SPEAKERS 2024
Stéphane Guay
Érable et Chalumeaux
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A biologist specializing in maple syrup production, Mr. Guay has been developing the Érable & Chalumeaux website with his partner Édith Bonneau, a biologist, since 2017. Many have had the opportunity to see Mr. Guay on Télé Québec's Un chef à la cabane for 11 years. His career in maple syrup production has led him to work at the Centre Acer and in R&D for private maple syrup companies.
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Ryan Bourgeois
Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries of N.B.
Ryan is the Director of Industry Financial Programs for the Province of New Brunswick, Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries. Ryan and his team are responsible for administering financial assistance programs to the agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries sectors including the Canada-New Brunswick Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and the AgriInsurance Program.
Ryan joined the Department in 2010 and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
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Graham Savage
Graham Savage Consulting
Graham Savage Consulting is headed up by Graham Savage, BScF, MF. He is a professional
with practical experience in, and solid understanding of, a diverse range of business
management applications including planning, business development, market analysis, sales and
marketing, team-building, customer service, quality assurance and arranging financing. Graham has comprehensive working knowledge of all levels of government, from both bureaucratic and political decision-making perspectives. He has over 35 years of broad-based private and public sector experience, and eight years of post-secondary education in forestry, science, economics and resource management. He has worked for Government of Newfoundland & Labrador Departments of Forest Resources & Lands and the Executive Council; the Canadian Forest Service, Business New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick, and the Private Sector. He has provided consulting services to clients from governments, university, trade associations,
private companies and non-profit organizations. Hs is supported by other private sector
consultants with specific subject matter expertise as required for specific assignments. Together
the team works to ensure that your project is executed superbly, and that your takeaway results
are lasting. We reach out into the local, provincial, national and international community to bring together the resources necessary to deliver the results clients seek.
Gérald Losier
Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick
Gérald Losier is Dean of the School of Fisheries and Natural Resources at the New Brunswick Community College. Based on the Acadian Peninsula campus, he is also Dean of the School of Arts, Hospitality and Community Services with the NBCC. He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration as well as a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Université de Moncton.
For over twenty-five years, he has acquired extensive experience in financial management, human resources and governance. He has held senior management positions with major Acadian organizations such as UNI Financial Cooperation, the Université de Moncton - Shippagan campus and the New Brunswick Community College.
Mr. Losier has served and continues to serve on several boards of directors over the years. He always makes sure to maintain his community involvement in the causes that are close to his heart. A resident of Saint-Isidore and a native of the region, Mr. Losier is recognized as a visionary leader who actively contributes to the development of his community.
Pierre-Marcel Desjardins
Université de Moncton
Pierre-Marcel Desjardins has taught economics at the Université de Moncton since 1990. He is currently Acting Director of the School of Advanced Public Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas (Austin). He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics at the Université de Moncton.
His current research focuses on regional and rural economic development public policy, language and economics, and trade. He has acted
as an economic development expert for the governments of Canada, Vanuatu and
Vanuatu and New Brunswick, as well as for the United Nations and the Organisation for
Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Pierre-Marcel has been a member of the Board of Directors of UNI coopération since 2008 and its president since 2012. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Conseil Économique du Nouveau-Brunswick as an economic advisor since
2017. From 2021 to 2023, he was Treasurer of the Réseau International des Chaires Senghor de la Francophonie. He chaired the Atlantic Canada premiers' panel on the impacts of the
employment insurance reform and was a member of the New Brunswick Pension Task Force.
From 2001 to 2012, he was Chairman of the
Pays de la Sagouine management board. He was also Chairman of the Board
of the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE- Canada).
Canada) from 2021 to 2023.
André Leclerc
Université de Moncton
André Leclerc is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Université de Moncton and a consultant. He was professor of economics at the Edmundston campus of the Université de Moncton from 1980 to 2016, and held the Chaire des Caisses populaires acadiennes en gestion des coopératives from 2005-2015.
He has recently contributed to several studies on local governance reform in New Brunswick.
He is a member of several boards of directors of cooperatives and community organizations, including :
- La Société du Jardin botanique du Nouveau-Brunswick ;
- The Board of Directors of the Coopérative d'investissement du Nord-Ouest ;
- The Board of Directors of the Coopérative d'énergie renouvelable du Nord- Ouest ;
- Le Club de field hockey le Blizzard ;
- And the Board of Directors of the Madawaska Historical Society.
Tim Rademacher
Centre Acer
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After completing his bachelor's degree in plant science and a Ph.D. in physical geography with a focus on the carbon cycle and interactions between vegetation and the atmosphere at the University of Cambridge, Tim Rademacher continued his research on temperate forest tree growth at Harvard University.
For the past three years, Tim has been studying maple forests, maple syrup production, and
global changes at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, where he currently holds an associate professor position. He has also been a permanent researcher at the Centre ACER for about a year. When he is not exploring how trees work,
he enjoys making maple syrup with friends.
The Honorable
Margaret Johnson
Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries of New Brunswick
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Margaret Johnson was elected for a first time to the 60th Legislative Assembly on September 14th, 2020 for the riding of Carleton-Victoria. She was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries on September 29th, 2020.
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A resident of Carleton County for nearly five decades, Ms. Johnson was first elected to represent Carleton-Victoria in 2020.
She is active in her community through teaching Sunday school, leading Sparks and Brownies, fundraising for Children’s Wish and Relay for Life, organizing prom, promoting the arts, being a Rotarian and managing hockey teams.
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As a lifelong teacher, Ms. Johnson remains involved in schools after retiring from teaching full time.
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Samuel Beaulé
Regional Manager - Lower St. Lawrence and New Brunswick Territory
Originally from Saint-Georges, Samuel comes from a family of maple syrup producers, having worked part-time until the end of his studies on the family's 22,000-tap maple grove in Woburn, Eastern Townships.
His studies in mechanical engineering, his knowledge of maple syrup production and his natural leadership skills have enabled him to progress in a variety of positions since joining CDL in 2008.
From planner to plant manager in the Beauce region, he then accepted the position of Corporate then Director of Engineering. He has also advised major customer projects such as Blackbird in Ontario and Sweet Tree in Vermont on the optimization of their forest and processing
and forestry operations.
Fueling the projects, he became co-owner of a 45,000-tap sugar bush in Lake Edward, New Brunswick (Bluebell Maple Farms) in 2018. He has been an AANB member ever since. Samuel has extensive expertise in intelligent equipment and the automation of day-to-day water management operations. Since last fall, he has held the position of Regional Manager for Lower St. Lawrence and New Brunswick at CDL.
Marika Chabot
Sales Assistant at CDL inc.
Maple syrup production has been an integral part of Marika Chabot's life since childhood, as she is the daughter of Vallier, co-owner of Équipements d'érablière CDL inc. It was at the family's 80,000-tap maple grove in Bellechasse that she spent sweet springs alongside her loved ones. She tasted her first syrup long before she learned to walk! Her arrival marks the integration of the 3rd generation of Chabots at CDL.
Marika officially joined the sales department last fall after completing her bachelor's degree in
Bioresource Engineering at McGill University, with a minor in Entrepreneurship.
