Dr. El Hafid completed his Ph.D. in Crop Science at Colorado State University (USA) in 1996 and his MBA at the University of Alberta (Canada) in 2007. He has worked as a research scientist for 13 years in his native country Morocco and in Canada. He has also instructed graduate courses in horticulture and agronomy at the San Francisco University in Quito, Ecuador.  Dr. El Hafid is currently the Director of Research, Development and Technology (RDT) responsible for two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centers in British Columbia, Canada- Summerland and Agassiz.

Philip Solman is Co-manager of Penticton Farmers’ Market and is overseeing the SOS Apple Fest campaign, which is new this year.

In addition to his work at the market, he is Orientation Trainer for Edible Communities Publications across North America where he trains new magazine publishers how to not go broke. He also offers business consultancy.

In his spare time, he releases original music as The English Assassin.

Before moving to Penticton in early 2020, he was co-founder and publisher of Edible Vancouver & Wine Country magazine, which he launched with his wife in 2008. And before moving to Vancouver from the U.K. in 2006, he owned and ran a successful sales agency.

Philip lives in Penticton with his wife, Debbra Mikaelsen, who is a writer, Penticton Library board member, and proud Okanagan girl.