Greenhouse Propagator and Grower at Linwell Gardens, specialized in ornamental young plants, bedding plants, poinsettias, and other seasonal crops.

Linwell Gardens

Jamie Aalbers manages the SR&ED program at Schenck Farms & Greenhouses and serves as the Grower and Research Specialist for the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. A University of Guelph graduate, he has extensive experience in floriculture production, rose breeding, research, and consulting, with a focus on innovation and industry advancement.

Dr. Fadi Al-Daoud is the greenhouse vegetable specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. His portfolio includes fruits and vegetables grown in controlled environments, such as greenhouses and vertical farms. After earning his doctorate from the Department of Biology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada with a specialization in molecular plant pathology, Fadi worked at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Guelph. He has over 20 years of experience conducting applied and fundamental research on horticultural and field crops, and communicating his research to the scientific community and agricultural producers. Today, he collaborates with producers, researchers, and industry to advance controlled environment agriculture in Ontario.

Karli Barton is a Master of Environmental Science student at the University of Guelph studying biological control in controlled-environment strawberry production. Her research examines how new technologies can be integrated into pest-management programs, specifically focusing on LED lighting and steam treatments.

Mariska Beekman is a Dutch biologist who completed her PhD at Wageningen University. Her research focuses on aphid pests in commercial greenhouse production systems and their response to biological and chemical control strategies. She investigates the occurrence and prevalence of resistance mechanisms in sweet pepper and strawberry crops.

From her Missouri family farm roots to the colorful green spaces of her suburban lot, Diane Blazek’s passion for horticulture has been lifelong. As current Executive Director of National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections, a position held since 2010, she has led both organizations through growth, modernization and expanded outreach to home gardeners.

Dr. Habiba Bougherara is a Full Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Mechatronics Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on the development of next-generation joint replacement implants. Since 2017, Dr. Bougherara has expanded her research into controlled environment agriculture (CEA), where she and her team developed a unique, innovative, and autonomous pollination system known as Bee Free Pollinators. Dr. Bougherara’s research contributions include more than 140 peer-reviewed journal publications, over 100 conference presentations, several patents, 10 book chapters, and the training of more than 100 graduate and undergraduate students. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Dr. Bougherara has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Collaborative Research Award, and the Yeates School Award for Outstanding Contribution to Graduate Education. She has also been honored three times with the TMU Research Excellence Award, underscoring her sustained commitment to excellence in both research and education.

Greg is the Technical Lead for Beneficial Insectary and has been working in entomology and crop science for over 15 years. That experience includes various research projects and jobs while he was in college at Auburn University, entomology lab technician at NC State University, and research positions at private companies. In 2017 he got a job in the biological control industry, and soon after realized that it would be his lifelong career. He is dedicated to helping all the growers he works with succeed by managing pests through biocontrol and other IPM techniques.

Dr. Rose Buitenhuis has worked at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre since 2010 and is now Director of the Biological Crop Protection Program. She is responsible for the development and implementation of biological control technologies for management of pests and diseases, supporting sustainable crop management practices for ornamental and production horticulture. Rose received her MSc in Biology at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1997, and her PhD in Entomology at Laval University, Québec in 2003. She worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Harrow (2004-2007) and at the University of Guelph (2007-2009) on biological and cultural control of western flower thrips in greenhouse flower crops.

Passionate for biological control, Veronica has been involved in IPM for 30 years. She has extensively worked along with growers in North and Central America. Veronica is an IPM Teach Lead for Plant Products USA, and a Global Technical Specialist for Biobest supporting reps in Canada and USA.

Born and raised in Malaysia and went to school at University of Manitoba in 2013. He successfully completed his master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics in 2021 and relocated to BC in 2023. He was hired as a grower at Bevo Farms for growing and crop health management.

Lucas Chapdelaine is Assistant Director of Growing and Operations at Whole Leaf, one of North America's most advanced greenhouse lettuce operations near Coaldale, Alberta. His hands-on expertise spans pest control, climate, and irrigation, and he leads the harvest team that packs more than 60,000 heads daily.

