Lee Brien was born and raised in Ridgetown, On, he was fortunate to have had the opportunity to be around and learn from some of the best livestock people in the world. Proud to be involved in the Canadian sheep and wool industries as a fourth generation shepherd, as a part of multiple community and industry organisations, Lee has been asked to share his knowledge and experience across Canada at countless local fairs, 4-H Achievement Days, The All Canada Classic and the Royal Agricultural Obtaining his formal education at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus and his practical education in countless truck cabs, exhibitions, show rings, auction stands, and barns across North America. Lee graduated from the Ontario 4-H program and has been involved in the Purebred Sheep industry for his whole life. When an opportunity to create more value and greater use of the Canadian wool clip, Lee pursued his current role as Wool Projects Supervisor with Wool Growers, believing his background in sales, agronomy, livestock husbandry and metal fabrication gave him a skill set and understanding that made him

I have recently moved into the role of Associate Director, Academic Quality and Student Success at the Ridgetown Campus. Although my responsibilities now focus primarily on academic leadership, I remain engaged in and interested in sheep nutrition. My research career focused on identifying practical nutritional and management opportunities to improve production efficiency in livestock systems. Much of my work centered on applied ruminant nutrition, with a particular emphasis on finding and quantifying opportunities to reduce feed costs for ewes and lambs while maintaining animal performance. I have also been involved in applied dairy cattle nutrition research, investigating feeding strategies that improve efficiency and profitability for producers.

Paula Menzies has been a teacher, practitioner, and researcher in sheep and goat health management for over four decades as a member of the Ruminant Health Management group at the University of Guelph, Canada, currently as Professor Emerita. She obtained her DVM from the University of Guelph, with post-graduate training and education at the University of Saskatchewan and University of California � Davis. She is currently a Diplomate and Board Member (Secretary) in the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management, Past President of the International Sheep Veterinary Association, and Board Member of the International Goat Association. Awards include the Carl Block Award for contributions to Canadian agriculture, Don E. Bailey Small Ruminant Practitioner of the Year (American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners), the OVC Zoetis Research Award in Animal Health, the inaugural Small Ruminant Veterinarians of Ontario award for Excellence, and most recently, International Sheep Veterinarian of the Year as awarded by the Australian Veterinary Association (2025). Research areas include control of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism of sheep, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) infections in small ruminants and people, paratuberculosis in small ruminants, lamb and dairy kid mortality, on-farm adult small ruminant mortalities, toxoplasmosis, scrapie, coccidiosis and vector-borne viruses such as Cache Valley virus. She is a member of the Advisory Committee to the WOAH UN FAO Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) Global Eradication Program. The PPR GEP is a One Health initiative with the goals, in addition to eradicating PPR, to strengthen veterinary services and to control other important diseases of small ruminants - with the purpose to fight rural poverty, ensure food security and nutrition, and to strengthen resilience and national economies. She is the main author of the UN FAO PPR Preparedness virtual learning course, helping veterinarians across Europe, Africa and Central Asia understand this disease and how to eradicate it. She has been on numerous small ruminant national and international small ruminant committees including developing NFACC Codes of Practice, CFIA Biosecurity standards and guides, and the International Dairy Federation bulletin on goat somatic cell counts. Additionally, she has developed health management programs for sheep and goats and has written many guides for veterinarians and producers including the Handbook for the Control of Internal Parasites of Sheep and Goats and Guides for Udder Health of Dairy Sheep and Dairy Goats. She continues to be very active in providing continuing education to veterinarians and small ruminant producers.