About GGC
Leadership
Board of Directors
Our board members represent and promote the hard work of Canadian grain farmers. Embodying our country’s varied agricultural landscape, they have an array of experience and are dedicated representatives of Canada’s grains sector.
Andre Harpe, Chair
Location: Alberta
William van Tassel, 1st Vice Chair
Location: Quebec
Grains Produced: Soybeans, Canola
Brendan Phillips, 2nd Vice Chair
Location: Manitoba
Grains Produced: Soybeans, Canola, Wheat, and Corn
Michael Delaney, Director
Location:Prince Edward Island
Grains Produced: Cereal Crops, Cow/Calf Forage Production
Bob Lepischak, Director
Location: Saskatchewan
Brad Blackwell, Director
Location: Saskatchewan
Grains Produced: Lentils, Yellow peas, Durum, Barley, Canola and Mustard
Scott Hepworth, Director
Location:Saskatchewan
Grains Produced: Peas, Wheat, Canola and Barley
Jonothan Hodson, Director
Location:Manitoba
Grains Produced: Corn, Wheat, Barley, Canola, Soybeans, Grass Seed and Hay
Daryl Fransoo, Director
Location: Saskatchewan
Tara Sawyer, Director
Location: Alberta
Grains Produced: Wheat, Barley, Canola and Hay
Robert Semeniuk, Director
Location: Alberta
Grains Produced: Wheat, Barley, Canola and Hay
David Bishop, Director
Location:Alberta
Our Staff
GGC staff’s combined experience brings a range of expertise. See how their experience informs their work and why unleashing grain farmers’ potential is at the heart of what we do.
Kyle LarkinExecutive Director
Kyle is an award-winning public affairs executive who has spent over a decade in government relations, public relations and politics. He has managed and executed public affairs strategies for national and provincial organizations, achieving short-term and long-term objectives. Kyle has successfully changed policies at both federal and provincial levels and has had his work featured in media publications, such as The Globe and Mail, National Post, CBC, BBC and The Hill Times.
Kyle was most recently the Vice-President at a public affairs firm where he worked closely with associations from across Canada. Prior to this, he worked in numerous offices on Parliament Hill, most notably for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. Kyle has also gained valuable experience working at other public affairs and policy research firms, at a national association leading their government relations activities, and has been involved in numerous federal and provincial election campaigns.
Kyle is a recipient of the 2019 Government Relations Campaign of the Year by the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) for his work in creating the third ever national self-regulated college in Canada. He is also the recipient of the 2022 Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) Award of Distinction for his work in advancing government climate changes objectives.
Kyle holds an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Studies and Modern Languages, with a minor in History and is fluently bilingual.
Vacant Manager, Policy & Government Relations
Lea Albrecht Office Administrator
Lea Albrecht was born in the Black Forest in Germany and currently lives in Ottawa, where she holds the position of Office Administrator & Event Coordinator for the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). She manages every-day operations of the organization, as well as event planning in Ottawa and all over Canada to bring together farmers, government & industry leaders throughout the year.
Prior to working for the Grain Growers of Canada, Albrecht worked as Administrative Assistant for the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, where she assisted with operations and event planning for the CBD department.
Lea graduated with Honours from Algonquin College’s Executive Office Administration program in 2017 & received the International Student Award for the School of Business in 2016.
Cole Christensen Communications Manager
Cole is an award-winning communications, marketing, and business development professional. He has used his years of communications experience to direct branding campaigns for farms, agribusinesses, and producer groups throughout Alberta and Western Canada.
As President of Cole’s Ag, he has also coordinated government relations and media relations strategies on a provincial, national and international level.
Hayley Stacey Communications Lead
Hayley has a diverse background in politics, research, theatre, and music. She holds a BA in political studies from the University of Manitoba. She joins the team after pursuing a career in government and working as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Government of Manitoba. Though new to the world of Agriculture, her love of learning, storytelling and relationship-building encouraged her to pursue a career in communications.