2022 Speakers

Robyn Alomar was born on July 3, 1996 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Utopia Falls (2020), Sneakerella (2022) and Riot Girls (2019).

Agnes Augustin, President & CEO
Since 2004, Agnes Augustin has proudly overseen the Shaw Rocket Fund and its commitment to championing Canadian children’s programming, helping showcase our great Canadian kids content on the world stage by driving the Fund’s investment practices and spearheading various initiatives to support the industry, such as the much-celebrated Shaw Rocket Prize. Prior to joining the Shaw Rocket Fund, Agnes held various positions in production and distribution including Vice President of Business Affairs, Head of
Production for CMT, and was an independent producer.

Agnes Augustin, présidente et chef de la direction
Depuis 2004, Agnes Augustin dirige fièrement les destinées du Fonds Shaw-Rocket, qui se fait l’ardent défenseur d’une programmation canadienne de qualité pour enfants. Elle contribue à mettre en valeur notre excellent contenu pour enfants partout au monde, notamment en pilotant les pratiques du Fonds en matière d’investissements et en menant diverses initiatives pour soutenir l’industrie, dont le renommé Prix Shaw-Rocket. Avant de se joindre au Fonds Shaw-Rocket, Agnes a occupé divers postes dans les
secteurs de la production et de la distribution, dont ceux de vice-présidente des affaires commerciales et de directrice de la production chez CMT. Elle fut également productrice indépendante.

Jason Badal is the GM of Canada for Disney+. Prior to this role he led the multinational merchant segment at Shopify, business affairs and development at Rogers Media and Sportsnet, and served as head of business and legal affairs at Score Media. He also practiced as a technology and corporate lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, taught at Ryerson University and Osgoode Hall Law School, and is an angel investor and advisor to a number of startups in the sports, technology and direct to consumer commerce industries. He currently serves on MLSE Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a former Director of the Canada Media Fund.

maxine bailey joined the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) in May 2021 as executive director. In this role, maxine is responsible for implementing CFC’s strategic plan, managing the financial performance and health of the organization, and ensuring the success of its operations. Furthermore, maxine builds, establishes and maintains key long-term relationships with partners that help realize the organization’s mission, with a relentless focus on community impact and shared value for all interested parties. 

Prior to the CFC, maxine served as the Vice-President of Advancement at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). She was the principal liaison and lead fundraiser for the organization’s government partners, donors and members in their support of TIFF’s festivals and year-round programming. She is particularly proud of founding Share Her Journey​, TIFF’s five-year fundraising commitment to achieving gender parity both behind and in front of the camera.

Before TIFF, maxine was a theatre producer. Recently, Sistahs​, an award-winning play she co-wrote, was remounted to much acclaim. An active leader in arts and community-based projects, maxine co-founded the Black Artists Network in Dialogue (BAND), which showcases Black cultural contributions nationally and internationally. 

She currently sits on advisory boards and steering committees for the Toronto Arts Council/Foundation Advocacy Committee, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Luminato Festival Toronto, and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. A voracious reader, maxine was a jurist for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was named one of NOW Toronto’s Local Heroes in 2018.

Mike Beale heads up the Global Creative Network at ITV Studios, overseeing all development and acquisition of third party formats into the group of 30+ non-scripted labels worldwide. 

Mike joined ITV Studios in June 2011 to oversee creation and production of all ITV Studios formats. He managed the company’s slate of new and established formats, including The Chase, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Hell’s Kitchen, Come Dine With Me and rolled out the latest reality hit, Love Island.

Mike has extensive experience working in production and formats at a range of producer/broadcasters and production companies including NBCUniversal (Minute To Win It, Top Chef), BBC (WeakestLink, Friends Like These), Hat Trick (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Confessions).

Mike also previously co-founded the independent production companies – 12 Yard Productions and Alchemy Reality. His earlier career began in production where he worked with a number of companies including Clear Idea TV, Planet 24, LWT and Bunim Murray Productions.

Kevin Beggs is Chair of the Lionsgate Television Group and Lionsgate Chief Content Integration Officer, overseeing development and production of all scripted and non-scripted programming. A 24-year veteran of the Company and a member of its corporate senior management team, he has spearheaded the strategic expansion of Lionsgate’s television production operations into one of the largest independent television businesses in the world.  Additionally, Beggs helps oversee the Company’s “Lionsgate 360” efforts, the cross-collaborative approach to developing new content from iconic Lionsgate intellectual properties across all of its businesses. 

 Since joining Lionsgate in 1998, Beggs has guided the Television Group’s growth into the leading independent supplier of premium content to streaming, cable and broadcast networks. The studio is coming off one of its most successful years with 14 new shows picked up to series and 15 current series renewed for additional seasons, adding to a slate of more than 100 series across its Lionsgate scripted and unscripted, Debmar-Mercury and 3Arts Entertainment businesses.  Recent successes include the hit comedy Ghosts (CBS), the biggest new broadcast network comedy in four years, Home Economics, ABC’s highest rated new comedy and recently renewed for its third season, the hit series Love Life, Julia and Minx for HBO Max, Mythic Quest, already renewed for its third and fourth seasons on Apple TV+, and the hit series Power Book II: Ghost, P-Valley, Blindspotting, Run the World and Power Book III: Raising Kanan heading a pipeline of 15 series in production for or airing on Starz.

Beggs has shepherded iconic series including eight seasons of the multiple Emmy Award® winner Mad Men, one of the most acclaimed shows in television history, seven seasons of the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, eight seasons of the hit comedy Weeds and six seasons of the popular Dead Zone.

He is the recipient of the Alliance for Children’s Rights’ 2019 “National Champion for Children Award,” Operation Smile’s John Connor Humanitarian Award, The Help Group’s Teddy Bear Humanitarian Award, and the Broadcasting & Cable 2014 Innovation Award. In October 2017, he was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. He has served on the Board and Executive Committees of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Los Angeles Paley Center for Media and the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), serving as its Chairman for four years. He is currently a Board member of the homeless youth center My Friend’s Place, Cayton Children’s Museum, and Green Dot Charter Schools. He was also recently named Chair of BANFF’s Board of Directors. 

BRENDA BISNER is the Chief Content Officer for A Parent Media Co Inc. the creators of the SAFE STREAMING™ Platform: Kidoodle.TV®. She is an integral force behind the successful acquisitions of top children’s media content from around the world, as well as a future caster for all new business development on behalf of the company. Brenda has a proven expertise in the navigation of an ever-shifting children’s digital media landscape. She has the rare talent to spot trends and recognize brand potential along with an innate ability to optimize for their success. Brenda’s work with Kidoodle.TV continues to set a standard for a more safe and reliable online space to relieve parents and help protect and entertain kids from over 160 countries as they learn and grow into the best versions of themselves. 

