Women’s Grain Symposium
Making Connections
Grain Farmers of Ontario’s Women’s Grain Symposium is an opportunity for networking, professional development, and leadership development.
The Women’s Grain Symposium is open to women who are grain farmers, active members of their family grain operation, or working within the grain sector or agriculture business with a direct connection to farmers.
Cost: $125, includes one night hotel accommodation at the Delta.
The event is now at full capacity, please join our waitlist if you are interested in attending.
Join us at the 2024 Women’s Grain Symposium
November 25 – 26, 2024
Delta Hotel
50 Stone Rd W, Guelph, ON N1G 0A9
Speakers
Kendra Dauer
Risk Management Consultant
StoneX
Kendra joined the Bowling Green, OH StoneX team in August 2019. As a Risk Management Consultant, she works primarily with commercial grain elevator and farmer customers to help manage their price exposure in the grain futures market. Prior to joining StoneX, Kendra worked in the grain division at a farmer cooperative in Bowling Green, OH. Her cash grain experience, coupled with her background in education make her position at StoneX a great fit as she enjoys the opportunity to educate new and existing customers on hedging and the futures markets.
Bethany Parkinson
Manager, Psychological Support and Education
Agriculture Wellness Ontario, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario
Bethany is the Manager, Psychological Support and Education with Agriculture Wellness Ontario (AgWO) at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – Ontario Division. Bethany is a Registered Social Worker and has worked in clinical and healthcare settings, and social services. During her Master of Social Work she completed research on mental health among Canadian farmers; she is passionate about AgWO programs and wellbeing among agriculture communities. Bethany operates her family’s beef and purebred sheep farm outside of Elora, Ontario.
Baram and Snieckus
A power couple of Canadian comedy, Second City Alums Matt Baram (Painkiller, Umbrella Academy, The Trades) and Naomi Snieckus (The Social, Mr. D, Zombies) are a six-time Canadian Comedy Award winning troupe offering unique appearances and interactive workshops to help people “learn with laughter.” Whether hosting a morning conference or an evening gala, or leading training sessions that incorporate the invaluable lessons of improv, the duo is guaranteed to give your team an unforgettable, rewarding–and hilarious–experience to remember.
Offerings from Baram and Snieckus include participatory improv, improv that is accompanied with a talk about the importance of saying “yes” to opportunity, song and dance entertainment, as well as a “talk show themed” segment, with Naomi and Matt offering fun commentary on your company’s conference or event…and much more!
Amber Mac
President
Amber Mac Media
Amber Mac is President of AmberMac Media, Inc., an award-winning content development agency, an award-winning podcaster (This Is Mining and The AI Effect), and a bestselling author. She is also the co-host of the award-winning emerging technology radio show and podcast #TheFeed on SiriusXM.
In 2024, Amber was named as one of DMZ’s Women of the Year for her work driving innovation and progress in the tech industry. In 2021, Amber was named one of the Bay Street Bull Women of the Year for her leadership in the technology sector. In 2016, she co-wrote the Amazon bestseller, Outsmarting Your Kids Online, just a few years after she wrote the Globe & Mail business bestseller, Power Friending.
Amber has keynoted more than 500 events around the world and has moderated sessions with: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, former FBI Director James Comey; business coach Tony Robbins; literary icon Margaret Atwood; and many other notable leaders.
Panel discussion moderator: Victoria Berry
Director, Communications
Grain Farmers of Ontario
Victoria Berry, Director of Communications for Grain Farmers of Ontario, will lead a discussion with ag business leaders to highlight success stories, challenges, and the future potential of the grain sector.
Amanda Norris
Senior Economist
Farm Credit Canada
Amanda Norris joined FCC in 2024 as an Economist. She has expertise in the food and beverage industries, but also does research on supply management and consumer trends. Amanda comes from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada where she amassed a wealth of economic, technical and industry knowledge through various positions including policy advisor, project lead and Economist.
Amanda holds a master’s degree in Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Guelph. She is also a Board member of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society where she promotes outreach and the importance of agriculture and food research.
Panel discussion: Christina Stroud
Head of Corporate Affairs
Syngenta
Christina Stroud is the Head of Corporate Affairs for Syngenta Canada where she leads the business sustainability, government and industry relations, and communication areas of the business.
With over 25 years in the agriculture industry, Christina is skilled at building stakeholder relationships and finding opportunities that lead to positive outcomes for the agriculture industry. She is passionate about supporting and advancing women in agriculture and is responsible for this focus area at Syngenta.
Before joining Syngenta in 2019, Christina held senior communication and marketing roles within the agriculture sector. She earned her BA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently enrolled in McMaster’s Master of Communication Management. She is a member of numerous industry committees, including CropLife Canada, the National Index on Agri-Food Performance, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture; the Government Relations Institute of Canada; and the National Women in Agriculture Advisory Board.
Panel discussion: Lisa Bishop-Spencer
Canadian Centre for Food Integrity
Panel discussion: Andrea Kent
Greenfield
Agenda
Monday
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1:00 p.m. | Welcome remarks / introduction to GFO |
| 1:45 p.m. | Speaker session 1: Kendra Dauer: Grain markets |
| 2:45 p.m. | Break |
| 3:00 p.m. | Speaker session 2: Bethany Parkinson: Stress management workshop |
| 4:00 p.m. | Break |
| 5:00 p.m. | Reception and networking event |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner |
| 8:00 p.m. | Keynote speaker: Baram and Snieckus: The importance of saying “yes” in life and in business |
| 9:00 p.m. | Hospitality suite |
Tuesday
| 7:00 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:00 a.m. | Speaker session 3: Amanda Norris: Business Intelligence |
| 9:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:00 a.m. | Panel discussion: Ag Business Leaders – moderated by Victoria Berry Joined by Christina Stroud, Lisa Bishop-Spencer, Andrea Kent |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1:00 p.m. | Speaker session 4: Amber Mac: 4 Lessons to Thrive in Our AI Future |
| 2:30 p.m. | Closing remarks |
| 3:00 p.m. | Symposium ends |
Thank you to the Women’s Grain Symposium sponsors!
Banquet & keynote speaker sponsor
Tuesday lunch & panel discussion sponsor
Breakfast sponsor
Monday lunch sponsor
SWAG bag sponsor
Speaker sponsors
Nutrition break sponsors
Supporters
