Rowena is the Director of Food Distribution at North York Harvest Food Bank and the energy behind Leadership in Logistics, a logistics and transportation sector skills development program created in partnership with the Learning Enrichment Foundation. This initiative was inspired by the desire to weave learning opportunities into every aspect of North York Harvest’s work and to seek long term solutions to the poverty being faced by clients of North York Harvest’s many emergency food programs across Northern Toronto. Prior to this, Rowena worked throughout the food sector, from being a small scale organic farmer and food justice advocate in New Brunswick to managing a cooperative of farmers’ markets in Nova Scotia, creating spaces for low income individuals to experiment with food entrepreneurship in a low-risk environment. She has also owned a local food business called Jitterbug Playful Flavours, worked as an organic farm inspector, written a best-selling guide to organic certification, been a regular key-note speaker at food and farming events from Manitoba to the Maritimes, and delivered chemistry teaching sets by motorbike in Rwanda. In her spare time she likes to listen to podcasts, drink tea, and knit.
Rowena Power is a member of the Toronto Sector Skills Academy, Class of 2016-17, one of several Workforce Leadership Academies in localities across North America.
The Workforce Leadership Academies are part of the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, a network of leadership and fellowship programs run by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. Within this Network, EOP connects national and local leaders from across sectors — nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, academia, and more — to advance policies and practices with the potential to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in today’s economy. Learn more at as.pn/eofn.