Over her 22+ year career in the children’s media space, Brenda has developed, produced and sold live action, animation and reality series across multiple channels worldwide and executed on numerous Licensing & Merchandising deals. Working with companies such as Scholastic, Cookie Jar Entertainment, Tom Lynch Company, and more, Brenda has helped these major brands develop precise and thoughtful plans for today, while anticipating the future of the business for tomorrow. Discovering novel ways to bring great content to children in a SAFE way all around the globe is her goal, and she pursues it with passion.

Brenda is a Member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Additionally she serves as a Member if the CHIEF Network, is a Judge for the Webby Awards, Kidscreen, Banff, Juno Awards, Asia TV Forum and many others. 

Conference panel speaking and attendance at Mipcom, MipJr, MipTV, Annecy, Asia TV Forum, Banff, Kidscreen, Advertising Week, Children’s Media Conference and more. 

Drew Buckley, Group President and Chief Operating Officer of Propagate Content. Buckley, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Electus, which was acquired by Propagate Content in late 2018.  Buckley reports to Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, Chairman and Co-CEO of Propagate Content.

Buckley oversees all business affairs, corporate development, finance, production, operations and direct-to-consumer offerings.  Buckley is also responsible for the alignment and prioritization of company investments and ensuring operational excellence across the company.

At Propagate Content Buckley has spearheaded  all the investments regarding  talent and financial partnerships. Buckley has continued to expand the company’s digital footprint through digital publishing and direct to consumer network through Artists First, Authentic Management and Select Management Group. 

Buckley has also served as Executive Producer on a number of Propagate Content’s franchises such as the Emmy Award Winning  Running Wild with Bear Grylls on National Geographic, Wrong Man on Starz, Cash Pad on CNBC and Dishmantled on Roku.

Prior to Electus, Buckley served as the Executive Vice President of Terry Semel’s investment arm Windsor Media and worked for Semel at Yahoo! as the General Manager of Yahoo! Entertainment Studios.  Prior to Yahoo!, Buckley served in a number of operational and investment roles as the SVP of Synacor (NASDAQ: SYNC), Vice President of Shelter Capital and iXL Holdings.  He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC) and a BBA from Southern Methodist University (SMU).

Andrew Burrows-Trotman (ABT) earned a Double Honours degree in English and  History at the University of Toronto before attending the American Film Institute’s  Screenwriting MFA programme. Upon graduation, ABT wrote a feature  screenplay based on the Valley Manor Retirement Home scandal entitled, If We  Left. It was shortlisted for the prestigious San Francisco Film Society’s Hearst  Grant. 

Andrew subsequently joined the writing staff of Frankie Drake Mysteries, writing  episodes for the first three seasons of the popular series. Andrew’s other TV  credits include Diggstown (CBC/BET+), Utopia Falls (Hulu/CBC) Gem and The  Porter (BET/CBC). 

Swin Chang is the Executive in Charge of Development and Production for CBC Kids. She works with the independent production community to seek out, create and curate preschool and tween content for CBC TV and CBC Gem. In this role, she focuses on development and acquisitions, and oversees production of selected projects with independent producers as well as in-house preschool series.

Prior to that, Chang was Director of Development for Alibi Pivotal Kids, and the Director of Development for Entertainment One Family. She began her career at Family Channel, Disney XD and Disney Jr (Astra Media networks) where she worked in collaboration with independent producers on many hit shows such as Life With Derek, Radio Free Roscoe, The Latest Buzz, Wingin’ It, Stella and Sam and Justin Time.

Valerie Creighton is an industry leader in arts, culture and media, recognized for reenergizing some of the country’s most important organizations in the sector over the last thirty-five years. An expert in organizational change, Valerie has been recognized as a visionary in promoting Canada’s cultural wealth.

Currently serving as President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, Valerie positions Canadian programming at the forefront in world markets advocating successful, innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms. Valerie has taken part in foreign trade missions and is regularly called upon to present the CMF model internationally. 

Valerie was invested into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2016 and the Order of Canada in 2019. She was recognized in 2017 by Women in Television and Film Vancouver for her major contribution to promoting gender equality in media, was bestowed the Honorary Maverick Award at the 2017 Female Eye Film Festival and received C21’s 2020 Content Canada Impact Award. Most recently in October 2021, she was named by The Hollywood Reporter as One of the 20 Most Powerful Women in Global Entertainment.

Valerie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, has served on a variety of regional, national, and international juries and boards and has produced radio dramas for the CBC in Saskatchewan, where she owns and operates the Red Horse Ranch.

Conquering Lion Pictures is a dynamic, independent Canadian production company under the leadership of partners Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo. Their first feature film, RUDE, premiered at Cannes in 1995 and went on to play over 35 festivals worldwide including TIFF and Sundance. In 2019, RUDE was presented again as part of the Locarno Film Festival’s Blacklight Retrospective, showcasing seminal Black cinema of the 20th century. Other feature films including POOR BOY’S GAME and LIE WITH ME, which played top tier festivals including Berlinale, Pusan and TIFF.

 In 2015, CLP premiered its six-part CBC/BET adaptation of The Book of Negroes to record breaking numbers in Canada and to huge audiences in the US. A co-production with South Africa, the mini-series received 12 Canadian Screen Awards, U.S. Critics’ Choice Television Awards nominations for Best Limited Series and Best Actress in a Limited Series (Aunjanue Ellis), and won the NAACP Award for Best Writing in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Virgo and Lawrence Hill. It was also a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Awards. CLP is in post-production on their next feature film, BROTHER, based on the critically-acclaimed novel by David Chariandy and has several TV projects in development including THAT LONELY SECTION OF HELL, which was recently acquired by HBO USA, as well as an adaptation of Esi Edugyan’s HALF-BLOOD BLUES which is in development with the CBC.

As the head of Fremantle’s Canadian office, Michela Di Mondo oversees the distribution of Fremantle’s programming, format sales and co-productions across Canada, participating in the company’s global content acquisition and brand integration strategy.  Michela helped to launch Fremantle’s Canadian office and has brokered key deals for both English and French language content including America’s Got Talent, American Idol, Family Feud, The Price Is Right, Let’s Make A Deal, Jamie Oliver, Project Runway, Wellington Paranormal, The Responder and Kingdom of Dreams. Michela has championed and helped to adapt local versions of hit Fremantle Formats like Family Feud for CBC and Canada’s Got Talent for CityTV. She is also an Executive Producer on the upcoming production Sullivan’s Crossing, which is the next adaption from the author of Virgin River.  

Prior to joining Fremantle in 2014, Michela served as executive director at Media Group International (MGI), where she oversaw sales for studios such as Sony Pictures, MGM and Fremantle. Before MGI, Michela worked for MGM in Canada. Michela oversaw over 10,000 titles including key franchises such as Rocky, James Bond, Spider-man, Seinfeld, and Breaking Bad.

