As an SBA coach, Brady will help participants focus in on, and plan the implantation of, their project. He is an experienced and mid-island based, small business consultant with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. Prior to consulting, Brady founded a robotics manufacturing business, a small-batch ice cream company, and most recently a management consulting firm.  Brady has a business and management consulting education, broad networks, and a passion for supporting foodpreneurs achieve their own version of success.

Sonia Strobel is co-founder and CEO of Skipper Otto, a Community Supported Fishery based on Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, BC. She is a creative problem solver, an enthusiastic innovator, and a champion of social and environmental justice. Sonia has been a member of Community Supported Agriculture programs since the early 90’s and brought her knowledge of CSA’s to the family fishery, first conceiving of the idea for one of the first CSFs in the world in 2008. She is an expert in alternative distribution models and will be an invaluable asset to the SBA team.

Greg is the founder and chief strategist for Farm Food Drink, a team of research, planning, and marketing specialists focused solely on farm, food, and drink businesses. With decades of industry experience in business development, sales and marketing, and a social purpose to develop local food economies, Greg has one foot in a dress shoe and one in a gumboot. Greg and his team have worked on many seafood sector projects through the years, including market research, business development, sales, and marketing. All in support of his journey to grow BC's community food system. 

Josephine has been living and working in various countries over the past 2 decades developing her skills in photography, graphic design, and writing.  Returning to the region, she is keen to be involved in the future of food – the way we feed people and the way we interact with the ocean. A continuous student, she has returned to North Island College to feed her entrepreneurial and curious spirit. Josephine will apply her skills to developing business profiles, communications, and producing the final storybook in the Seafood Business Accelerator.  

Ellie is a Red Seal Chef with 40 years of experience in multiple industries and settings – hotels, restaurants, luxury yachts, high end catering and large-scale corporate functions. She has extensive experience in product and recipe development, including upscaling recipes for large volume production. Although she is semi-retired, she continues to apply her passion for food by running a prepared meals micro-business with her business partner and through her work with the Centre for Seafood Innovation.  

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Ellie will be working with program participants to address their chef-related needs.

Bruce joins the SBA to provide marketing and related expertise to participants. Prior to consultancy work, Bruce was the Vice President at Orca Specialty Foods Limited, Canada’s leading value-added seafood processor. He also worked for Icicle Seafoods (United States) as a Canadian national sales & marketing manager. He is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the PSIA. Bruce is a strong advocate of regenerative business models and supporter of Blue Economy initiatives.

Bonnie is a communications specialist with Farm Food Drink - Social. She uses her marketing and social media expertise to develop marketing strategies, communications and implementation plans for small farms and food processors. These plans outline key tactics and positioning statements that connect with the end consumer. Growing a food forest on her third of an acre, Bonnie understands the challenges of what’s involved to work the land and wants to help farmers and food processors build a sustainable business.

Salik is the market research lead with Farm Food Drink and leverages his interdisciplinary background in post-secondary teaching, research, and business planning to help small food producers and processors with marketing research at different stages of business planning. He uses his expertise to develop a simplified process for small businesses to gather data that is useful and relevant to their situation. Salik is passionate about sustainability in general and sustainable food systems in particular. His desire to uplift the local seafood sector stems from his passion for community empowerment, and the belief that small SEAfood businesses are pivotal in ensuring regional food security.

Sean is a food safety expert working in the seafood industry as Plant Manager. With a Master’s degree in food science, strong quality assurance skills and hands-on operations experience, Sean develops and maintains food safety management systems with an operational point of view. Sean is experienced with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations as well as HACCP, GFSI, Kosher, Organic, Oceanwise and BAP certification requirements. As part of the SBA Team, Sean will present on food safety regulations and will be available for expert advice on a limited basis.