The annual general meetings of 4H Canada and the Canadian 4H Foundation have brought new leadership with a continued focus on youth development and strengthening agriculture in Canada.
Robert Larsen has been named chair of the 4H Canada Board of Directors, with Tyler McCann as vice-chair. David Hansen, the outgoing chair, will now serve as past chair.
Bev Jones from Alberta and Mila MacLean from Nova Scotia have joined the board for their first three-year term. Jones, with decades of experience in agriculture, and MacLean, with her aerospace background and community roots, both bring fresh insights.
Continuing board members include Danielle Chu, Fawn Jackson, Shelley Jones, Neleah Lavoie, and Amy McConchie. Youth voices remain strong with the appointment of Katie MacNeil from Nova Scotia and Austin Olson from Saskatchewan, both representing the Youth Advisory Committee.
“With this new board in place, we look forward to completing the 2025-2028 strategic plan for 4-H Canada. Adding two new members to our board ensures we continue to diversify the perspectives at our governance table and will serve as a real complement to the work of long-serving directors taking on leadership roles, such as Robert and Tyler,” said interim CEO, Hugh Maynard.
In the Canadian 4H Foundation, Ben Graham completed his term as chair and will now serve as past chair. The new chair and vice-chair are yet to be announced. Lisa Ashton, who leads agriculture policy at RBC Thought Leadership, joined as a new trustee.
Other trustees continuing their roles include Gene Fraser, Jacob Fergus, Arron Madson, Ashwin Ramesh, Ryan Riese, and Valerie Stone Grech. The Foundation plays a key role in managing 4H Canada’s endowment funds.
"The good work that 4-H does to support youth leaders as they learn to do by doing requires a solid financial foundation and it is thanks to the good work of our foundation trustees that we are able to plan to for the future, even when the economic headwinds are difficult,” said Maynard. “We anticipate that strengthening and diversifying how we build funds will emerge as a priority of the next strategic plan."
He thanked all directors and trustees for their dedication to the growth of future agricultural leaders.