With a reverence for artists and griots coupled with a deep commitment to equity and decolonization, Kadon Douglas finds her joy in supporting creative talent in building thriving careers. As the executive director of Toronto-based nonprofit, BIPOC TV & FILM, she spends her days advocating for systems change in the screen media industry, addressing barriers to career entry and advancement for racialized and Indigenous creatives, and disrupting colonial and discriminatory practices in the nonprofit sector and creative industries. Prior to BIPOC TV & FILM, Kadon led marketing and communication strategies at The Creative School at Ryerson University and Women in Film & Television-Toronto. With a background in documentary filmmaking, she is a two-time fellow of the Hot Docs Film Festival: Doc Accelerator (2013) and Shaw Media Diverse Voices (2015); a graduate of the Humber College Media Business Essentials certificate program (2015) and The Chang School at Ryerson University and Corus Entertainment Media Management Accelerator (2017); and is a 2019 Ontario Nonprofit Network RBC Leading the Future fellow. The former chair of the Reelworld Film Festival now sits on the boards of the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black and POC creators (CISF) and the Future of Film Showcase. Kadon lives in Toronto with her son and Philip, the cat.

Since 2013, Greig Dymond has served as Development Executive and/or Production Executive on a variety of CBC comedy series, including Schitt’s Creek, Baroness von Sketch Show, Son of a Critch, TallBoyz, Run The Burbs, Workin’ Moms, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and stand-up festival programming from Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Halifax. Prior to joining CBC Scripted Content, he was an arts editor and writer at The Grid (Torstar) and CBCNews.ca. Dymond’s writing on culture has also appeared in Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post. His forthcoming book, The Toronto Toros: Adventures in Unconventional Hockey, will be published by ECW Press.

Laurie Ferneau is senior vice president of development at Crown Media Family Networks. Based in the company’s Studio office, she reports to Executive Vice President, Programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly.

Ferneau is responsible for the sourcing and development of original programming, specializing in series, limited series, and specials for the company’s portfolio of entertainment destinations including Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark Movies Now, and more. In this capacity, her oversight includes hearing pitches, developing projects, and working closely with senior leadership to create conceptual strategies that drive viewership, ratings, and ad sales revenue. Additionally, she is accountable for cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with key members of the creative community.

Ferneau joined Crown Media in 2014 as director of original programing and steadily rose the ranks to vice president in 2016 and to her current role of senior vice president in 2019. Prior to joining the company, she served as director of development at entertainment production company Prospect Park Television where she oversaw the development process for USA Network’s Royal Pains and FX’s Wilfred. Prior to that she worked at management and production company The Firm, developing projects for ABC, NBC, FOX, FX, USA and TNT. She also held a development position at Logo Entertainment, and various production positions for Showtime, Nickelodeon, UPN, and more.

Ferneau holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from The Walter Cronkite School of
Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Athena Georgaklis is the Head of Development for Nelvana. A highly-respected animation executive, Athena leads the acquisition of rights and the development of all original content for Nelvana. Athena is committed to develop creator-driven content, working with the studio’s producers, creators, and talent around the world that will resonate with kids of all ages, and find a home in all markets. She helmed the creation of Nelvana’s The Most Magnificent Thing, Superwish, Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel, The Hardy Boys live-action series and more to come.

Athena has worked in Canadian broadcast and production for more than 22 years. Prior to Nelvana, she oversaw all original animation production for Corus Entertainment’s kids’ networks, supervising the development and production of Canadian content in both English and French. During that time, she led the production and development of hit shows like Johnny Test, Camp Lakebottom, Mysticons, 6TEEN, Cupcake and Dinosaur, Rocket Monkeys, and the Total Drama Island franchise.

Prem Gill is Chief Executive Officer of Creative BC. The organization is designated by the Province of British Columbia to focus on uniting, sustaining and growing British Columbia’s dynamic and diverse creative sector including motion picture, music and sound recording, interactive and digital media, and magazine and book publishing.

Prem has been named one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women, Vancouver Magazine’s “Power 50” and received the Community Catalyst award from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. She brings more than 20 years of experience from the digital media and entertainment industries to her current role as CEO, where she is responsible for delivering a wide range of programs and services that will expand B.C.’s creative economy to reach its economic, social and creative potential both at home and globally.

Before Creative BC, Prem spent eight years with TELUS, most recently in the role of Director of Production & Original Programming. Her commitment to the advancement of B.C.’s creative economy can be seen through her achievements there, including the successful development and launch of the STORYHIVE program and TELUS Optik TV community channel.

For many years, Prem has championed Canadian creativity as a representative and spokesperson to media, industry and government at all levels. Previous roles and responsibilities have included government and regulatory affairs, independent media consultation, cross-platform marketing, communications, research, public affairs and multicultural programming.

Prem currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Bell Fund, a not-for-profit organization supporting Canadian Media content makers and on the Board of Directors for BC Tech Association, representing B.C.’s tech sector.

As Head of Development, Rachel Goldstein-Couto oversees the scripted and unscripted program development for CTV, Crave and the Entertainment Specialty channels of Bell Media.  Rachel and the Development team work closely with independent production partners, writers and creatives to develop a slate of factual and scripted projects that are diverse, culturally relevant to Canadians and specific to the programming needs of the individual channels and services.  

Rachel has been with Bell Media since 2000, most recently as Director of Programming, Entertainment Specialty.  

Rachel studied Communications at Concordia University in Montreal and Broadcasting at Seneca College in Toronto.  

Lisa Hamilton Daly is Executive Vice President, Programming for Crown Media Family Networks. Daly is based in the company’s Studio City offices and reports to President & CEO, Wonya Lucas.

Daly is charged with identifying, developing, and creating impactful, top-quality, brand-building content across the company’s three linear networks, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama, as well as its SVOD service, Hallmark Movies Now, and AVOD platform, Hallmark Movies & More. Additionally, she is responsible for building on Crown Media’s programming strategy and diversifying the voice and breadth of the company’s talent pool, both in front of and behind the camera. Also central to her oversight is bringing parent company Hallmark’s legacy and brand values to life in new ways and translating Hallmark IP into content that serves existing viewers and attracts new audiences across various platforms.

Prior to joining Crown Media, Daly served as Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs and Executive Producer at Bedrock Entertainment. In that capacity, she spearheaded all business and creative functions, including oversight of the company’s scripted development and production slate in partnership with ITV Studios America. Previously, she was Director of Original Series at Netflix, developing and producing such popular programs as Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, and Firefly Lane, among others.

Additional industry experience includes a seven-year tenure at A+E Networks, where she was Vice President of Programming, as well as a position at DreamWorks Studios, where she acted as Vice President, Literary & Creative Affairs from 2003-2009.

Daly earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English & American Literature & Language from Harvard University, in addition to a B.A. in English Literature from UCLA, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Marc Hartlen is part of the development team at Nelvana. Before joining Nelvana he spent over a decade in the performing arts, appearing at Yuk Yuks comedy clubs across Canada, festivals including Pop Montreal and the Atlantic Fringe Festival, as well as being heard on The Edge 102.1 and Sirius XM’s Laugh Attack. He is an alumnus of Centennial College’s Children’s Media post-graduate program.

