John F. Wood Centre - Podcast Series

Kiran Bains, MSc, RD is a registered dietitian and multiple business owner. She is co-founder of Food Venture Program, an entrepreneur incubation business for food and beverage entrepreneurs and founder of Kiki’s Kookies, a gluten-free baked goods business. She completed her Masters at the University of Guelph with research focused on nutrition and consumption behavior and with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) on the sustainability of animal protein and the impact of veganism on the environment.

She has developed food products in the Guelph-Wellington Region and continues to help other food entrepreneurs develop their food/beverage product ideas for retail distribution with a focus on integrating environmentally sustainable business practices.

Kiran is passionate about integrating environmental sustainability into the core practices of food industry businesses and loves mentoring new food business owners. She is a creative thinker and ultimately enjoys using her passion for food, research, and design to help businesses develop creative retail-ready food products.

Upon graduating from the Ontario veterinary college with the doctor of veterinary medicine, Dr. Melanie Barham went on to complete a private practice internship in Southern California, where she focused on horse performance. Melanie has served as President of the Ontario Association of the Equine Practitioners and has completed courses in client and small animal acupuncture. Melanie is also an FBI level veterinary delegate for show-jumping, as well as an FBI treating veterinarian. Currently Melanie is the animal health network coordinator at the Ontario Veterinary College. This is where she's working to implement the Ontario animal health network, a program designed to be an inclusive multi-species disease surveillance program across Ontario. Melanie is also a project management professional and the candidate for an MBA in sustainable commerce.

Dr. Mary Pearson is co-owner and medicinal director of Art Med. Mary also has an undergraduate degree, an honours degree in biology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. Mary also worked for many years in family medicine throughout Ontario, and for several decades in the area of public health infectious disease, addiction medicine, adolescent health, and women's health.

Jane Watson is currently a business director at Art Med, which is a cosmetic medicinal business situated in Guelph. Jane has also previously held the position as an instructor for marketing at the School of Media and Design at Constoga College. Jane also has a background in small and large business administration, property management, and managing your own professional career as an actress. Jane also holds a master's degree in performance from Birmingham University in New York and an honours degree in the arts from the University of Toronto.

Sophie completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, earning a Bachelor of Science in human kinetics, and was part of the advanced astronomy program while at Guelph. More recently, Sophie has completed her doctorate of naturopathic medicine at the Canadian Naturopathic School, and has played a role as a certified sports nutritionist at the University of Toronto.

John has over 30 years of experience managing a wide variety of public and private businesses. His experience includes international Masters of Law degree, partnership at a Toronto Bay St. law firm, senior position at auto parts multinational, co-founder of public auto parts company, venture capital investing and CEO and board positions at technology and public pharmaceutical businesses. John’s current focus is business and academic board roles, including his roles at the Wood Centre as Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board and Executive in Residence.

University of Guelph alum Tony Ambler is an innovative entrepreneur and founder of multiple multi-million-dollar businesses, with extensive knowledge and experience in the agricultural and food industry. Specifically, in 2001, Tony and his family purchased a large farm just outside of Peterborough, Ontario and made the decision to launch Yorkshire Valley Farms. Yorkshire Valley Farms became the largest and fastest-growing organic poultry business in Canada, with their focus on sustainable farming. In addition, Tony Ambler serves as a chairman of the board for many companies including Charlotte Products Ltd. and Swish Maintenance Limited.