Lisa joined the Foundation in early 2025, and currently manages the Discretionary Granting portfolio for the Foundation.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Lisa was a Regional Director, Community Investments for the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Additionally, she has worked in the charitable sector in a variety of management and program positions for organizations such as Diabetes Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Covenant House and more. Lisa brings a wealth of charitable sector experience to her work here at the Foundation.
Adina Krupnik (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation as Coordinator in September 2024. She is a member of the Operations team and is responsible for supporting the administrative needs related to Discretionary giving.
Adina holds an Honours Bachelors of Arts degree in Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto.
Selga Apse (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation in May 2022, providing parental leave coverage for Crystal Braganza.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Selga worked with the Canadian Olympic Foundation where she spent almost a decade building its fundraising programs, managing operations, launching it’s endowment fund and supporting 52 National Sport Organizations with grants and programs. She also supported Team Canada athletes and coaches directly serving at four Olympic Games in Brazil, South Korea, Japan, and China.
Selga began her career at The National Ballet of Canada working in all areas of fundraising, and following that at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to announce the judging panel for the $33M Homegrown Innovation Challenge. The panel, chaired by Dominic Barton, is made up of prestigious members from around the world with expertise in food system stability and agriculture technology.
The Homegrown Innovation Challenge launched on February 8, 2022, to catalyze innovation by enabling solutions to solve the interconnected challenges that currently prevent the out-of-season production of fresh fruits and vegetables in Canada. Participants in the Challenge are asked to create market-ready systems for growing berries year-round in Canada on a commercially viable scale. Teams that successfully complete the Challenge could be awarded up to $8 million in funding from the Weston Family Foundation.
The independent judging panel includes the following members:
“Collectively, the members of our panel offer a breadth of experience in food systems innovation and will be instrumental in helping teams conceptualize and bring sustainable, locally-grown food production solutions to market,” said Emma Adamo, chair, Weston Family Foundation.
“We’re grateful to each member for their time and commitment to ensure top innovations are unearthed throughout the Challenge.”
Read the full press release here.
For more information about the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, visit the website at homegrownchallenge.ca
The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge to spark creative solutions and encourage new ideas to boost the sustainable production of fruits and vegetables in Canada.
The Challenge centres around a competition to generate solutions that enable domestic food producers to grow berries out of season, sustainably, competitively, and at scale. Funding will be awarded in stages over a six-year period to eligible teams developing tools and technologies that solve the interconnected challenges of growing produce out of season in Canada.
Why now?
Like many countries around the world, Canada is heavily reliant on imports of fresh fruits and vegetables, predominantly from climate-vulnerable markets. In fact, some 80 per cent of all fruits and vegetables consumed in Canada are imported. This reliance on other countries creates the potential for future food shortages due to shocks and food-systems disruptions.
That said, because of its long agricultural history, socio-economic profile, and extreme seasons — made even more extreme through the effects of climate change — Canada is an ideal testbed for innovation.
The Challenge is funded and delivered by the Weston Family Foundation. The initiative launched today and an innovation team that progresses through all challenge phases and ultimately claims the final awards would receive up to $8 million in funding to develop and scale their innovation.
Video
Press release
Media backgrounder
To learn more about the criteria and process for applications, please visit the Homegrown Innovation Challenge website.
Lukasz Aleksandrowicz joined the Weston Family Foundation in November of 2021. He is responsible for managing the Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Lukasz was a senior research manager at the Wellcome Trust, where he developed strategy and funding programs at the intersection of climate, environmental change, and health, including in food systems. He also worked on the Indian Million Death Study, leading development of new tools for tracking mortality in low-resource settings.
Lukasz has a PhD in Population Health and a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK). He has a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Guelph.
The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to support the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) with a $3-million donation to fund mental health programming for underserved Canadians.
This grant — a part of the Foundation’s COVID-19 recovery funding — will be used to expand access to BounceBack, a free, guided mental health self-help program. The expansion includes the development of partnerships with key organizations, such as youth-serving agencies and organizations serving vulnerable communities. The funding will also extend the program for three years and help it better meet the specific needs of youth and underserved groups, especially Indigenous peoples, Black people, people of colour and people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+.
According to CMHA research, COVID-19 has had a negative impact on Canadians’ mental health — in a December 2020 survey, 40 percent of respondents said their mental health had deteriorated since the onset of the pandemic. BounceBack helps participants better manage their mental health and reduces symptoms by 50 percent after completion. The program lasts three to six months and requires no travel, so participants can access it from anywhere.
Please see the full press release for more details.
