Barb Williams oversees the creation of Canadian original productions, acquisition of top U.S. and international series, and scheduling for the company's conventional television network and 18 specialty channels.

With over 25 years in media, she brings innovative thinking and a real passion and understanding of our business. Before joining Shaw Media, Barb served as Executive Vice President, Content at Canwest Broadcasting. Prior to that, she was Vice President and General Manager of Toronto 1 and also served as Senior Vice President of Lifestyle Programming at Alliance Atlantis.

Barb currently is the Chair of the Banff World Television Festival and sits on the board of the Canadian Film Centre and Canada's Walk of Fame. In December 2008 she was acknowledged for her Outstanding Achievement at the 20th Anniversary WIFT-T Crystal Awards.

Susan Alexander is a Production Executive with Shaw Media, overseeing the development and production of a variety of dramatic series for Global and Showcase including Bomb Girls, Haven, and Copper.

Prior to becoming a broadcaster, Susan was on the production side of the Canadian industry for over 20 years. As a Producer and writer on the critically acclaimed Little Mosque on the Prairie, she garnered various awards, including a Gemini.

As a Supervising Producer on various dramatic series and Director of Development for two of Canada’s leading production companies, Susan has been involved in the development and production of many successful projects for CTV, CBC, Global and Showcase. In addition to drama, Susan has been the Supervising Producer on over 100 episodes of lifestyle programming, including the hit series The Designer Guys for HGTV.

Susan is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. She is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and currently is the TV mentor for their prestigious Film programme.

Danielle is a Métis-Francophone from a small French community, in Southeast Manitoba, who has worked in the film and television industry since 1998. In 2002, she worked as a freelancer as a Line Producer, Production Manager and Post-Production Supervisor on various documentaries and movies of the week for CBC, CTV, Vision TV, Lifetime and Movie Central. Her fervor and devotion enabled her team to garner nominations and awards; most notably a Gemini nomination, in 2007, for Best Biography Documentary for ‘As Seen on TV! The K-Tel Story’.

In March of 2009, Danielle joined APTN as a fierce supporter of Aboriginal storytellers. As Manager of Programming, Central Region, she develops and commissions original programming from independent producers, and brings them to your screen.

Romeo Candido is a content creator / producer who has extensive experience in live events, theatre, television, mobile, advertising, film, and the music industry. Romeo co-founded The Digital Sweatshop, an independent film and television production company that created a diverse array of content ranging from documentaries, short films, narrative dramas and a feature length horror film released theatrically in SouthEast Asia. As a commercial director Romeo has directed over 30 ads in South East Asia, launching / rebranding many of them including beverages (Unif Green Tea, Kopiko Coffee), telecoms (Globe Telecom, PLDT) and pharmaceuticals (Centrum, Clusivol). He partnered up with Publicis Manila to create viral ad campaign that has amassed close to two million hits. His experience in the music industry ranges from being an artist/producer for Independent (Beat Factory, Pendulum) and Major label (EMI, BMG) projects to doing sales and marketing for live events and national tours (Stomp). Currently Romeo works for Bell Media developing projects for CTV, MuchMusic, MuchMore and MTV where he has worked on critically acclaimed projects spanning from the Gemini nominated documentary series 'Where You At Baby?', to the daily Much program New. Music. Live. His current transmedia project Prison Dancer has amassed close to a million views online, has had sold out screenings at flim festivals, and had it’s off Broadway premiere at the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Prison Dancer : The Interactive Musical was nominated for the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards and Digi Awards for best Webseries. As an entrepreneur he is a co-founder of music sharing mobile app Herd.fm

His diverse portfolio and international experience gives Romeo a fluid and adaptable approach to telling stories and using all mediums as a way of creating profound experiences with a variety of audiences.

Focusing on television property development as well as game development, Denis considers himself among the next generation of producers who understand how audiences engage with content regardless of the screen it's on. He is former VP Development with Toronto-based producer Nightingale Company (The Line, Living In Your Car), where he worked closely with domestic and international producers and media outlets developing television and convergent interactive properties. He is a partner in indie game developer Wero Creative, and produced one of Canada’s earlier web-series and alternate reality games, Do You Believe Me. He also serves as board chair for Angelwalk Theatre. Currently, Denis is preparing for the June launch of an exciting new production venture.

Jon de la Mothe is a 15-year digital veteran who joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as Director, Media Innovation & Technology in May 2010. He currently oversees product innovation, digital production, ad operations and partnerships for CBC's Revenue Group across CBC online, mobile, and emerging platforms. Jon's background includes digital management roles at Discovery Channel Canada, CanWest Global & Grey Advertising. This is Jon's second year on the Innoversity Steering Committee.

Paul de Silva is a Gemini award winning film and Television Producer/Director/Writer and Media and Arts and Culture Consultant. His career has spanned television broadcasting, independent film and television production, journalism, public education, and inter-cultural communications.

He is currently the Co-Director of the International Diaspora Film Festival based in Toronto, Canada and Executive Producer for A4 One Media Productions, a multi platform media production company focusing on inter-cultural and humanitarian issues .He was Project Director for Canada One TV, an application to the CRTC for a Diversity focused TV/Internet channel and formerly Vice President of Programming for Vision TV /One, The Body Mind and Spirit Channel. In the six years he was at Vision he was responsible for commissioning documentary, drama, and music programs both in Canada and internationally, including the Gemini nominated comedy series Lord Have Mercy! and the Music/Documentary series “Soul Music”. He was formerly Vision TV’s Director of Independent Production.

