NFU Staff
Meet the NFU Team
Dave Thompson is the Executive Director. Dave has worked with the NFU-Ontario for the past five years in various capacities including: policy research and analysis, conducting farmer interviews and managing programs. In that time, Dave also coordinated the International Programs Committee (IPC) working groups, and notably aided in the creation of the NFU’s BIPOC caucus and the farmworker membership category. He is an effective, people-centred organizer who has demonstrated a deep dedication to the NFU. Dave is an accomplished academic, holding an MA in Cultural, Social and Political Thought from the University of Victoria, BC, and a PhD in History from Queen’s University in Kingston, ON. In 2018, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Ottawa. Much of his academic work focuses on the history of labour and activism. He has also worked as a union organizer for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Director of Research and Policy
Cathy Holtslander is the Director of Research and Policy at the National Farmers Union. In addition to policy research, analysis and writing articles and briefs on NFU policy issues, she convenes working groups of NFU members addressing policy issues. Prior to joining the NFU staff in 2011 she taught ABE in Northern Saskatchewan, was the Coordinator of the Saskatchewan Eco Network, co-published Synergy Magazine, and was a founder of, and worked for the Beyond Factory Farming Coalition, an organization promoting sustainable livestock production. Her Master’s degree focussed on social movement adult education and the history of women’s leadership in the farm movement in Saskatchewan. She also has degrees in Sociology and Regional and Urban Development. She and her partner have operated a certified organic grain farm near Mont Nebo, SK since 2009.
James Hannay is the policy assistant at the NFU. He is currently based on the territories of the Anishinaabe and Mississauga, also known as “London”. James’ interest in agricultural issues and policy was kickstarted by a deep concern for a just food system during the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthened by studying the politics and economics of climate change. He has particular interests in the effects of corporate concentration and financialization of agriculture, and completed his master’s thesis on the political economy of private-sector soil carbon sequestration programs in North America. While he is new to the space, he is keen to learn and eager to help the NFU further its mission of democracy, food sovereignty, positive environmental outcomes, and building vibrant communities in agriculture.
Sarah Marquis is originally from rural Nova Scotia, and now resides on the territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, otherwise known as Ottawa, Ontario. She just completed a PhD in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Ottawa, where she researched the role of digital technologies, like AI and robotics, in transitions to sustainable agriculture in Canada. Sarah has also worked in the Senate of Canada, helping to set up an organization called Senators for Climate Solutions, which engages and educates senators on key aspects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Sarah is currently a climate activist and organizer in Ottawa with an organization called Climate Justice Ottawa. She also has degrees in human geography and environmental science.
Gillian (Gill) Cormier is an experienced communicator, strategist, and organizer. With an academic background in Community Development and Environmental and Sustainability Studies, she brings a holistic, informed, and empathetic approach to organizing within the NFU.
She co-founded The Lupine Market, a farmers’ market in her hometown, fostering connections with local farms where she later worked, volunteered or visited to gain a deeper understanding of agriculture in Southern New Brunswick. Passionate about co-operative ways of organizing, she is also part of TOASA Cooperative Farm, a small landless, worker-owned farm co-op.
Gill has uplifted the NFU’s voice for over four years working as Communications Manager for NFU and the NFU-NB and has also worked as an organizer on the NFU’s Canadian Farm Resilience Agency (CFRA) file. Gill speaks English, French, and Portuguese.
Executive Assistant
Ann Smith is the Executive Assistant, working in the NFU’s national office in Saskatoon. She is the oldest of a large family, raised on a small mixed farm in northeastern Saskatchewan. She has worked with agricultural organizations for much of her career. For the last 22 years she has worked with the Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan, first as a Senior Project Officer reviewing and furthering applications for federal funding programs designed to position Canada’s agriculture and agri-food at the leading edge to capture new and innovative opportunities, and then as Manager of Levy Central, a program created to assist Canadian agricultural organizations to accurately record and collect regulated agricultural levies. Ann retired from her position with Levy Central at the end of July, 2022, and is excited to be working on a part-time basis with NFU. Ann has two adult children and enjoys classic rock music, reading, gardening and landscaping, interior design and home improvements, beekeeping, cooking (and eating).
Terran Giacomini is the NFU’s International Programs and Special Projects Coordinator. She is from an Irish-Italian family living on Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory. As a long-time member of the NFU, Terran has an extensive background in international solidarity organizing. She is dedicated to supporting member engagement in the La Via Campesina movement for food sovereignty and in solidarity organizing that challenge settler-colonialism and racism in the food system. Terran has her PhD in adult education and community development and is deeply committed to liberatory politics grounded in feminism and internationalism. She can be found most days walking in the woods near her family home, gardening and collaborating for social change.
Nasseem Hakimian is the co-lead for the NFU’s new national program The Exchange: Cultivating Diversity in Agriculture alongside comrade Nadia Bunyan. Nasseem is a trilingual organizer based in Montreal, QC and has a background in event production and communications. She has been farming throughout Ontario and Quebec since 2020 while she continues manage grassroots projects in agriculture and beyond.
Nadia Bunyan (she/her) is a fashion designer constantly learning, leading her to co-found Growing A.R.C.. This nonprofit uses the prism of farming, material culture, and fashion systems, to explore and create activities grounded in the farm-to-closet process. She will soon begin her Masters to study sustainability through the intersectional lens of education, economics, and design. To connect, contact Nadia at bunyan@nfu.ca
The NFU also has staffed regional offices in NFU-New Brunswick (Region 1, District 2) and NFU-Ontario (Region 2).