With his career at the Dramm Company for over 30 years Louis has helped greenhouse growers and industry representatives across the country on choosing crop protection equipment for greenhouse use. As a grower himself he is aware of the crop protection challenges grower’s experience. This includes paring a bio or chemistry product with the right machine.

Mikaelison Lima (Mika Lima) is an agronomist with a Master’s in Entomology and a strong background in vegetable pest management. Over the years, he has specialized in crop monitoring, decision-making systems, and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies tailored for greenhouse and field production. Currently pursuing a PhD in Biology at Western University, Mika's research focuses on biodiversity and the sustainable management of spider mites in agriculture. Passionate about bridging science and practice, he works closely with growers to develop practical, science-based IPM solutions that improve crop health and reduce pesticide reliance.

Marco de Leonardis is the Director of Research and Development manager and Organic specialist at Freeman Herbs with responsibility for improving shelf-life, consistency of production and product quality, making extensive use of dynamic LED lights, Bio-control and Bio-stimulants. He has over 35 years of international consulting and operational experience in diverse and challenging horticultural environments. De Leonardis holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Florence, Italy and is fluent in five languages.

Dominick Dimucci is Director of Cultivation at Haven Greens, specializing in fully automated mobile gulley systems for baby leaf lettuce. With experience across Colorado, Texas, and Ontario, he holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in horticulture and is focused on driving operational excellence and crop first outcomes in controlled environment agriculture.

Dr. Martine Dorais, full professor at Université Laval since 2017 and former researcher at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (1996–2016), has over 30 years of experience in sustainable and organic greenhouse production, lighting optimization, and vertical farming. She currently holds a Research Chair in Organic Greenhouses and Controlled Environment Horticulture, focusing on growing media, fertigation, waste valorization and circularity, as well as biochar, biostimulants, and the interactions between the soil microbiome and plant and soil health.

Alvaro Fernandes leverages an agricultural engineering background and over twenty years of CEA leadership. Applying a strong systemic view to agricultural systems, Alvaro has successfully optimized diverse production models and environments. His expertise bridges complex technology with practical cultivation strategies to deliver scalable operational excellence.

Shannon Fraser is a Grant Specialist with Henderson Consulting & Associates who has worked with more than 1,500 business owners & entrepreneurs. An award-winning speaker, she has presented at conferences, chamber events, webinars & live interviews, helping audiences uncover funding opportunities & simplify complex programs.

With a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from the University of Saskatchewan, Eric Gerbrandt has worked in the berry sector for 20 years, specializing in applied horticultural research. His current work is evenly split between field-based systems through his company, Sky Blue Horticulture Ltd., and controlled environment systems via BeriTech Inc.

James Gibson received his B.S. in plant and soil sciences in 1996 from West Virginia University, Morgantown. He later earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in 2000 and 2003, respectively, from North Carolina State University. After graduate school he worked as an assistant professor at the University of Florida. In 2007 he became Corporate Manager of Quality Control for Conrad Fafard, Inc., followed by Fafard’s R&D Director and Technical Services Manager for Syngenta Flowers. His current position is Technical Lead for Syngenta Flowers working with broker and grower communities on flower trials and crop culture.

Katie is the pathologist for horticulture crops with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. She works to strengthen the province's horticultural sectors through extension education and applied research on improved disease identification, monitoring and management. Katie received her Master of Science at Michigan State University in plant pathology.

Celina Gómez is an Associate Professor at Purdue University leading a cross-commodity research program in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). Her expertise includes plant lighting, propagation, hydroponic production, and citizen science. She integrates research, teaching, and Extension to improve productivity and quality of specialty crops in CEA.

Peter hall is ceo of econosphere inc., offering strategic advice to Canadian corporations, business associations and policymakers. He is the former chief economist of export development Canada and also directed the economic forecasting group at the conference board of Canada.

Pépinière Cultivar Inc.