He is a former CBC Journalist and Executive Producer for Current Affairs and Drama programming .He began his professional career as a Human Rights officer with the Ontario Human Rights Commission and was a Communications officer with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) based in Nairobi, Kenya.

He is currently a PhD candidate in the York Ryerson Joint Programme in Communications and Culture and undertaking research in the area of screen based media production, and the role it plays in identity formation, citizen engagement and social cohesion in diasporic communities.

D.J. Demers is a national reporter for Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) and a stand-up comedian.

When D.J. isn’t chasing stories for AMI-tv original program, AMI This Week, he is the host and producer of Chuckle Co, a renowned weekly stand-up show at Comedy Bar in Toronto. He has appeared in two episodes of Cocktales on the Comedy Network. In 2011, he was nominated for ‘Best Stand-Up Newcomer’ at the Canadian Comedy Awards and was a finalist in NBC’s Stand-up for Diversity Initiative.

He also wears hearing aids.

Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell’s career has included stints as an academic, television producer, arts administrator, and theatre artist. She was the first woman to lead a university journalism program in Canada in the 1980s, served as News Director for Aboriginal Peoples TV Network (APTN), mentoring her Aboriginal successor, and is a founder of Vision TV. Since 2005 RJ Deverell Productions has produced 15 theatre pieces and TV dramas, plus Rita has edited or contributed to three books including Give Voice: 10 plays from the Obsidian Theatre Playwrights Unit, Playwrights Canada Press 2011. Currently her company RJ Deverell Productions has five projects in development, and she is an Adjunct Professor of Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University until 2017. Most recent acting credits include a film short about aging, Rhonda's Party, an episode of Wendy Lill’s CBC network radio series Backbencher, and the play Hush Baby for the SpringWorks 2013 Festival in Stratford. Rita is a two-time Gemini winner, the recipient of the Black Women’s Civic Engagement Network’s Award and the Order of Canada.

Stephen Ellis is President of RocketFuel Media Inc., which launched in September, 2012, providing convergent media production services for the film and television industry. It’s a joint venture of his Media Catellist consultancy with new media partner Rocket Digital Management.

Stephen is an internationally known, award-winning television producer and distributor, with over 300 titles in his filmography in the wildlife, history, science and kids genres, seen in over 100 countries. He previously headed up Toronto-based Ellis Entertainment Corporation for over 25 years, the longstanding Canadian indie founded by his father, Ralph C. Ellis, in 1964.

For over three decades he’s also been an advocate for independent Canadian production through extensive volunteer work with various industry bodies, including the Canadian Media Production Association, which awarded him the CFTPA-Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Stephen has also pioneered non-profit digital age enterprises for producers, founding the Canadian Retransmission Collective in 1990 and ISAN Canada in 2007, both of which he continues to Chair. CRC has distributed over $165 million to date in cable and satellite royalties for distant program signals to domestic and international producers. ISAN Canada is the ISO standard for digital fingerprinting of audiovisual works recognized by both the Canadian Audiovisual Certification Office and the Canada Media Fund.

Kathy English has been public editor of the Toronto Star since 2007. The Public Editor position encompasses the roles of reader advocate and guarantor of accuracy, serving as a liaison between the Star and its many readers, both print and online.

Kathy began her journalism career at the Brantford Expositor in 1976. She has since reported and edited for six Canadian daily newspapers including the Star and the Globe and Mail. She taught newspaper journalism at Ryerson School of Journalism for 10 years. In her Ryerson sabbatical year, she completed a Master’s degree in Canadian history, writing a thesis on 20th century newspaper ownership trends and the demise of family ownership in Canadian newspapers. After departing from Ryerson's journalism faculty, she launched websites for two Canadian media companies, SunMedia (Lifewise.ca) and Transcontinental Media (Mochasofa.ca) and also directed the launch of the San Francisco-based parenting website, BabyCenter Canada. Kathy served on the board of the National Newspaper Awards for 5 years and is a former board member of the Association of News Ombudsmen. She serves on the Ethics Committee of the Canadian Association of Journalists and is co-chair of the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s programming committee. As well, she is a member of the professional advisory committee of the Sheridan College journalism program and a member of the board of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation.

14-time Gemini-nominee Edwina Follows brings over 25 years experience in all aspects of film and television production to her leading role as Discovery Canada’s Director of Commissioning and Production. Follows is an internationally-respected player in independent production, with relationships in both the production and broadcast sectors in Canada and around the world. Previous to her appointment, Follows had served as Director of Production for EPI (Exploration Production Inc.) – Discovery’s in-house production unit – spearheading the development and production of over 75 hours of primetime, factual programming for Discovery Channel including the worldwide hit series’ Mighty Ships and Nerve Center and the Gemini-winning smash Forensic Factor.

Follows joined EPI / Discovery in 2005 as a producer overhauling two of the channel’s docu-drama series, Forensic Factor and On the Run. Under her creative direction, Forensic Factor was renewed for 5 successive seasons, receiving multiple Gemini nominations and awards for directing, writing, art direction and cinematography, as well as three nominations for Best Series. Forensic Factor became a hit on AETN’s Biography Channel in the U.S. and continues to sell in over 100 countries worldwide. On the Run, a co-commission with Discovery Networks International (DNI), saw Follows working closely with broadcast executives throughout the Discovery group of channels as well as Tru-TV in the U.S. On the Run also received a Gemini nomination for Best Series.

After advancing to become an EPI Executive Producer, Follows continued working on a variety of successful international co-productions and co-commissions, including SciQ with Smithsonian Networks, Lives That Changed the World with Discovery Networks International, and Shark Family, a co-production with Discovery U.S. and Monaco Films in Germany.

