The Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA) is welcoming Michelle Broom as its new president. Ms. Broom will be responsible for the strategic and operational oversight of the association, to support the facilitation of trade and enhance the marketing and promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables in Ontario.

Broom comes to the OPMA with more than 20 years of experience in leadership, food industry nutrition and education. Since leaving an eight-year career in teaching, she has held increasingly senior management roles in the Australian grains industry, most recently as president of the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC), a member-based, grains industry organization promoting grains and pulses. In this role she was instrumental in developing a new membership service model and improving member value.

Broom has been a member of several national and international committees including the Global Health, Nutrition and Food Security Committee and the National Committee for the United Nations International Year of Pulses. She also led the establishment of the first Australian whole grain labeling protocol and sat on the Australian Health Department’s Food Reformulation Working Group. She is currently a board member of the East York Meals on Wheels and a member of the Dietitians of Canada Regulatory Affairs Advisory Group.

The Ontario Produce Marketing Association is a member-funded, not-for-profit organization whose primary objective is to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in Ontario. Its next major networking event is the OPMA Annual Gala on November 9, 2018, Vaughan, Ontario. For tickets, go to:  www.theopma.ca. 

Source:  Ontario Produce Marketing Association October 4, 2018 news release