Norm is an organic agriculture consultant and the recently retired Director of Research and Development at Erieview Acres. He brings an incredible depth of regulatory and scientific experience to our program today. Norm currently serves on the board of Ontario Organic and acts as their representative to the Organic Federation of Canada, where he helps coordinate the five-year review of the Canadian Organic Standards. He also sits on the Science Advisory Board for the Organic Science Cluster, reviewing research projects funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Serving as president of Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization devoted to academic and business advancements in plant factory/CEA, Eri has a keen interest in plant factories’ technological advances, including phenotyping. She received a Ph.D. from Chiba University. She is an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan.

Dr. Ricardo Hernández (Co-I) is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University, focused on controlled environment research, specializing in optimizing environments to maximize plant responses. As the Director of the CEA-Coalition at NCSU (https://units.cals.ncsu.edu/cea/), he heads a multidisciplinary research group. Collaborating with scientists, engineers, and industry partners, their evidence-based research aims to reshape CE agricultural practices for a more sustainable future. Dr. Hernández has led a controlled environment propagation research program for the past 15 years, making significant contributions to the development of environmental protocols and technologies aimed at improving the propagation of horticultural crops.

Meyers Fruit Farms

Dr Ann Huber is the environmental microbiologist for The Soil Resource Group (SRG) in Guelph with many years of experience in environmental and agricultural research. She is SRG's lead for horticultural BMPs, process water treatment technology evaluation and development, water quality monitoring, farm-based risk management, food safety and soil health.

For over 35 years George has promoted cleaning and disinfecting in Greenhouse's, Poultry and Swine operations, as well as with Dairy & horse barns and everything in between. For the last 10 years he has been a Biosecurity Consultant for Vetoquinol and DCL most recently.

Matthew holds 30 years’ experience in biological and integrated plant health management R&D in North America and Europe. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Plant Pathology from The Ohio State University. At Lallemand Plant Care, he is responsible for developing microbial tools and providing technical resources for greenhouse growers.

Dr. Roberto Lopez is a professor at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the propagation and production of young and finished plants. His team's goal is to determine how light (quantity, quality, and duration), substrate and air temperature, and carbon dioxide influence crop timing, rooting, yield, quality, flavor, nutrition, and subsequent performance.

Carly Lacy holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Certificate in Environmental Management, with a strong foundation in plant science and sustainable systems. With over a decade of experience in horticulture and agriculture research, she has contributed extensively to advancing growing practices and product development. Carly has been with the Walker Ind. for 4 years managing product development and scientific research projects in resource recovery and innovative growing media development.

Jason Lanoue is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based out of the Harrow Research and Development Centre. His research focuses on plant physiology, biochemistry, and abiotic stress response. He is also currently focused on crop diversification to build a more sustainable and economically resilient greenhouse sector.

Lenny Louis is CEO of Vision Greens, focused on reshaping Canada’s food system through scalable indoor agriculture. Formerly Country Director at Tesla Canada, he has also held leadership roles at Microsoft and SAP building and scaling high-growth businesses over two decades.

Dr. Marchand obtained a Ph.D. in Plant biology from Université Laval, and did her thesis work on the genetic control of the mode of action of fungal biocontrol agent against powdery mildew. During a post-doctoral fellowship at Health Canada, she contributed to the development of a microfluidic detection system for food-borne pathogens. She has worked at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for over 10 years, previously at the Pest Management Centre and the Ottawa Research and Development Centre. For the last seven years, she has been leading a research program on pathology of greenhouse vegetables and other horticultural crops at the Harrow Research and Development Centre in Southwestern Ontario. Her research program focuses on methods for detection and control of plant pathogens, with a focus on integrated pest management.

Cara McCreary is the Greenhouse Vegetable IPM Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) since 2015. Cara has a Master of Science in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph, a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration from the University of Windsor, and an Associate Diploma in Horticulture from the University of Guelph. In her current role, Cara has worked extensively on emerging pest issues, such as pepper weevil and tomato brown rugose fruit virus.