Before joining EPI / Discovery, Follows worked as a producer and writer on a variety of marquee series and specials including The Dinosaur Hunter (TMN), Relic Hunter (Global), Emily of New Moon (CBC) and Ready or Not (Global).

McLean Greaves is Vice-President of Interactive at ZoomerMedia, based in Toronto Canada. A renown cross platform veteran, McLean is responsible for leading an integrated digital strategy of the Boomer-targeted company including mobile, social media, SEO and IT infrastructure covering television, radio and print media lines.

Prior to ZoomerMedia, McLean served as the executive producer of the network television series, ZeD, a cutting-edge cross-platform format that landed five Gemini nominations in its inaugural season as well as selection in the prestigious INPUT TV conference (Denmark) and two Leo Awards, including Best Variety Show. His second season followed up with more critical acclaim including Gemini, Webby and a prestigious Emmy® nomination for Advanced Media. Season three landed four Gemini nominations and a Media Person Of The Year nomination at the Western Canadian Music Awards. During this same time, McLean also created and produced Burning To Shine, an intimate documentary on the popular Canadian rapper K-OS collaborating with the CBC Radio Orchestra.

Prior to his foray in television, McLean ran an “afrosomething” start up in New York City where, as founder of the urban dotcom company VMI, he was twice selected as a Silicon Alley “cyber star” by the Village Voice and Virtual City magazines. His new media and television projects have drawn positive reviews from the likes of The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wired and Crain’s Business Weekly. Former clients include filmmaker Spike Lee, music mogul Sean “P-Diddy” Combs and media giant Time Warner. McLean’s NYC days also included stints as Vice President of Content at HBO’s Volume.com, Associate New Media Editor at PAPER magazine and frequent contributor to Essence, Vibe, BET Weekend and The Source magazines. As a guest lecturer, McLean has presented at the PBS Technology Conference, Western Canadian Music Awards, New York University, Columbia University School of Business, Pratt Institute and others.

In addition to broadcast and digital media, McLean has written for several magazines including Paper, Globe & Mail Newspaper, Vibe, Essence, The Source and Zoomer.

McLean is a graduate of the British Columbia Institute Of Technology and has served on various boards including NewMedia BC and NextMedia. He can be reached at mclean@mcleangreaves.com

Chance is a digital marketing & Strategy professional whose 23 years of experience encompasses retail, financial, CPG and agency sectors.

A proven digital marketer he has given a voice in the digital and social space to brands such as Maple Leaf Foods, Canada Bread, Motts Canada Dry, Whirlpool, Conagra, Gay Lea, Procter and Gamble, RBC, LCBO, Corus Television, Astral Media, KIA, and many more.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the digital & social world and its potential use within the market place and with it a distinct understanding of multiple platform content delivery and what it takes to bring the audience to those access points and engage them actively with the brands.

Chance started his career, within the financial section working with fortune 500 corporate clients to manage their insurance and pension needs, but soon realised his passions lay elsewhere in the digital realm.

Chance is currently a partner and strategy and business development lead at pdoink Interactive, a Digital, Innovation, Strategy and Marketing Agency whose 13 year history boasts of working with clients among some of North America’s largest and well known brands.

Prior to pdoink Chance was responsible for championing the creation of a new start up “Beyond the Click “ a stand alone digital division within Commix Communications a traditional below the Line Agency, putting together a best in class team of creative’s and developers. 



In additional to his role at pdoink and ever the entrepreneur, Chance is currently cofounder and VP, Business Development for getmetires.com, a unique recent start up ecommerce platform that serves the needs of North American car tire consumers, by eliminating the pains and frustration of tire shopping by saving the consumer time and money at the same time feeding the local economy.

When not spending time tinkering with his newest acquired gadget you can find Chance sharing his expertise at a number of industry related events.

Anthony Hello is a foremost authority on content marketing in Canada.

Revolutionizing marketers’ expectations about the types of communications solutions media agencies can deliver, Anthony rebuilt the promotions and sponsorship marketing department at MediaCom into a full-service branded content consultancy able to tackle all facets of content strategy and activation. Launched in 2010, MediaCom Beyond Advertising is now a globally adopted agency sub-brand that, in Canada, has employed content marketing to achieve industry awards and best-ever business results for clients including Maytag, TD Canada Trust, H&M, Wrigley, and many more.

Anthony believes strongly in the power of content marketing to deliver business growth, in using standard growth metrics to prove its efficacy, and in the power of publisher partnerships to maximize reach and impact.

Recently, Anthony joined Toronto creative agency, Bensimon Byrne, in a Business Lead capacity on the Scotiabank portfolio. Earlier in his career, Anthony crafted advertising and promotional work for brands including Jack Daniel’s, Miller Genuine Draft, Kokanee, and Blue Light.

Don is the President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. Interactive Ontario (IO) is a member-driven, not-for-profit industry trade organization which was originally created in 2001. IO’s mandate is to support the growth of the interactive digital content industry in the province of Ontario. IO represents companies creating a wide variety of interactive digital media products and services including video games, transmedia, e Learning, web series and mobile content.

Prior to joining Interactive Ontario, Don spent more than a dozen years in the business side of the digital media business. He has previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Studio General Manager of a Toronto-based console videogame development studio as well as VP Business & Legal Affairs and General Counsel for a mobile game/application development studio. He has also previously served as both a General Counsel and a COO and at a boutique game publisher.