Brent recently joined the Amazon Studios team as Head of Scripted Series for Canada. He began his career with the CBC in Toronto before helping launch The Comedy Network, where he eventually oversaw programming, development and production. In 2008 Brent landed in New York as the SVP of Comedy & Animation for MTV. After six years and managing close to twenty series, he made the move to producing with his own shingle, Picture Arcade, and eventually joined Shout! Studios in Los Angeles as Head of Content Development. Now, with his return to Canada, Brent is looking forward to working with home grown talent to tell exceptional, world class stories from a Canadian perspective. He also enjoys hockey, wine and writing in the third person.

As Lionsgate Television EVP and Head of Development, Scott Herbst oversees the development of scripted series for Lionsgate’s Television Group, one of the largest independent television businesses in the world. He and his team are responsible for identifying and developing premium content for an ever-expanding array of buyers and leveraging the Company’s production partnerships to create premium scripted shows. 

Lionsgate Television Group has had one of its best years ever with 13 new series orders, seven pilots picked up to series and nearly all of last year’s freshman series renewed for second seasons with Herbst overseeing key shows. Herbst shepherded four series for HBO Max including Love and Death, Minx, Santa Inc., and Love Life, one of the streamer’s most-viewed series. He also helped deliver all of Lionsgate’s broadcast series including BBC adaptations Ghosts for CBS, the highest-rated new comedy, and Welcome to Flatch for FOX coming midseason; as well as the comedy hit Home Economics for ABC. Herbst also oversees the critically-acclaimed fan favorite Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist which ran on NBC and became a holiday feature-length film Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas for Roku.

Herbst also leads a number of STARZ Original series including Blindspotting and The Serpent Queen. He also oversees the Company’s production partnerships with 3 Arts Entertainment and BBC Studios Los Angeles, as well as managing Lionsgate’s relationships with A-list producers Point Grey Pictures, Sarah Timberman & Carl Beverly, The Tannenbaum Company, Temple Hill Productions, Rebecca Cutter and Susannah Grant.

Prior to joining Lionsgate, Herbst served as Vice President of Scripted Programming for NBCU International. In this role, he was a producer on You, Me and the Apocalypse and Glitch. In addition, Herbst oversaw shows including London Spy and developed and sold Hanna, which is going into its third season on Amazon.  

Herbst began his career working for the President of Lakeshore Films, where he grew into a Vice President of Development role. During his tenure at Lakeshore, Herbst worked on such films as The Lincoln Lawyer, Stand Up Guys and One For the Money. His biggest achievement at Lakeshore was building up the Company’s television department.

Herbst was recently named to Variety’s prestigious Hollywood’s New Leaders of 2021. He is a New York native and an alum of Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School. 

Ian Iqbal Rashid is a creator, writer, director and producer known for the series Sort Of (CBC/HBO Max) and This Life (BBC) as well as the feature films Touch of Pink (Mongrel/Sony Picture Classics) and How She Move (Mongrel/Paramount). Born in Tanzania of Muslim Indian ancestry, Ian holds dual British/Canadian nationality. His awards include the Writers Guild Award of Great Britain for Series Writing and the Aga Khan Award for Excellence in the Arts. He is the author of three books of poetry, has curated exhibitions and film programmes, and was the founder and first director of Desh Pardesh, Canada’s seminal festival of South Asian diasporic culture.

After a diverse career including directing and producing documentaries, in 2008 Richard became a partner at the Sid Lee; one of the biggest advertising in Canada with offices in Montreal, Toronto, Los Angeles, Seattle, NYC, Paris and Amsterdam. His eclectic background – on film sets, post-production and in cross platform projects – made Richard the lead partner of all production activities across Sid Lee offices for the last 14 years.

Within Sid Lee, Richard founded and successfully led one of Sid Lee’s biggest child company; Jimmy Lee. He acted as the president and executive producer of Jimmy Lee. While leading global projects for Sid Lee’s major brands, Richard produced more than fifty scripted and non-scripted projects including; The LibTv content channel, The Rams, The Chronicles of an Unworthy Mother, The Interns, Make Me a Tale, Éloize; Circus Story, Guantanamera Boxe and Takedown; The DNA of GSP.

His productions have been seen in theaters across Canada as well as on CBC, Radio-Canada, TVA, Télé-Québec, TV5, HBO Canada and several festivals. Richard has several nominations and awards to his credit including Numix, Gémeaux, Cyber Lions of Cannes, Boomerang, Digital Marketing Awards and FWA.

In 2021 Richard decided to leave the world of advertising to fully dedicate himself to his passions; television and cinema. The scarcity of diversity among experienced producers in Quebec and Canada is no stranger to Richard’s career decision.

Richard brings his extensive and unique experience along a different diversity perspective on content produced in Canada.

Joan is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Screen Office where she works to empower Black Canadians working within the screen industries to thrive and share their stories. She is committed to making sector practices and policies equitable and free of anti-Black racism and to work collaboratively with decision-makers to ensure system-level change.

Joan was Vice-President of Independent Production for VisionTV. She commissioned, developed and executive produced hundreds of hours of award-winning creative content in all genres.

For five years, Joan served as Executive Director of Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT-T), where she established professional development training and networking opportunities for women in screen-based media.

David Jenkinson is an award-winning journalist who manages a portfolio of publishing, events, production and training companies within the international content business.

He is the founder of C21Media which owns and operates Channel21 international, C21Media.net, C21TV, ClubC21, C21Screenings, FutureMedia, Content London, Content LA, Content Nigeria, and, of course, Content Canada.

Jenkinson also leads C21Media Enterprises, the C21-backed investment company that supports high-growth potential businesses within the content industry. Investments include ContentAcademy.TV, WritersRoom, Blonde Mamba and Rose d’Or.

He is also chief executive of Studio21, a development producer with a mission to discover and connect new voices with the global television business.

As the Director of Content, Crave, Tory leads the English-language content team responsible for programming Canada’s premium SVOD and Pay services Crave and STARZ with Bell Media.

In this role, Tory oversees English content strategy including but not limited to acquisitions, commissioning decisions, budget management, scheduling and SVOD merchandizing for Crave.

Tory has more than 20 years of media industry experience including content management, strategic programming and acquisitions.

Senegalese-Martinican filmmaker and screenwriter Marie Ka has won various awards for her writing and directing, notably at Fespaco at the Francophone Film Festival of Angoulême and Vues D’Afrique. Her works have been featured at various major industry event such as Rotterdam International Film Festival, Berlinale talent, Durban International film festival and Clermont-Ferrand International short Film Festival . She lives in Vancouver, BC.

Based in Toronto, Katrina Kowalski comes to Paramount+ with a mountain of experience! For the past two decades she has broadened the Television landscape in Canada, programming the best from around the world and at home. In her role as Senior Director, Content and Programming Strategy Katrina is responsible for all content decisions for Paramount+ in Canada, including original programming and acquisitions.

A chief programming authority and digital strategist, Katrina has led high performing teams through comprehensive, multi-million dollar content launches across linear and digital platforms. She has a passion for bringing the best to audiences, always adapting to the ever-evolving Canadian entertainment and media landscape.