Born in a greenhouse and shaped by years of experience with high-tech cultivation facilities worldwide, helping hydroponic leafy greens & cannabis growers elevate their cultivation to the highest level: profitable, scalable, and scientifically grounded. With an MSc in Plant Science from Wageningen University (specializing in greenhouse horticulture) and decades of international consultancy experience.

Dr. Steeve Pepin is a professor of environmental plant physiology at Université Laval since 2004. His research expertise lies in plant gas exchange and microclimate, with a particular focus on carbon assimilation and water loss, canopy light environment, growing media and abiotic stresses in controlled environment horticulture.

Jonah Schaller is a M.Sc. candidate at the University of Guelph researching management strategies for strawberry tipburn in controlled environments. His work focuses on the manipulation of various environmental factors ranging from light quality to airflow, with the intended purpose of reducing strawberry tipburn in an implementable and cost-effective manner.

Sam Soltaninejad has an extensive professional background in precision horticulture. Over the past two decades, and across multiple countries including Asia, Europe and Canada, Sam has worked both in controlled environment settings as well as outdoors in the fields of vegetable and ornamental production. He has worked for ILVO research centre in Belgium as well as Orangeline Farms and Greater Northern Hydroponics in Kingsville, Ontario. His wealth of knowledge includes expertise in hydroponics, supplemental lighting, integrated pest management and sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Sullivan is an adjunct professor in the Dept. of Plant Agriculture and has spent his career breeding horticultural species. Most recently he has focused on developing varieties based on some of our native ornamental species. The breeding program emphasizes climate resilient varieties that are drought tolerant and require minimal fertility inputs.

Azimove Sulthana is a graduate researcher at the University of Windsor studying greenhouse integrated pest management. Her research focuses on aphid control, insecticide efficacy, and compatibility of chemical products with biological control agents, including Aphidius colemani and Chrysoperla spp., to support sustainable greenhouse crop production.

Matthew started out at Orchard Park Growers nineteen years ago in propagation after which he moved into finished production and eventually became Head Grower. Matthew is thankful for a great growing team that helps to ensure that all the many aspects of growing are looked after.

Crystal Murray Thuss is Marketing Manager at Heeman's, a third-generation family retail greenhouse, berry farm & cidery in London, Ontario. She leads the marketing team, bringing Heeman's mission of connecting people with flowers, flavour, and fun to life through storytelling, creativity, and guest experiences.

Mathew is a progressive grower at Twin Creeks Greenhouse, where expertise is combined with advancing automation. He leverages AI-driven climate control, data analytics, and smart systems to optimize crop health, efficiency, and sustainability, consistently improving yields while embracing innovation across modern greenhouse operations throughout its rapidly evolving facility.

Gabriël van der Kruijk combines hands-on tech expertise with deep horticulture experience. As Managing Director of LetsGrow.com, he cuts through AI hype with practical, customer-focused insights. Drawing on digital transformations at Rijk Zwaan and Koppert, he helps audiences and workshop participants turn technology into concrete business impact and solutions.

Paul Vos is the head grower and production manager at Foxwood Greenhouses. Paul graduated from University of Guelph in 2007 with a degree in Horticulture Science.

Dr. Aiming Wang is a senior research scientist specializing in plant virology at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) based in London, Ontario. He holds a PhD in molecular virology from the University of British Columbia. His laboratory employs multidisciplinary approaches to understand and control viruses that threaten Canadian crop production, particularly greenhouse tomato, pepper and cucumber. Currently, he focuses his research on tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), particularly on the development of biocontrol vaccines and novel genetic resistance.

Samantha is an Assistant Professor of Entomology at Cornell University with a research/extension appointment in Controlled Environment Agriculture. She has a strong background in community ecology and biocontrol. Her current program investigates how abiotic and biotic factors shape insect communities in CEA to develop more pest-resilient cropping systems.

Dr. Youbin Zheng is a Horticulture Professor at the University of Guelph with over 30 years of experience in controlled environment production of high-value crops, including cannabis, vegetables, ornamentals and strawberries. Renowned for expertise in horticultural lighting and rootzone management, he has been frequently invited to present his team’s research worldwide.