At the end of January, we're saying farewell to our CEO, Josh Smee. Over the past seven years, Josh has led Food First NL through extraordinary growth.
Josh started as CEO in January 2020. Within his first three months, we experienced Snowmageddon and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — two events that dramatically shifted our scope of work. This was the beginning of seven transformative years at Food First NL.
Under Josh's leadership, Food First NL has:
introduced a new vision and mission
invested in policy advocacy
created a team of “food animators” in every region of the province
established a pan-provincial Lived and Living Experience Advisory Group
created three social enterprises,
built an industry-leading culture of care within the team
and much more!
In recognition of this work and his leadership, Josh was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs in 2024.
“Food First NL plays a critical role in our province, and it has been a huge joy and a privilege to have been trusted with its stewardship for the last seven years. I’ll deeply miss working with our team and with all the many, many partners we have across the province and across the country, but I know they’re going to keep doing great things together and I’m looking forward to cheering them on from the sidelines.”
With the end of January in mind, Food First NL is now searching for a new CEO. Our Board of Directors will work with Higher Talent to identify the right person to steward Food First NL into the future. This new CEO will inherit an organization with:
more than 20 staff located across the province
diversified multi-year funding base
a renewed strategic framework
a solid place in the province's public policy conversation.
“One of the most significant responsibilities of our Board of Directors is selecting the right leader to guide the organization into its next chapter, and we look forward to working with the executive search team to identify our next CEO. We are deeply proud of what Food First NL has accomplished under Josh’s leadership, and it is thanks to his contributions and the dedication of our growing team that we can make this transition from a position of strength.”
Josh will stay on as CEO for several more months to support the transition. Then, he's moving to a new role in the community, with details coming soon.
We encourage potential CEO candidates to check out the posting and contact Higher Talent at https://jumpcareers.ca/job/chief-executive-officer-ceo/.
We're interested in hearing from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences who see themselves in the work of building a province where everyone can eat with joy and dignity.