As Chief Content Officer, Lewinson is responsible for content strategy and acquisitions for Tubi, a division of FOX Entertainment and a free streaming service with a growing library of Tubi Originals, 100+ local and live news channels, and 40,000+ titles from every major Hollywood studio. Lewinson heads up Tubi’s Los Angeles office where he oversees more than 400 content partners including Lionsgate, Paramount and MGM.

Since January 2021, producer Graham Ludlow has been working with Incendo. He currently oversees all of their development and production.  Prior to joining Incendo, Ludlow produced numerous award-winning series and films, including Baroness von Sketch Show, She Drives Me Crazy and Anya’s Bell.

An award-winning producer with more than 20 years of experience, Lea Marin was appointed to the role of Director of Development, Drama for CBC in February 2021. Marin’s recent film credits include Michele Stephenson’s Stateless, co-produced with Jennifer Holness and winner of Hot Docs 2020 Special Jury Prize Canadian feature documentary; Charles Officer’s Unarmed Verses, which won the Best Canadian Feature Award at Hot Docs 2017; and upcoming release Throat, a co-collaboration between Chelsea McMullan and artist/activist Tanya Tagaq. A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Producers’ Lab, Marin joined the National Film Board of Canada as a producer in 2006.

Marie McCann is the Senior Director of Children’s Content at CBC. With over 25 years experience as a creator and broadcaster in kids’ media, McCann leads the strategy and teams who deliver CBC Kids’ offerings for children from the ages of two to early teen on television, streaming, web and social media platforms.

Founder and CEO of award-winning production company New Metric Media, Mark Montefiore executive produces the multiple Canadian Screen Award winning Hulu/Crave original series Letterkenny and CTV’s half-hour comedy series Children Ruin Everything, as well as the new hit Letterkenny spinoff series Shoresy for Crave. Montefiore also produced the Hulu/Crave comedy What Would Sal do?, Netflix/CityTV original drama Bad Blood (starring Kim Coates of Sons of Anarchy, Anthony Lapaglia of Without a Trace, and Paul Sorvino of Goodfellas) and the Whistler Film Fest and Toronto Film Festival Film Circuit Audience Choice winning feature film, Cas & Dylan, starring Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss (Mr. Holland’s Opus) and Emmy Award winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), directed by Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210).

Montefiore is responsible for leading the Letterkenny brand across a variety of revenue generating marketing initiatives including a North American live tour, apparel lines and collectibles and a partnership with Labatt’s for Puppers Golden Lager.

Previously, he was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation Under 35 and Playback’s Top Ten to Watch. Montefiore is a graduate of the CFC’s Producers Lab, the Berlinale Talent Campus, and the Schulich School of Business.

MOTION is a screenwriter, playwright, poet and emcee, fusing word, sound & drama for the screen and stage. She is co-writer of the award-winning feature Akilla’s Escape with director Charles Officer, which debuted at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and garnered five Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Original Screenplay. An alumna of the Canadian Film Centre, she is also the writer of A Man’s Story, which won the Impact Award for Best Short Film at the ReelWorld Film Festival, going on to screen in London, Ghana, Belgium, and Zanzibar. In television, MOTION is a CSA-nominated writer and supervising producer on hit drama series Coroner (CBC/CW), The Porter (CBC/BET+) and Diggstown (CBC/FOX). She is also a writer and co-executive producer on the new digital series Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem). Her most recent productions for stage and screen include the Dora-nominated Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape with DJ L’Oqenz (Riser/Obsidian/Soulpepper), and Rebirth of the Afronauts in the award-winning anthology series 21 Black Futures (Obsidian/CBC Gem).

Carolyn Newman is the Executive Vice President of Global Scripted for Blink49 Studios. Previously, she served as Head of Scripted Television and Production at Will Packer Media where she sold more than five shows into development to both streamers and broadcasters in just under a year. Prior to that, Newman was Director of Original Series for Netflix where she developed 17 original titles such as Clickbait, The Serpent, Echoes, Partner Track, Anatomy of a Scandal and Feel Good. In addition, she served as Senior Vice President of Scripted Programming at Entertainment One, expanding the company’s scripted television business with high-profile titles like Run, Sharp Objects and Gentleman in Moscow. Newman also worked at Amazon Studios, where she was in charge of Development and Production on more than 15 series including Bosh, Hand of God, Britannia and Good Girls Revolt. She previously worked at Canadian production company Sphere Media Plus as the Vice President, English Development and Production /Executive Producer on 19-2.  

Sophie Parizeau  is the General Manager of French and bilingual scripted television series, Bell Media. Sophie oversees the development and production of scripted series for Noovo, Crave, and French specialized TV channels. With the recent acquisition of Noovo by Bell Media , a conventional television channel, she was appointed to build the department from the ground by creating a team of experts to find modern, audacious, and ground-breaking stories. Her work ensures Bell Media’s position as a powerhouse in the television industry and the choice of renowned creators and talents for local and international partnerships.

In less than a year, under Sophie’s leadership, Bell Media has become a quality reference for the production in the market. The popularity of series like Aller Simple ( Not Return)  and Entre Deux Draps ( Pillow Talk) –the most-watched prime-time series in the 25-54 demo on Noovo – as well as the international recognition of Sortez-moi de moi  ( Way Over Me), and Une affaire criminelle ( A Criminal Affair) spotlight Sophie and her team’s ability to find stories that resonate with the audience. In addition, Bell Media’s productions received a record-breaking number of 52 nomination for the Prix Gémeaux –  in particular by largely dominating the most prestigious category of best drama series with three nominations out of five. For her work and dedication, Sophie recently earned a Bravo award – a recognition dedicated to an individual who stood out for their achievements at Bell.

Before joining Bell Media in June 2020, Sophie produced and worked as a script-editor for more than a decade in many successful Canadian productions– namely, Le Clan, Série Noire, The Disappearance, Fugueuse, and Six Degrees.

Amanda Parris is an award winning writer, producer and tv/radio host. Her play OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME was awarded the 2019 Governor General Literary Award for Drama. Her latest theatrical work THE DEATH NEWS won the 2022 Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing, Web Program or Series. Amanda is also the creator, executive producer and showrunner of the critically acclaimed digital series REVENGE OF THE BLACK BEST FRIEND which launched on CBC Gem in 2022.

Amanda was the host of the television arts series, CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS from 2015-2020. For her final season, Amanda was awarded the Canadian Screen Award for Best Host. Amanda is the creator and host of the popular R&B radio show MARVIN’S ROOM on CBC Music which has been on the air since 2016. She is also the creator of BLACK LIGHT, an award-winning column for CBC Arts, that showcases, explores and critically engages art and popular culture created by Black people.

In 2022, Amanda received the inaugural Changemaker Award from the Canadian Screen Awards for her efforts to call out systemic racism in the Canadian media community. She has been named a Rising Screen Star by Now Magazine and received the Rising Star Award from AfroGlobal Television.

Adam Pettle is an Award-winning Television Writer, Radio Producer, and Playwright.

