Estelle Taylor – A committed city person, Estelle nonetheless has enduring connections to farming, with grandparents who farmed and relatives who still do. Estelle helped to start a farmers’ market in Vancouver and moved to Zambia for a while to support small-scale farmers there. She claims she herself is able to grow tomatoes but none of us are yet convinced. linkedin.com/in/estelletaylor/

Mary Vallis Cowan is a journalist, educator and entrepreneur. For her, the market represents a place to bring people together, build social capital and showcase creativity. She is particularly fond of watermelon radishes.

Janet Robins is an environmental consultant specializing in the design of waste diversion programs and policies for municipal and First Nation clients. Her love of nature and the need to foster a sustainable environment has resulted in her involvement at Withrow Market and its commitment to local sustainable agriculture and zero waste. She is also known as ‘Ms. Doolittle’ in the neighbourhood with her fondness for rescuing dogs, cats, hedgehogs, turtles, etc. While an enthusiastic gardener, Janet has had little success growing vegetables and relies on the market to supply her with tasty foods including raspberries, peaches, salad ingredients and prepared foods from the vendors.

Arjie de Chavez  has worn many hats as a volunteer at Withrow Market for the past 6 years before taking the reigns as Volunteer Coordinator this season. She comes with over 5 years of experience working in the local food system. She’s passionate about combating food waste and supporting local producers. Arjie loves photography, travelling, eating new things and puts hot sauce on almost everything!

Stacey Waspe is a designer, writer, brand manager and plant-nerd. She is a gardener, amateur genealogist and member of the Guild of One Name Studies. She’s into seed-saving, zero waste, circular economy and everything secondhand or DIY. Stacey loves blueberries, gluten-free brownies and will fight you for the last eggplant.

Lanrick Bennett Jr. is all about #EastEndLove. A Managing Director and advocate he believes that if everything we did in our cities was great for an 8 year old and an 80 year old, then it would be great for everyone. Lanrick was one half of #JacksLibraryTour, where he and his 5-year-old son visited all 100 Toronto Public Libraries using public transit. He is a year-round urban cyclist who champions protected cycling infrastructure in multiple forms. Taking a page out of his improv training with the Second City, he celebrates the concept of “Yes, And,” in every aspect of urban life.

Benetta Yogendran is a senior project manager with 8 years of experience in project management, consulting, and CPG operations. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Queen’s Smith School of Business. For her the market presents an opportunity to be part of a community and use her project management experience to contribute to its success and growth. She enjoys gardening and spends countless hours with her mom growing vegetables and flowers. Her favourite local vegetable is corn, she gets excited every summer waiting to get her hands on locally grown corn!