Our club is delighted to welcome Helen Pickard as a new member, inducted at our club meeting on March 6, 2026. Helen grew up and completed her studies in New Brunswick, but now calls Guelph home while continuing to put her degree in Integrated Environmental Management to good use.
Helen grew up on a farm outside of Bath, a village of 500 people in western New Brunswick. Helen went to the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University in Truro, NS (formerly the Nova Scotia Agricultural College), and graduated with a degree in Integrated Environmental Management.
After graduation Helen moved back to her hometown, and started working as a data analyst for the Global Environment and Resource Efficient Operations team at McCain Foods. In the few years she was working in New Brunswick and had the opportunity to serve on the board of the Larlee Creek Hullabaloo, the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery, and on the executive of the McCain Florenceville Young Professionals Association. For fun, Helen has taken classes in ballroom dancing and brazilian jiujitsu, joined the local curling league, community band and volunteered as a 4-H leader. She even found time to fall in love, and when her partner was offered the opportunity to pursue a PhD at the University of Guelph, she decided to move with him.
Helen moved to Guelph in October 2025, and was able to keep her role with McCain and transfer to the Toronto office. She has been attending Rotary meetings as a guest for a couple months, and is very excited to now become a member.