We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the L2T team, Kelly Panchyshyn! Kelly will be taking on a new role as Food Access Coordinator. As part of L2T work on the Regional Community Food Hub project, she will strive to connect and support community organizations working to make food more accessible to those living in the North Okanagan. In line with this goal, Kelly will work diligently to assess the needs of local community food programs, collaborating with members of the charitable food sector and the L2T network to identify opportunities for partnership to increase access to local food through existing and new initiatives.
In 2017, Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies with a minor in Indigenous Studies, from the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus (UBCO). Following graduation, she returned home to Whitehorse, Yukon, where she successfully applied for the Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship. As a research fellow, Kelly’s work focused on the inclusion of wild plant foraging in northern food security strategies for the city of Whitehorse. In 2019, her desire to build on this research, led her to pursue a Master’s in Community Engagement, Social Change and Equity at UBCO. Here, Kelly’s SSHRC funded research drew on feminist and decolonizing frameworks to examine and disrupt the power dynamics within northern land and food planning. Before joining L2T, she successfully defended this research in August of 2021. She is excited to bring this experience into the work of securing more just and sustainable access to local food for the residents of the North Okanagan.
When she is not busy tackling systemic change, she can be found venturing through the outdoors or indulging in the rich literary world of Sci Fi/fantasy. She is also quite fond of bird watching and is trying desperately to learn the art of weaving.
Should you wish to contact Kelly or pass along your weaving resource, you can reach her at hello@landtotablenetwork.com.