The Board of SHEAF/ESPIGA

Five people make up the SHEAF Board: a president, treasurer, secretary and two others.  These officers bring to the board a broad expertise and experience in agriculture, administration, business, cooperatives, marketing, plant science, overseas service and pastoral care.  They come from various religious or on religious backgrounds. They are all committed to improving the standard of living of Nicaraguans and to promoting real and meaningful development in Central America.

Board Members

Greta Hofstra, B.A., MSc. was an Information Management Coordinator and lecturer at the University of Guelph Guelph Ontario for several years.  In 1986 she established her own Marketing Research Company in Guelph which she operated until 2012.  These two jobs overlapped for 10 years at which time her Marketing Research Company took her sole attention.

Her first trip to Nicaragua was in 2000 after which she was determined to engage in projects in Nicaragua.  She tries to travel to Nicaragua once a year to connect with SHEAF's partners and friends.  She is desperately trying to learn the Spanish Language.  Now retired in Guelph, she and her husband are keen supporters of SHEAF/ESPIGAThey have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren, one of whom has visited projects in Nicaragua.

Ricardo Manzano, DipAgr  is originally from El Salvador where he studied at the National School of Agricultura (ENA) in Agronomy.  While in EL Salvador, he had the opportunity to work in rural services with the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, as well as teaching agriculture in a continuing education program.
He immigrated to Canada in the 80's. After a hiatus from his profession, he went back to study at McGill University pursuing a baccalaureate in Natural Resources Conservation at MacDonald Campus.
Since the early 2000’s Ricardo has been working as an agri-environmental advisor in Québec.  He is proud to be working in close relationships with farmers and their land and to be part of the community of the ACAQ (Association de Conseillers en Agroenvironnement du Québec). He Joined SHEAF/ESPIGA as a director in early 2021, lending his extensive expertise in agronomy to SHEAF’s agricultural projects.

David Portillo Nuñez, BSc., MSc, was born in a small village in El Salvador and has first-hand experience of the issues in the hard scrabble of life in rural Central America.   He walked 6 kilometres to attend primary school but persevered to attend the University of El Salavador and obtain a degree in Agricultural Engineering.  During this time he participated in the National debate for peace in El Salvador and worked with Christian denominations in proposing solutions to the armed conflict between the government and the guerrillas.  As a professional, he worked to help agricultural coops in the East region of El Salvador to improve their production of crops  including coffee, sugar cane and grains, and to promote the introduction of appropriate technology.

He came to Canada in 1990 and studied English and French; then went to McGill for a M.Sc. in plant science. He started a career with London Life as a financial security advisor in 1998. Since then he has worked in financial services. He is an active member at Dorion Evangelical Church and endorses its services to the poor. He has been married for the last 26 years, with four children and one granddaughter.

Joe Reed, B.D., D.D. served as Area Missionary in Central America and the Caribbean for over twenty years. He is largely responsible for establishing Presbyterian partnerships in the area. He introduced literally hundreds of people directly to the needs of the region. He also served as the moderator of the 127th General Assembly. He was the inaugurator of SHEAF/ESPIGA and is its President.  He is pastor of Maisonneuve Presbyterian Church in Montreal's East End. He is fluently trilingual; English, French and Spanish.  He currently resides in St. Hippolyte, Quebec, but maintains a home in Nicaragua where he frequently works.

Denis A. Séguin, B.A. DipAgr. was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies at Laurentian University.  In the mid-seventies, he moved to the Ottawa Valley, enrolled and graduated from Kemptville School of Agriculture.  During all of his working years, Denis was employed by various Eastern Ontario farm supply co-operatives and retired in 2011 from the largest Ontario dairy co-op – Gay Lea Foods Co-operatives. He has maintained a keen interest in Latin America and Nicaragua throughout the years. Being retired now, Denis endeavours to spend a couple a months per year in Nicaragua. He and his  wife Patricia have lived in St-Albert, ON since 1989. They have a son, André and a daughter, Stéphanie.