He has been credited on nine console and PC video game titles, including most recently, Dungeons & Daggers: Daggerdale (XBLA/PSN/PC), which in 2011 was ranked in the top ten in the United States for both XBLA units sold and revenue. He was also his studio’s interactive producer on the Gemini-nominated Lost Girl transmedia project.

Prior to entering the videogame industry, Don spent six years practicing law at Goodmans LLP where he represented clients in the software and interactive media industries. Don holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. He lectures on the topic of the business of video games at the University of Toronto law school, Ryerson University, Seneca College and George Brown College.

Jennifer Holness is an award-winning writer, producer and partner at Hungry Eyes Film & Television. Jen co-wrote and produced the feature, Home Again, staring Tatyana Ali, Lyriq Bent and CCH Pounder which premiered at the 2012 TIFF. Jen's first feature, Love, Sex and Eating the Bones won 9 festival awards including Best First Feature at TIFF 2003. On the TV side, her two-part CBC miniseries, Guns, staring Elisha Cuthbert and Colm Feore won five Geminis' including a best writing award for Jen. Jennifer co-created the thirteen-part comedy series She's The Mayor for VisionTV. She has also produced numerous documentaries and co-directed the NFB history documentary, Speakers For The Dead. She is also working on three digital projects; the CMF funded Music Biz App with XMG, Home Again digital documentary with Emmy Award winners Secret Location and The Numbers Game App. Jennifer has been a loyal supporter of Innoversity from the very beginning and this is her second year on the Steering Committee.

Throughout his career, Tim has helped Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 organizations in the US, Canada, and the UK create innovation, marketing, new product, and workplace transformation programs. In the process, he's seen how barriers to creative and productive thinking are also barriers to success — for individuals and for groups.

He speaks regularly about how to use the principles of productive thinking and creative leadership to manage change rather than be swamped by it. He shows how organizations can foster a creative working environment, stable enough to provide cultural continuity and flexible enough to adjust to rapid changes in technologies, markets, and mandates.

He has written numerous articles on enhancing creative intelligence in the workplace, and is a periodic contributor to Creativity in Action, the journal of the Creative Education Foundation. He's a faculty member of the Creative Education Foundation, a founding director of Facilitators Without Borders, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Lessing Institute, and one of the founders of Mindcamp. Tim's book Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking (McGraw Hill, NY) is available in bookstores everywhere.

Tim thinks the phrase "out of the box thinking" should be put back in the box and buried in a deep hole.

Joan Jenkinson is the Vice President of Independent Production and Multi-faith Content responsible for commissioning, developing and supervised the production of hundreds of hours of original content for ZoomerMedia, Television Division. Joan works with faith producers to provide training and advice to improve the production values of their programs, coordinates the Mosaic Programming Management Group, oversees ZoomerMedia’s public benefits commitments and participates in the Cultural Diversity Committee. Joan spearheaded VisionTV’s Cultural Diversity Drama Competition and the DiverseTV/NSI program provided training, development and production opportunities for a diverse creators. Joan has over 20 years in the communications and broadcast industries and was the formerly Executive Director of Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT-T). She is a Founding Board Member of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, as well as Co-founder and Founding Chair of the Reel World Film Festival. She has volunteered her time to a number of other organizations, including the Innoversity, The Canadian Film Centre and Canadian Women in Communications. Joan has a BA in Religious Educations from Central Baptist Seminary and a BA in Sociology and Film Studies from York University.

According to Cher, geek is chic! This self-proclaimed "cool geek" has the love of technology hard wired into her personality. She spends way more time on the internet then she cares to admit connecting on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, testing new apps, or reading the latest technology websites and blogs.

As an accomplished corporate communications and PR professional with 15 years of experience, she has worked with several leading Canadian companies and for one of the largest municipal governments in Canada. Through her company Socially Active, she provides fun and highly engaging social media training workshops, coaching sessions, talks and keynotes. Cher helps entrepreneurs, corporations and non-profit organizations participate responsibly, effectively and strategically online.

She's often invited to share her social media knowledge and experience at conventions, corporate events and on industry panels. In her spare time, Cher mentors youth and regularly appears on the CBC show Steven and Chris testing wacky as seen on TV products. To find out more you can always visit www.sociallyactive.ca and follow @itscherjones on Twitter.

As Creative Head of RTR Media, Jenna oversees development of new concepts and series. Jenna also oversees the creative advancement of our existing successful series.

Prior to joining RTR, Jenna spent a number of years as a Production Executive at HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada. As a freelancer, Jenna held positions as Showrunner, Field Director and Story Editor in lifestyle and reality programming. She has enjoyed once in a lifetime experiences on the original teams of Canadian Idol and U8TV The Lofters.

Jenna graduated with a BFA Honours, York University: Film and Video Production.

Tim Knight is an Emmy and Sigma Delta Chi award-winning journalist, film producer/director/writer/host as well as broadcast journalism trainer, columnist and communications consultant.

For the past year, he’s written the controversial media column Watching the Watchdog for Huffington Post Canada.

He won the 2012 Innoversity Angel award for “making the media more accessible to persons with disabilities, Aboriginals, people of colour and students.”

Knight has worked for three newspapers, Zambia TV, United Press International (three years in Congo), ABC, NBC, PBS (New York), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

He produced the CBC’s flagship news program, The National, and was executive producer CBC TV News, Ottawa.

For ten years he was lead trainer and executive producer, CBC TV Journalism Training.

Over the past 40 years Knight has trained thousands of broadcast journalists, film-makers, storytellers, speech writers and speech makers in hundreds of workshops in more than a dozen countries.

