CCA Staff

CCA employs a dedicated staff that serves Canada’s beef cattle industry under the guidance the CCA’s producer-elected board of directors. The staff fosters day-to-day international relations, advisory and implementation services on Board-developed policy, facilitates and oversees research, plus promotes the industry across all sectors and responds to issues.

Executive Vice President – Dennis Laycraft

Leading the CCA and its various divisions, Dennis serves as a spokesperson for the beef cattle industry on trade, product safety, BSE and other animal disease issues. As as senior policy analyst and lobbyist for the CCA, Dennis addresses issues at both the national and international levels which impact Canada's beef cattle industry. He manages any legal actions that the CCA undertakes to defend Canada's beef cattle sector from trade actions or unfair trade practices. Participating on several government and industry task forces and committees, Dennis has chaired or sat in an advisory capacity on many initiatives including the Regulations and Standards working group on the Agri-Food Competitiveness task force; advisor to Canada's Auditor General's department on a number of food inspection and research matters; current co-chair of the Beef Value Chain Round Table which brings together industry leaders throughout the value chain to provide strategic direction. Dennis is a founding member of the Canadian Beef Grading Agency.

General Manager, Operations – Rob McNabb

Overseeing the CCA’s general operations including budget and staffing, Rob is also Executive Director for the National Check-off Agency, provides management services for the Canadian Cattlemen Market Development Council (CCMDC) and is CCA’s lead staff person on the Animal Health and Meat Inspection Committee. Rob currently serves as Chair of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC), of which CCA is a founding member.

Director of Government and International Relations (Ottawa) – John Masswohl

Based in our Ottawa office, as a government and international relations liaison, John spends the majority of his time as the voice for the Canadian beef industry to both the Canadian and U.S. governments as well as maintaining international relations around the world. John joined the CCA after previously working closely with the Canadian beef industry as Agriculture and Trade Counsellor with the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.

Manager, Environmental Affairs – Peggy Strankman

Managing environmental issues facing the industry, Peggy currently staffs the Environment Committee and participates in many research and joint initiatives between the industry, government and international groups.

Policy Assistant – Jill Harvie

Working closely with the CCA Executive committee and Board of Directors, Jill conducts research analysis for policy recommendations and works closely with the communications department to ensure association information distributed to the stakeholders and the public accurately reflects CCA policy. Jill participates actively on several CCA initiatives including the Beef Information Xchange System (BIXS), part of the Canadian Beef Advantage marketing strategy, plus the Canadian Marketing Organization Steering Committee and the Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling file.

Manager of Federal Provincial Relations (Ottawa) – Ryder Lee

As CCA’s staff representative on the CCA’s Board committee’s for Domestic Ag Policy and Regulations Committee as well as the Animal Health Committee, Ryder ensures CCA’s voice is heard at the federal government level on issues surrounding the Canadian beef industry.

Research Manager – Andrea Brocklebank

Overseeing CanFax Research Services and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC), Andrea works collaboratively with the industry to identify research priorities for the BCRC. She manages the evaluation, selection and implementation of these research projects. Through CanFax Research Services, Andrea also provides the industry with statistical information and economic analysis, focusing on both the Canadian beef industry and global beef market.

National Manager, Quality Starts Here and Verified Beef Production – Terry Grajczyk

As the national manager for the Quality Starts Here and Verified Beef Production program, Terry works in partnership with provincial co-ordinators to develop and deliver an the Verified Beef Production’s on-farm beef food safety program – a certified production program foundational to promoting Canada’s Beef advantage.

Communications Manager – Gina Teel

Responsible for implementing a practical communications strategy that will benefit producers, Gina’s primary roles include developing communications material, working with industry and government representatives to ensure the proper information gets to producers, positively promoting the industry, responding to issues that affect the industry and working with the media.

Office Manager – Paula Jenkins

As office manager, Paula oversees all office administration CCA’s annual general meeting, semi-annual meeting preparation, staff support, expenditure allocations and travel arrangements.

Administrative Assistant – Linda Wakeling

Providing administrative support to the CCA, Linda co-ordinates and administers various projects and committee meetings for the Quality Starts Here management group, Verified Beef Production provincial co-ordinators and the Beef Cattle Research Council. This includes account tracking and reporting on various externally-funded or jointly-funded programs (with the CCA) including the Canadian Food Safety and Quality Program. She provides administrative support on various research projects, including co-ordinating materials for final submissions.

Office Assistant (Ottawa) – Robert Tomaso

Robert provides office administrative support to CCA’s Ottawa team. This includes meeting and event co-ordination, such as the Annual General Meeting held in Ottawa, plus co-ordinates and distributes various reports and publications to the federal government and plus other key stakeholders served by Ottawa’s government and international relations, plus domestic agriculture team.

Director of Technical Services – Mark Klassen

Mark provides technical expertise and analysis for defining and enhancing the Canadian Beef Advantage marketing resources; technical market access and trade policy development; and food safety and animal health research and policy development.

National Manager CBA Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) – Larry Thomas

Larry leads a team of staff and industry stakeholders on the development and implementation of the Beef InfoXchange System which is an integral component of the Canadian Beef Advantage. Communication to the industry on the value and opportunities the system will provide is a key responsibility.

Animal Health Consultant – Dr. Louis Desautels

Louis provides support to the Animal Health and Meat Inspection committee on priority areas of interest, including reliable access to veterinary pharmaceuticals, Johne’s Disease management and dealing with various animal health regulatory and policy issues.

In addition, the CCA employs legal and accounting professionals to assist in its operations.