He is currently an Executive Producer on the Bay Mills / Boat Rocker
drama THE BOROUGH which is currently in development with CBC. It is
created by Stephan James and Catherine Hernandez. He is also working
with Catherine to develop her original series DEBU with Pier 21 for CBC.
Finally, he is also currently an Executive Producer and the lead creative
for the Black Screen Office- sponsored anthology now in development
with Bell Media.

Adam is one of Canada’s most experienced showrunners. He was
Executive Producer and Showrunner on the serialized legal thriller THE
BURDEN OF TRUTH starring Kristen Kreuk which enjoyed a successful
four-season run on CBC and The CW. Pettle also created and was the
Showrunner of NURSES, a medical drama from eOne on Global and
NBC. Prior to that Pettle co-ran the police procedural THE DETAIL (Bell
Media) along with show creator Ley Lukins. He served as Showrunner
on SAVING HOPE (Bell Media) for two seasons with creator Morwyn Brebner before continuing as solo Showrunner for the last three seasons of the acclaimed medical drama.

Pettle began writing television, penning an original pilot CLEAN for Ilana Frank and Thump Inc. (now ICF Films). He was subsequently staffed on several Canadian and American series, including COMBAT HOSPITAL (Sienna) for Global and ABC, KING on Showcase where he also served as co-producer, X COMPANY(CBC), and ROOKIE BLUE also for Global and ABC on which he received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Writing.

Pettle co-create the beloved CBC radio drama AFGHANADA which ran for five seasons. He wrote over 40 episodes during that time – garnering him a Writer’s Guild Award for Best Radio Drama.

Pettle began his career as a playwright, writing several plays—including Therac 25, Zadie’s Shoes, Sunday Father—that were produced across Canada, in the U.S. and U.K. He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s playwriting program and Dalhousie University. He is married to actress Trish Fagan and they live in Parkdale with their two kids.

Hannah Pillemer, EVP, Creative Services, spearheads the development and production of MarVista Entertainment’s content pipeline for all FOX Entertainment and third-party platforms. Pillemer joined MarVista Entertainment as a Creative Executive in 2013 and has risen quickly through the company’s ranks.  Under her leadership, the company has significantly increased its content development and production, and Pillemer is now responsible for managing a slate of approximately 90 plus films per year, as well as television series, across a wide range of budgets and genres—from thrillers and romcoms to family, young adult, kids, and holiday.  MarVista Entertainment is aggressively ramping up development focusing on premiere talent in front and behind the screen including recent projects include; the romantic comedy “Daughter of the Bride, starring Marcia Gay Harden, Halston Sage, Andrew Richardson and Aidan Quinn; Amazon Prime Video release “Christmas is Canceled,” starring Hayley Orrantia, Dermot Mulroney and Janel Parrish; indie feature, “Stay Awake,” with an award winning debut at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival and starring Chrissy Metz; “First Time Female Director”, a comedy starring, written, directed and produced by Chelsea Peretti and co-produced by Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions co-starring Blake Anderson, Kate Berlant, Jak Knight, Megan Mullally, Benito Skinner and Meg Stalter with Amy Poehler, Max Greenfield, Tim Heidecker, Xosha Roquemore, Andy Richter and the Hallmark Channel original drama series “The Way Home,” which will premiere in 2023.

Prior to joining MarVista Entertainment, she worked in production at HBO Films on multiple high-profile projects, including the Steven Soderbergh helmed Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

Jordan Pinto, based out of Toronto, is the North American editor for C21 Media, reporting on all aspects of the US and Canadian television sector. Prior to joining C21, he spent more than six years with Canadian trade publication Playback, most recently as associate editor, covering Canada’s film and television sector.

A graduate of Simon Fraser University’s film program, Marly first began to hone her skills as an intern for Anagram Pictures in Vancouver, followed by a stint as a writer and producer’s assistant.  Her short film Mimi & Me won a number of awards, including the Audience Award for Best Short at Austin Film Festival and her feature script of the same name was selected for support by The CFC Comedy Lab, The Harold Greenberg Fund, and Women in Film and TV-Toronto’s Development Incubator.

After making the move to Toronto, Marly began working in development for CCI Entertainment under the mentorship of Arnie Zipursky and has subsequently been with Neshama Entertainment since its inception. Leading the company’s development department, she produced over thirty projects, including the hit Netflix rom-com Midnight at the Magnolia, which was nominated for a 2022 Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Movie.

Marly is currently serving as a creator, writer and executive producer on The Way Home – Neshama’s first scripted drama series for Hallmark Channel, which is set to premiere in early 2023.

Drew Robinson is the Vice President of Content Distribution at Corus Entertainment.  In this role, Drew is responsible for finding new audiences and managing distributor relationships across the traditional PayTV ecosystem and emerging digital platforms for all of Corus’s conventional and specialty broadcast content.

In recent years, Drew Robinson led the way in driving new platform launches for Corus’s Global TV App, which is now available on all major connected TV platforms.  He also spearheaded the creation of STACKTV, Corus’s premium multi-channel television streaming service that offers thousands of hours of exclusive hit content from 13 of Canada’s top TV networks.  

Drew is a Past-President of CTAM Canada, an industry association focusing on the advancement of content distribution across multiple platforms.

Tim’s first major role was playing heartthrob Tommy Quincy opposite Alexz Johnson and Laura Vandervoort for four seasons on the teen drama series “Instant Star” for TeenNick (USA) and CTV (Canada). He was then cast as the series lead Alex Caine, playing a gang infiltrator, in “Befriend and Betray” for Shaw TV (Canada). Recent series

leads include playing Mutt Schitt on the Emmy juggernaut and Golden Globe winning CBC/Netflix hit comedy “Schitt’s Creek” opposite comedy icons Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Chris Elliott; Doc Holliday, the infamous lawman and charismatic gambler, on the fan-fave SyFy series “Wynonna Earp”; Constable Carson Myers, stand up RCMP officer and love interest, on the CBC series “Diggstown” opposite Natasha Henstridge and Vinessa Antoine; Isaac, lawyer turned outer space rogue, in the SyFy series Vagrant Queen. Tim is delighted to currently be playing the series leading role of Luke Roman, a real estate agent specializing in haunted homes, on SyFy’s new series “SurrealEstate.”

Tim won a prestigious Gemini Award (the “Canadian Emmy”) for his performance in the series “Flashpoint” (CTV/CBS) and was nominated for another Gemini for work in “Befriend and Betray”. Tim was thrilled when “Wynonna Earp” won the People’s Choice Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy show in both 2018 and 2020.

Off camera, Tim has many talents in the entertainment business. He is a voiceover actor, most notably playing a leading role in the animated feature film “The Legend of Sarila”, opposite Christopher Plummer and Genevieve Bujold. He produced the documentary feature “Shuckers”, about the world of oysters and those who shuck them. And he is very proud of his work co-writing multiple “Wynonna Earp” graphic novels with creator Beau Smith for IDW.

When not acting, Tim plays the role of restaurateur in Montreal at his hit restaurants Garde Manger and Le Bremner opposite star chef Chuck Hughes.