He’s lectured on journalism and film-making at ten universities, and taught a Social Documentary course at Wilfrid Laurier University.

In 2008 he was executive producer, co-director, writer and narrator of the three-hour TV documentary series Inside Noah's Ark, licensed to the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS and 15 international networks. The trilogy revealed that most of Africa’s wildlife reserves are no longer truly wild but, to protect the threatened animals, have been turned into huge ranches, giant zoos.

In 2013 the series was licensed to Fisher Klingenstein Films in New York for Internet distribution.

Tim Knight is the author of three books on communication including Storytelling and the Anima Factor, now in its second edition.

For more detail on who he thinks he is, check www.TimKnight.org and LinkedIn Profile.

As Vice President, Content + Platforms for Weber Shandwick in Canada, Andrew is the strategic lead on all content-driven, digital, social and mobile integrations for clients across the agency’s four Canadian offices while also supporting on larger North American initiatives. He also leads the Weber Shandwick Canada production team, working with designers, producers and the Weber Shandwick North American studio network as well as external vendors to bring client stories to life in meaningful rich media expressions to their stakeholders.

Before joining Weber Shandwick, he worked on numerous international award-winning multi-platform content projects, across traditional and digital media with focuses in sports, entertainment, documentary, children’s media and the arts. Andrew has presented for organizations and events such as nextMEDIA, the International Econimic Forum of the Americas, the Globe Series, the Canadian Marketing Association, North by Northeast Interactive, the Liberal Party of Canada, Humber College, the Ontario College of Art and Design, York University and more. Andrew is a Member of the Board of Interactive Ontario and of the Canadian Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Council.

You can find him on Twitter @LaneAndrew.

Alison Leung is the Marketing Director for Foods at Unilever Canada. Some of the trusted brands in Alison’s portfolio are likely ones you have been feeding your families for years: Becel, Hellmann’s, Knorr, and Lipton. Alison has been with Unilever for 15 years, spending the majority of that time managing brands that also include Dove, Axe, Degree and Q-tips. Prior to Unilever, Alison worked at Loblaw Companies Limited, where she was a Category Manager of Health & Beauty. Alison attended the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, where she obtained her Honours Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She later went on to complete her MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

When Alison is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Jeff, as well as her 11 year old son, and 9 year old daughter. She can often be found at the hockey rink, cooking for friends and family in her kitchen, and occasionally, on a golf course (but clearly not enough time is being spent on the golf course!).

Lewis joined Discovery Channel in 1994 as Executive Producer of in-house programming and helped create the world's first daily science magazine show.

Lewis is a Board Director for the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers and The Science Media Centre of Canada as well as Chair of Innoversity's Steering Committee.

Kelly is a national reporter with Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) and host of AMI-tv /AMI-audio’s original program, AMI Blindsighted.

Kelly is heavily involved in the blind community. He currently sits as member at large for Toronto's Glenvale Players theatre group, is Vice President of the CCB Itatu chapter, London’s CCB chapter and sits on London’s accessibility advisory committee.

Kelly has a passion for theatre and, in his spare time, directs Out Of Sight Productions, a London, Ontario based Theatre Company he founded 7 years ago.

Pia is a TV executive, show-runner, show doctor, and trainer, whose workshops include concept development, visual storytelling, reality formatting and multi-skilling of TV journalists.

Pia Marquard has been developing people and ground-breaking programs for over twenty years. As a trainer and consultant, she has designed and delivered hundreds of hours of workshops around the world on concept development, visual storytelling, reality formatting and multi-skilling of television journalists. She has been called upon to diagnose existing programs and steer renewal in all genres.

She’s held a variety of senior positions, including Head of Programming at TV2-Denmark, Head of Development of Factual Entertainment at CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Director of the European Film College and, most recently, Managing Director of CBC English Services in Quebec.

In India, she worked with local production teams as project manager to create a highly successful television and radio spot campaign for the World Health Organization. She also consulted on the start-up of TG4, the first Gaelic language channel in Ireland, and APTN, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Canada.

Originally from Denmark, she was one of the pioneers of docusoaps and reality programming in the 90s. As head of Entertainment at Swedish Television, she co-created “Expedition Robinson”, the original format for “Survivor “ with Planet 24.  In Canada, she was creative producer on “Race to Mars”, the first factual-based drama on Discovery.

She gets by in seven languages, loves mountaineering and cooking and lives in Montreal with her dog Django.

Best known for introducing ground-breaking, highly effective creative media campaigns to the Canadian marketplace, Gaye McDonald returned to CBC in 2011 as Director, Client Marketing for CBC’s Revenue Group. She leads the dynamic 25-person creative business unit which is the liaison between Programming and Content, Sales and Clients - and utilizes CBC’s unique Canadian content brands to drive revenue and business results for CBC and its customers.

Prior to her return to CBC, McDonald spent two years at the helm of her own company, Branded Entertainment Management, specializing in creation of short format programming and branded content for Canadian media companies and advertisers, which followed four years as Vice President of what was then Canwest’s Marketing Ventures multi-asset integrated business unit.

Before founding Jumpwire Media in 2009 Gavin worked for online video start up Joost and was the Head of Cross Platform Business Development at global television production company Endemol.

