Linda Whitworth is becoming known as the “queen of barley” in her work promoting barley as a healthy grain in Canada, the United States, and abroad.

In her day job, Linda is the market development manager for Alberta Barley, as well as a home economist with an extensive background in the food industry. She is the host of “Linda’s Kitchen” on gobarley.com, which profiles recipes from this cookbook and other sources.

In the past, Linda worked in retail management, mall management, and marketing. She was also a home economist for Calgary Co-op, where she worked on the marketing team to decide on listings for grocery stores, acted as a Co-op consumer liaison, and promoted Co-op products. Linda has an extensive background with agriculture organizations, working for fifteen years as a consultant to the Alberta Cattle Commission, Alberta Egg Producers, Beef Information Centre, Nova Scotia Egg Producers, and Alberta Beef.

In the spring of 2013, Linda completed a successful media tour promoting barley across Canada and informing consumers about the health benefits of eating barley.

Linda holds a bachelor of science in home economics from the University of Alberta and has taken additional courses in building management, marketing, and small business development. She was born in Regina, SK, but moved to Calgary when she was four years old. She also lived in Nova Scotia for eight and a half years, before returning to Calgary, where she currently resides.