Jamie Schouela serves as President, Global Channels and Media at Blue Ant Media. He is charged with leading the strategic direction and operations of the company’s streaming and linear television networks, digital, print and consumer event properties around the world. The company’s linear and streaming networks include Love Nature, BBC Earth, BBC First, T+E, Makeful, Smithsonian Channel, Cottage Life, HauntTV, CrimeTime, TotalCrime, Homeful and HistoryTime. Blue Ant Media’s consumer show business includes the bi-annual Cottage Life Shows, The Baby Shows and annual Seasons Christmas Show.

In this role, he manages multi-platform content development and scheduling, marketing, communications, as well as the company’s Canadian media sales team and branded content studio, Blue Ant Plus. He also oversees relationships with Blue Ant’s channel distribution partners globally.

Jamie has a strong background building premium, multi-platform media brands both through partnerships that have brought international players to Canada (Smithsonian Channel, BBC Earth, BBC First) as well as leading the development and launch of homegrown ones (Love Nature, Makeful). He has also been a driver of Blue Ant’s overall strategy to expand its brands on emerging platforms including Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV+, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, LG, and others.

Doug Schwalbe is Founder of The Co-Production Company, a boutique production firm specializing in finance and distribution arrangements for high end international productions in the children’s and family entertainment space. Projects in production include “Home Sweet Rome” and “Iyanu:  Child of Wonder” for HBO Max, “Pisces Lane” for Nickelodeon Israel and “Birds Eye View” for TVNZ.  Prior to launching The Co-Production Company, he served as Sr. Vice President of Coproduction for DreamWorks Animation, HBO and Twentieth Century Fox.

Doug has produced over 200 hours of franchise television including Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie, Mr. Magoo and George of the Jungle.  He executive produced the acclaimed feature “Lassie”, starring Peter O’Toole and Peter Dinklage, and “Postman Pat the Movie”, starring David Tennant, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint and Stephen Mangan.  

As an independent producer and CEO of Splendid Television, his productions were nominated for 14 Emmys including a supporting actress win for Dame Diana Rigg and won the Golden Globe for best actor in a TV movie for James Franco as James Dean.  He also handled international distribution for the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck produced “Project Greenlight.”  

Recently his 2019 feature documentary, “Halston”, for CNN Films and Amazon premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.  He is also executive producing “Group” an experimental short form series for PBS All Arts using actors and improvised dialogue taking story arcs from Irvin Yalom’s “The Schopenhauer Cure.”

As VP, Content Development & Programming, Justin Stockman is responsible for
English TV programming including CTV, Crave and Bell Media’s English-language
specialty channels Discovery, MTV, E!, Much, CTV Drama, CTV Life, CTV Comedy,
CTV Sci-Fi with a focus on developing groundbreaking new content.
Stockman’s role includes the ongoing negotiation and development of Bell Media’s
Original Production programming content for all platforms with local producers and
international studios. Additionally, Stockman retains oversight of the day-to-day
operations and growth of Bell Media’s ad-supported creator and influencer network
Much Studios.

Stockman also leads Bell Media’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, both internally as a
member of the organization’s Diversity Leadership Council and with external partners
like HireBIPOC, the definitive and ubiquitous industry-wide roster of Canadian BIPOC
creatives and crew working in screen-based industries.

Formerly VP, Brand Partnerships and Client Strategy on the Bell Media Sales team,
Stockman’s role included oversight of the Sales team in leveraging Bell Media’s
competitive advantage in content, production, data and platforms with clients, agencies
and internal stakeholders to drive new revenue opportunities through brand integrations
and data-driven client strategies.

Previously VP, Premium SVOD and OTT, Bell Media, Stockman was responsible for
strategy, management, programming, content licensing, merchandising and marketing
partnerships for Bell Media’s premium subscription video on demand (SVOD) services,
Crave, Crave + Movies + HBO and STARZ as well as driving direct-to-consumer
revenue including customer acquisition and retention. Additionally, Stockman’s portfolio
included oversight of English and French customer care centres for Crave and Bell
Media’s over-the-top (OTT) services including TSN Direct, RDS Direct and STARZ, as
well as Much Studios.

Prior to this, Stockman worked as VP, Specialty Channels, where he oversaw all brands
and day-to-day activities for Entertainment Specialty Channels Much, MTV, Gusto, E!,
Bravo, Space, The Comedy Network and their complimentary digital networks, as well
as pay channels TMN and HBO Canada.

Stockman was previously Executive Director, Marketing, Specialty Channels, where he
oversaw all brand-positioning, consumer and trade marketing, social media marketing
and social media communities for Bell Media’s Specialty properties.
Stockman has worked at Bell Media for more than a decade in various capacities
including creative services and production as creative director, supervising producer,
producer, writer, editor and web designer.

In 2015, Stockman was recognized with the 2015 Digital Play of the Year by Playback.
Stockman graduated in 1996 from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with
Specialized Honours in Visual Arts Studio. In 2009 he earned his MBA through a joint
program at Cornell University in New York and Queen’s University in Kingston.

Christina Summers serves as Country Manager, Roku Canada, where she oversees sales and audience development for Roku’s advertising business. In her role, Christina helps drive successful strategies and measurable results for brand campaigns and content partners on the Roku platform. 

An accomplished and results-driven sales leader within Canada’s digital advertising industry, Christina has a successful track record of building relationships, designing winning sales strategies and driving teams to reach challenging revenue goals in highly competitive markets. 

She brings 15+ years of combined technology and telecom industry experience across digital, advertising, and sales.  

Christina holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph, Canada. 

Catherine Tait was appointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada on April 3, 2018, for a five-year term. She began her mandate on July 3, 2018. Catherine is also the Chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance launched in September 2019.

As President and CEO, Catherine is responsible for overseeing the management of CBC/Radio-Canada to ensure that Canada’s national public broadcaster can deliver on the various aspects of its mandate and continue to offer Canadians a broad spectrum of high-quality programming that informs, enlightens and entertains, and that is created by, for and about Canadians.

Prior to her appointment, Catherine co-founded New York-based Duopoly Inc, an independent film, television and digital content company, which she led as President from 2002 to 2018. She also co-founded iThentic, a digital content company, in 2006 and Hollywood Suite in 2010, a broadcasting company in Canada. Catherine was also previously the President and COO of Salter Street Films from 1997 to 2001. She has experience working for the Government of Canada as Director and Cultural Attaché with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and as Manager of Policy and Planning for Telefilm Canada where her passion for Canadian film and television content was ignited.

She’s been a member of a number of industry-specific boards including Comweb Group, DHX Media LTD, Hollywood Suite (which she co-founded), iThentic Inc, eOne Entertainment, CHUM Ltd, Aliant Inc, Rogers Mobile Film Fund and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.

Catherine holds a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies, Communications Theory from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (1983), a Master of Science from Boston University’s School of Public Communication (1982) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hon) in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1979).