Gavin has been working in media space for over 20 years. His past experience includes positions at major television networks as well as owning and operating a television production company and a boutique advertising agency. His company created some of the first cross media TV content and worked with major networks including NBC, Discovery, CTV, and Global Television. The full service ad agency serviced two national clients and explored integrating brands into television and online properties. In 2004 he moved from his native Canada to the UK to better understand the rapidly emerging mobile phone space. Through his position at Endemol he worked closely with the UK’s largest mobile operator O2 and helped develop leading edge content for multiple platform release. In 2007 he moved into the web video arena based out of the Joost’s New York office. He has spent time in Japan, Africa, Europe and China exploring and understanding the global digital media content market place. He is invited to speak at media industry conferences on a regular basis including: MIPCOM, International Institute of Communications, Harvard Business Club of New York, Ryerson University, NAPTE, Xmedia Lab, etc.

Bill is the Chief Financial Officer and Producer of Fireweed Media Productions Inc. and is an experienced broadcaster and has produced many award-winning Disability Network (DNET) and CBC Television series television. Over the years, he has developed a community-based, current affairs model of first person storytelling and among other productions, has produced an intimate, nationally-aired documentary mini-series, “Passing on the Torch.” This programme was about high calibre athletes with disabilities in the Canada Summer Games. Those DNET shows were viewed by audiences of more than seven hundred thousand persons.

He consults on all Fireweed productions in regard to multimedia and IT implications and is a specialist in computing services, multimedia production and information research and retrieval. For almost twenty years, Bill has been active in IT, community development, distance education and Internet communications and has facilitated Internet electronic discussion listserv communities connecting persons in forty countries and has contributed to the growth of electronic access to persons with disabilities through the development of Project EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information). He is currently working on developing an inclusive approach to a future broadband streaming network.

Along with Don, Bill is currently developing a “media watch” community-based component which will help Fireweed clients better identify their needs in rapidly changing marketplaces and which will identify and analyse the media to encourage and promote and reflect the full diversity that reflects Canada.

Bill is a Masters graduate from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Adult Education; a past Co-President of Ethno Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario; a member of the Board of Counterpoint Community Orchestra; and Managing Editor of The Learning Edge, periodical of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education.

Barbara Motzney was appointed to the position of Chief Consumer Officer at the CRTC on October 1, 2012.

The Chief Consumer Officer serves as a focal point for action and accountability within and outside the CRTC for concerns and interests of consumer issues. The Chief Consumer Officer is responsible for ensuring that the interests and concerns of consumers are considered in the decision making of the Commission by working across the commission to provide the tools, information, and research to consider the consumer perspective, as well as ensuring that the work of the CRTC is accessible and responsive to the needs and expectations of Canadians. The Chief Consumer Officer also heads the Consumer Affairs and Strategic Policy Sector.

Prior to joining the CRTC, Barbara was Director General of Border Policy and International Affairs at Public Safety Canada. She has also held policy and corporate leadership positions at Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada and Health Canada in the areas of international affairs, federal-provincial-territorial relations, and copyright policy, among others. Barbara had worked on a variety of complex files including the Beyond the Border Action Plan, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts in Financial and Administrative Studies, and holds a Master of Business Administration from Concordia University.

Robin Neinstein oversees the development and production of original drama series and co-productions for Shaw Media channels including Global, History and Showcase. Recent productions include the Canada-Ireland co-production VIKINGS, starring Gabriel Byrne and Travis Fimmel, and WORLD WITHOUT END.

Prior to joining Shaw, Robin was Executive in Charge of Production, Drama for CBC Television for six years, where he oversaw some of that channel’s flagship series including THE TUDORS and BEING ERICA, as well as the development of CBC’s first original season of MURDOCH MYSTERIES.

Robin is an Emmy Award nominated producer and filmmaker. He co-founded Toronto production company Media Headquarters and directed the feature SOUVENIR OF CANADA, based on the bestselling book by Douglas Coupland. Robin started his career with Twentieth Century Fox in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the ACCT.

Sangita Patel is the newest member of the ET Canada family, subbing in for beloved host, Cheryl Hickey, who is taking a maternity leave. No pressure, right? Luckily, Sangita loves a new challenge!

Born and raised in Toronto, this big city girl has always excelled in academics while pursuing her passion for performing. And when she applied for university, Sangita found herself in the enviable position of being accepted in both Journalism and Engineering!

While journalism sounded like it would be more fun, math and science sounded like it would make more money. So Sangita chose Engineering, and graduated as a professional engineer responsible for manufacturing big machines and using her considerable talents in manipulating tiny instruments and playing with pressure valves, and fixing complex mechanical problems, and aiding the captains of industry to earn big bucks in big business!

And yet...Sangita kind of missed the media spotlight too. So she did both...and volunteered with Rogers Community Television until she eventually reported for the local lifestyle show, Toronto Living, and Rushes, the highlight show for the Toronto International Film Festival. She was a professional engineer in the suburbs by day/TV personality in the city by night.

And then a job offer came along that changed Sangita's life. How would she like to be a TV presenter on The Weather Network? For super-smart Sangita, it was a no-brainer. Now she could combine her passion for the media with her passion for science. This was high pressure business at The Weather Network too. This was live TV. It was six-minute blocks of airtime talking to viewers at home. No script. No break. Sink or swim. And she better think on her feet! Sangita, of course, excelled! And this eventually led to another new opportunity. How would she like to be a weather specialist at Toronto's City Television? It was another no-brainer. And soon Sangita was not only presenting weather around the clock, but also filing lifestyle features, and covering entertainment stories. No pressure, right?

Now Sangita is joining Canada's number one entertainment show, ready to talk to the biggest stars on the planet! It's again sink or swim time, and she better think on her feet. So is she up for the challenge?

