OFAH Insider: Welcoming NXT-GEN

Since 2021, OFAH Membership has recruited and supported anglers and hunters in the 18–30-year-old age demographic as NXT-GEN Ambassadors. This unique role allows young conservationists to gain insights on the OFAH, the outdoor lifestyle, and the changing pathways to becoming an angler and hunter. In May 2025, new candidates applied to join returning ambassadors for another year of the program.

The committee will be chaired by OFAH Membership Director-at-Large Thomas Benoit (a three-year veteran of the NXT-GEN program) and supported by a team of staff from the Policy and Programs and Marketing and Communications departments.

The ambassadors all sit on one of the policy-related OFAH Advisory Committees, and over the years have provided two reports on their perspectives that have been incorporated into OFAH programming. In year four, work on developing campus clubs affiliated with the OFAH was completed, with pilot projects launching this fall at Guelph and Lakehead. The ambassadors have also been a great help at the OFAH booth at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show, and several former ambassadors sit on the boards of OFAH Membership and Foundation, or as external advisors on advisory committees.

NXT-GEN 2025-26

The year five NXT-GEN Advisory Committee consists of:
Natalie Mechalko – Wiarton – 4th year
Troy Blackwell – Oshawa – 3rd year
Connor Jones – Whitby/Thunder Bay – 2nd year
Haley Kimpel – St. Catharines – 2nd year
Camilo Ospino – Guelph – 2nd year
Grace Phillips – Beausoleil First Nation/Kingston – 2nd year
Daniel Sonneveld – Lindsay – 2nd year
Nick Belanger – Pain Court – 1st year
Jordan Chwastyk – Dryden – 1st year
Lindsay Chwastyk – Dryden – 1st year
Joseph De Fazio – Richmond Hill – 1st year
Clayton Luc – Oxford Mills – 1st year
Vishnu Nair – Kitchener – 1st year
Anandakrishnan Rajappan – Waterloo – 1st year

For information on the NXT-GEN Program visit: www.ofah.org/about/staff/nxt-gen

Give back: The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is a member-supported organization. Our mandate is to conserve, protect, and enhance Ontario’s wild places for hunters, anglers, and everyone. Your membership supports important work. Learn more and join us: www.ofah.org/membership

Originally published in the Fall 2025 issue of Ontario Out Of Doors

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