MEET OUR TEAM
SONNY GRAY, CEO
Leader, Business Strategist & Developer, and Entrepreneur; Sonny has a keen eye for identifying overlooked opportunities that exist in the North, and turning them into successful business ventures. Originally raised on a farm in QC, Sonny set his sights on building local agriculture infrastructure since 2016.
JOEL GAETZ, CFO
Accounting, Taxation, Regulatory Knowledge, Analytical mind-set, Strong Problem Solving. As an entrepreneur pursuing his CPA Designation, Joel has a firm understanding of corporate accounting and taxation. Joel brings ten years’ experience of managing the operations, finances, and reporting requirements of a variety of businesses and firms.
TM GUNDERSON
TM Gunderson has over 20 years of experience working in oil and gas, clean energy development, and food production. His focus is food and energy security in Canada and the USA. He has founded Enerpro Engineering which focused on pipeline and clean energy projects. Then founded Epoch Energy in 2016 to develop clean energy projects, including acting as project manager for a 100 MW geothermal project in Canada. In 2018 he founded Rocky Mountain Shrimp Farm and Aerofodder, focusing on land-based seafood, vegetable, and fungi production.
YUKON SEED & RESTORATION
Yukon Seed and Restoration Inc. seeks to provide services for harvesting, cleaning, storage and sowing of locally available native seed stock for use in mine reclamation, agriculture, and other small and large-scale restoration projects. This partnership between the Nacho Nyak Dun Development Corporation (NNDDC) and Core Geoscience Services Inc. (CoreGeo) fills the gap of local, customized restoration services, including the provision of native seed for restoration projects, and technical training for the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND) citizens. YSR is working to build resiliency and capacity for northern seed sovereignty, best practices for active restoration, and food security in the north.
KEVIN WALLINGTON
Born in Terrace, British Columbia, Kevin moved from the mountains, to the prairies, eventually settling in the Northwest Territories. After acquiring a communication degree at Mount Royal University, Kevin returned to the North where he has been involved in food development in the poultry industry over the past 10 years. Kevin is currently serving as the General Manager for the Northwest Territories Egg Board, and manages the Polar Egg grading station and Choice North Farms layer operation in Hay River, NT with his family. He is passionate about feeding the North and continues to work with other sectors, food champions, researchers and government.
SHELBY LESLIE
Forest Foods Ltd. works with Indigenous and rural communities, governments, and landowners to develop resource management practices and policies which incorporate the full scope of forest values. By valuing the understory (botanical & fungi) resources, water and carbon’s role within a sustainable forest economy, Forest Foods is working to bring biodiversity and ecosystem function to the forefront of forest planning and management regimes. The company works throughout Western Canada and is a subsidiary of the Brinkman Group of Companies.
GARY CHAPMAN
Gary Chapman has been involved in the Aquaculture industry since 1980. During this time, he has worked in Research, Government and private facilities. Gary is considered a world expert in the design, construction and management of large-scale intensive Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). He has worked with numerous species (tilapia, trout, sturgeon, salmon and char) and in many countries both in a consulting role and as an operating partner. Gary obtained his BSc (Zoology) at the University of Guelph in 1980.