During her frantic days on Rushes, a newly pregnant Sangita found herself on the red carpet waiting to talk to Brad Pitt. And she knew Angelina Jolie was also pregnant at the very same time. So when Mr. Pitt brushed off the impatient media throng, Sangita knew exactly what to do. She yelled, "I'm cold and I'm pregnant!" And Brad came rushing over to her to talk to her about his famous family.

So is Sangita up for the ET Canada challenge? We think she'll do juuuust fine...!

David Phillips is Vice President of BBM Analytics, joining the company for its launch in August 2006. BBM Analytics is privileged to work with all of Canada’s largest broadcasters and advertising agencies, helping them make sense of their audiences through data and technology.

David began his career selling classified ad space to car dealers in London, England. Luckily for all concerned, he’s not doing that anymore. He has a master’s degree in modern European culture, something which has never been useful since. He is a past president of the BRC, current co-chair of CARF and member of several IAB Canada councils, including its first-ever big data committee.

His obsessions include politics, history, running, music and clouds and he is blessed with a wonderful wife and two beautiful sons.

Mark Prasuhn is President of Vantage Media Inc., a Toronto-based consulting company that provides services to broadcast and content production clients, and COO of Jumpwire Media. Prasuhn was previously Chief Operating and Content Officer for Zoomer Media, Television Division (2010-11), where he programmed all four of the company’s television broadcast services (VisionTV, ONE, JoyTV 10 CHNU-TV Vancouver and JoyTV 11 CIIT-TV Winnipeg) and oversaw affiliate relations, advertising sales and paid programming. Prior to the purchase of S-Vox by Zoomer Media, Prasuhn was COO and SVP Programming for S-Vox/VisionTV (2001 – 2010) where he launched two new national specialty television channels: One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel and Grace TV.

The programming and marketing team he led as SVP Programming/Chief Content Officer tripled primetime audience ratings for VisionTV between 2007 and 2010 and commissioned award-winning factual and dramatic programmes. At various times he had line responsibility for all other divisions in the company and led a team of 40 – 50 staff including up to a dozen direct reports at the V-P and Director level. He drove an increase in annual revenues from $14 million in 2001 to $35 million by 2010.

Prior to joining VisionTV, Prasuhn was Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Board for Minds Eye Entertainment, which became the second largest independent production company in Western Canada during his tenure, with annual revenues growing from $10 million to $50 million. Prasuhn was co-Executive Producer on the feature film “The Unsaid” (Andy Garcia), and was Production Executive on “Murder Seen” (Nicole Eggert) and “Without Malice” (Jennifer Beals), and TV live action children’s series “Incredible Story Studio”, “Myth Quest”, “Mentors” and “2030 CE”.

From 1993 to 1998, Prasuhn was General Manager of the Saskatchewan Film and Video Development Corporation, the provincial funding agency and film commission, where he amplified total annual independent production in the province from $7 million to more than $50 million. Prasuhn, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film/TV Production) from York University and an MBA from Rotman Business School at the University of Toronto, also spent eight years with TVOntario - first as Production Manager, and later as Manager of Business Affairs, English Programming.

Prasuhn has been actively involved in a number of other professional organizations. As Chair of the CAB Societal Issues Committee, he participated in the development and implementation of broadcast industry portrayal codes and initiatives that have enhanced the on-air reflection of diverse communities within Canada.

Email: markprasuhn@gmail.com
Skype: mark.prasuhn
Twitter: @markprasuhn
LinkedIn: Mark Prasuhn

Presently, working at comScore Inc. as a Vice President, Bryan has a pulse on electronic media, the future of the Internet and its full spectrum. His love of statistics and Sociology at McGill University allow Bryan a broad knowledge base. His work in theatre as well as teaching in South Korea added to his rich global views and helped him to develop a creative mindset.

Bryan's creativity, energy, and a pervasive work ethic have helped him to become enriched and knowledgeable in his industry. Bryan works with prestigious clients such as Bell Media, Astral Media, Yellow Pages Group, Facebook, TC Media, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Google Canada, Quebecor, and The Weather Network, as well as many major Canadian agencies.

In addition, Bryan is a dedicated member of the Internet Advertising Bureau and CARF Board of Directors, where he works actively to enhance digital media in Canada.

Please follow this link to view Bryan’s profile on LinkedIn.

Ana is the founding Director of CFC Media Lab, a world-renowned new media research, training and production think tank environment created in 1997 by the Canadian Film Centre (CFC). She is also the Centre's first Chief Digital Officer, responsible for creating a new business development strategy focused on a growing network of digital media partners and for creating the digital stratefy for all CFC program offerings, shifting the Centre from it's historic analog/film platform to a digital/transmedia.

As Vice President of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, Carmen is responsible for developing a diverse pipeline of product and people to enhance Imagineering's consultant talent and its creative processes. Her four areas of primary emphasis: creative product and services development, consultant talent identification, casting talent to the full range of creative assignments, editorial participation in the creative process and the establishment of external partnerships to enhance product relevance in the diverse global marketplace.

Carmen served as Vice President of Global Strategies for Diversity and Inclusion for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. She was responsible for integrating diversity and inclusion strategies into creative entertainment World-Wide, Global development and all Walt Disney Park Operations and businesses.

