals and groups involved with food system work.

Vance Barritt is a second generation farmer from Alberta that relocated to the Bulkley Valley after falling love with the social network and the natural scenery. When it comes to cattle farming, regenerative agriculture, transportation logistics, and farm equipment auctions, Vance is an invaluable resource to both MASH and the larger community.

Kevin Pegg moved up to the region in 2010 from Victoria BC and lives off-grid. His career in solar energy started in 1992 and he’s been hooked ever since. Kevin spent a decade in the 90’s working on business computer systems, with solar as a side gig. In 2000, renewable energy became his full time focus.

Kevin is the president of EA Energy Alternatives Ltd. which provides design, sales installation, and troubleshooting services primarily focused on off grid applications. He’s a big proponent of self-sufficiency and sustainability and has helped MASH and our membership to identify and maintain sustainable energy solutions for our projects.

He enjoys harvesting the energy from the sun to grow food and produce electricity.

Bill is the guy who makes things work. Without him, we couldn’t deliver services like apple pressing, wood chipping and composting. He’s a builder, a fixer, a heavy lifter and the voice of reason when it comes to how to implement our big dreams.

Born and raised on a family homestead just outside of Smithers, Bill has some mad skills that include butchering, tanning, operating tractors, and construction. He spent many seasons as a treeplanter and in his spare time loves backcountry skiing and playing music. He spent time in Kamloops getting a higher education  but is very clear that he does not want a job that requires his math degree.

Relocating to the Hazeltons 15 years ago, Bill has quickly realized that this is a very special place to live, work and play and is committed to contributing what he can to community resilience. He has a passion for understanding local history and has spent many hours reading and listening to stories. He’s even written a few songs about rivers, skiing, and treeplanting so if you ever get a chance to hear him perform on stage or around a campfire, you’re in for a treat!

Laurie Paulin – President

Tony Morgan – Director

Elaine Seier – Treasurer

Bill Crosson – Director

Simon Stockner – Director

Yoenne Ewald – Secretary

Nika (Lori Knorr) – Director

Adam Zonnis – Director