Catherine was named Playback’s Executive of the Year in 2019 and Woman of the Year 2021-2022 by Women in Communications and Technology.

Mary-Anne Taylor is the Head of Content Distribution Canada for Roku, responsible for building and nurturing content distribution partnerships with Canadian publishers and launching local channels diversifying content on the Roku platform. 

A seasoned entertainment executive with 20+ years of industry experience in studio content licensing, broadcast affiliate sales and operator channel management, Mary-Anne’s work has required an expertise in strategic negotiations across all business models and platforms.

She began her career as a production technician and documentary project manager. Her passion for broadening Canadian content then led her to content acquisitions for Shaw Direct, and managing customer facing changes, including channel launches, for Rogers Cable.  She shifted her career to distribution by leading Affiliate sales for TELETOON and Cartoon Network, and most recently as Director of Content Distribution Canada for Sony Pictures Entertainment. 

Mary-Anne has received scholarships to the Media Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School and Schulich School of Business and holds a degree in Radio & Television Broadcasting from Algonquin College, and a Theatre Arts degree from Sheridan College.

Clement Virgo is one of Canada’s foremost film directors. His first feature film, RUDE, premiered at Cannes 1995 in Un Certain Regard and went on to play other festivals around the world including TIFF, London and Sundance (1996) and was again included at Locarno 2019 as part of the Black Light Retrospective of significant 20th Century Black Cinema. Virgo’s other features include POOR BOY’S GAME (Berlinale, TIFF, Pusan 2007), and LIE WITH ME (TIFF, Pusan 2005, Berlinale 2006), which sold in over 50 countries around the world. Known for his unique POV as a Black filmmaker, he has brought his cinematic approach to notable TV dramas including THE WIRE (for HBO), MONSTER (2022, for Ryan Murphy & NETFLIX), BILLIONS (Showtime) and the OWN drama, GREENLEAF (2016-20), as an Executive Producer alongside Oprah Winfrey. In 2015, Virgo directed and wrote a limited series adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s THE BOOK OF NEGROES which was nominated for 2 Critics Choice Awards and the Peabody Award. His current feature film BROTHER, based on the novel by David Chariandy, will be having its world premiere at TIFF this year. 

Dawn Wilkinson is an award-winning filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles.  She is an alumnae of Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre and the University of Toronto.  Most recently, Dawn served as the Director and Executive Producer for the upcoming Season 3 of Step Up for Lionsgate and Starz and directed 5 episodes of the season, including the season finale.  Dawn is a trailblazer and the first Canadian black woman to break into dramatic series directing in Canada and since then has become a prolific television director in Hollywood.  Her short experimental film Dandelions is iconic in black Canadian filmmaking, has screened at over 200 film festivals internationally including the 2020 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, and is often taught as course curriculum in Canadian universities.  Her short comedy Instant Dread won the Audience Award at The African American Women In Cinema Film Festival in New York and screened at the Conch Shell International and Caribbean Film Festival in 2022.  Devotion, her first feature film, won Best Feature at the San Francisco Black Film Festival’s Urban Kidz film festival and the Audience Award at Toronto’s Reel World Film Festival.  Dawn made the transition from indie filmmaker to TV director by winning the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Emerging Television Director award and then went on to direct DGC Award nominated episodes of Degrassi, Kim’s Convenience and Lock and Key.  Since then, she has directed episodes of Ghost Power Book II, Truth Be Told, How To Get Away with Murder, The Mysterious Benedict Society, All American and All American: Homecoming, Riverdale, Why Women Kill, The Gifted, Empire, The Good Doctor, The Resident, Nashville, Greenleaf and many more.  In 2022, Dawn Wilkinson directed the BET+ Original film Block Party, a Juneteenth family comedy feature starring the Academy Award Nominated Margaret Avery.  Block Party is the first film of its kind to have a theatrical, streaming, and linear release in the same month. 

Tara was recently tapped as the first content executive for Netflix Canada. As Manager, Series Canada, Tara will develop and commission English and French-language scripted series, as well as maintain relationships with Canadian talent.

Tara previously served as an Executive Producer & VP of Development for Montreal-based production company Sphere Media Plus. She is an Executive Producer on the smash hit medical drama TRANSPLANT for CTV and NBC, which she developed from inception. TRANSPLANT is the most-watched scripted series on broadcast television in the US and debuted as number one in Canada.

Independently, Tara recently produced the sci-fi thriller feature film NIGHT RAIDERS by Danis Goulet, with Academy Award Winner Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK, JOJO RABBIT) as Executive Producer. Night Raiders is the first ever Indigenous co-production for Canada and New Zealand. The film was recently selected as a Gala Presentation for TIFF ’21 and won the DGC Discovery Award. It is being distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the US.

Previously, she was Director of Development for Amaze Film + Television, overseeing their scripted slate. While there, she worked on Seasons 1 and 2 of the family multi-cam THE STANLEY DYNAMIC for YTV. She also acted as Manager of the Film Programs at the Canadian Film Centre, overseeing the Directors’, Writers’, Producers’, and Editors’ Labs.

She currently volunteers with POV, NSI and is a member of WIFT’s Programming Committee. Tara attended the Executive Program for Media Leadership at the Rotman School of Management and has a BA in Communications from University of Winnipeg.

Since joining Netflix in 2018, she headed up the “Soap, Thriller and Romance” strategy team, championed the acquisition of dramedy EMILY IN PARIS and played an integral role in the development and production of a number of series including BEHIND HER EYES, PIECES OF HER and THE LINCOLN LAWYER.

Woodrow came to Netflix from Perfect Storm Entertainment where she built the series arm and served as the President of Television. With Perfect Storm, Woodrow developed and served as Executive Producer on long-running CBS dramas SCORPION and S.W.A.T. as well as the cult hit WARRIOR for HBO Max.

Prior to joining Perfect Storm, Woodrow served as Senior Vice President of Original Programming at FX Networks, where she ran the Current Department and played a key executive role in shepherding the network’s slate of critically acclaimed series including JUSTIFIED, DAMAGES, SONS OF ANARCHY and ARCHER.

Woodrow began her career in TV Movies at Viacom’s MTV. She relocated to Toronto from Los Angeles in fall of 2021 with her partner and dog and they are very happy in their new home.

Since joining Amazon Studios in 2017, CJ has spearheaded some of the first and highest performing unscripted originals in Amazon’s international territories, building from the ground up a slate of local original content across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Many of CJ’s projects involve unprecedented partnerships with top celebrity talent, athletes, and sports franchises, as well as internally developed formats that have been quickly localized in multiple territories worldwide. As part of his current role as Head of Unscripted Development, Global Formats, CJ leads a team that oversees unscripted slates for newer territories such as Australia and Canada, and drives the expansion of Amazon’s hit original franchises around the world, such as All Or Nothing, LOL: Last One Laughing, Luxe Listings, and Wild and Free.

CJ’s former roles include Vice-President of Digital Programming at Talpa Media, and various development and executive roles at Endemol USA, Mark Burnett Productions, Warner Brothers Television, and E! Entertainment.