Prior to joining Disney Theme Parks and Resorts World-Wide, Carmen served as the Vice President of the Talent Development Programs for the Disney/ABC Television Group. In this position she was responsible for overseeing and managing the Disney/ABC Writers Fellowship Program and Writers Breakage Initiatives; the ABC/DGA Directors Fellowship Program; the Touchstone/DGA Partnership; the Directing Assignment Initiative; the Casting Project; the Talent Development Scholarship/Grant Program for filmmakers, writers and directors; the Entertainment Associates Program; ABC/Disney Writer-Director Summer Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Institute of American Indian Arts; the American Indian National Center for Television and Film and she executive-produced the Micro-Mini Television Series Project. She also functioned as a liaison with diverse creative communities around the country, non-profit arts institutions, entertainment industry guilds, colleges and universities to nurture talented, emerging writers, actors and directors.

In 2007, Ms. Smith received an Honorary Doctorate from the Metropolitan College of New York. Ms. Smith serves on the board of the Urban Resource Institute and the Robey Theatre. She is a current member of the advisory board of the Urban Women's Retreat. She was a presenter at the United Nations' Fourth Non-Governmental Forum on Women in Beijing, China. She was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Alumni of Hunter College of the City University of New York; she received the Urban Resource Institute Certificate for Outstanding Leadership; the Great Seal of the State of New York for Community Service; recognition from the Doors of Hope Foundation for outstanding service to Battered Women.

Ms. Smith was selected as the ABC, Inc. Black Achiever in Industry for 2000; received the 2001 John D. Blodger Diversity Award and the 2003 AFTRA National American Scene Award ( Crystal Award), was a 2004 AFTRA, Actors' Equity and SAG Diversity Honoree; received the 2004 Oneness award for promoting diversity in Television and film and received the Directors Guild of American African-American Steering committee award for outstanding efforts to elevate the stature of women and minorities in the entertainment industry; 2005 AFTRA National Scene award as Executive Producer of the ABC Entertainment Micro-Mini TV Series and the 2005 Theresa's Haven Award from the Family Support Systems Transitional Housing Services of New York, for improving the quality of life for homeless families in New York and received the Institute of American Indian Arts 2006 Visionary Award. Most recently she was honored with the Frances E. Williams Award by the Community Coalition of Los Angeles; 2009 recipient of the Our Authors Study Club- Pat Tobin Award of excellence; the 2009 DiversityBusiness.com Champion of Diversity Award; the recipient of the 2009 DiversityFirst award winner from the California Diversity Council: listed in 2009 Diversity MBA Magazine's Top 100 Executive Leaders and 2011 Uptown Professional Magazines Top 100 Executives in America.

A native of New York, Ms. Smith graduated from Hunter College with a degree in communication arts. She received her Masters in international administration from New York University, completed the Simmons Graduate School of Management Certificate Program for Developing Managers and Harvard University Women and Power Executive Education Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Michael Smith is general manager of Scripps Networks Interactive’s newest lifestyle media brand, Cooking Channel. He currently oversees the creation, integration, and programming and marketing of the network, which launched in May 2010 in 58 million homes, making it one of the largest new channel launches in history.

Previously, Smith worked as senior vice president of marketing, creative and brand strategy for Food Network. While there, he also served as its senior vice president of marketing and creative, and in vice president roles for both on-air strategy and creative. His teams’ work was recognized with several industry awards, and in 2003, Smith received a Brand Builder Award from PromaxBDA, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News.

Prior to Scripps, Smith worked for Disney/ABC Cable Networks in a variety of sales, marketing and programming roles, both domestically and in Asia, and eventually rose to executive director of on-air promotion for Disney Channel. He also worked for the CBS Television Network in affiliate relations, and began his career as an account executive at Young & Rubicam in 1986.

Smith’s talents and influence have been widely recognized. He’s been named a NAMIC Luminary, one of SAVOY magazine’s “100 Most influential Blacks in Corporate America,” and one of CableFAX’s “Top 75 Most Influential Minorities in Cable.”

Smith earned his MBA in 1986 from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and received his bachelor’s degree in science, technology and society from Stanford University in 1984.

A native of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, Smith grew up in Jamaica, West Indies before moving to the United States in 1971.

Sudz Sutherland works on both sides of the fence as a freelance writer and director for Dramas and Documentaries. Sudz’ sophomore feature film ‘Home Again’, currently in production and slated for a fall 2012 release, is the follow up to his multiple award-winning and Genie nominated debut feature film ‘Love, Sex and Eating the Bones.’ He is currently developing two other feature films, ‘Colourblind’ and ‘Operation Red Dog’.

Sudz is also in post-production on ‘She’s the Mayor’, his first television series co-created with Jennifer Holness and Min Sook Lee. Airing on VisionTV in March 2011, this half hour comedy stars Colin Mochrie, Janet Laine-Greene and Tonya Lee Williams.

Previous to this, Sudz was involved with the feature film ‘Toronto Stories’, an anthology in conjunction with 3 other directors and was invited to TIFF for September 2008. On the TV side, he also completed the dramatic miniseries ‘Guns’ for CBC based on four families caught up in illegal gun trafficking. Starring Colm Feore and Elisha Cuthbert, ‘Guns’ aired on Labour Day weekend September 2009. Sudz also wrote and directed the triple Gemini award-winning (Best Direction, Best Supporting actress, Best Television Movie) ‘Doomstown’, an MOW for CTV/Sarrazin-Couture.

Sudz has written for various TV shows including, ‘Da’ Kink in My Hair,’ (Global) and ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ (CTV), ‘JOZI-H’ (CBC), ‘Blue Murder’ (Global), and he was a Story Editor on the Nickelodeon/YTV series ‘Caitlin’s Way’. He also wrote the pilot episode for Back Alley’s series ‘Drop The Beat’, which triggered an order for the first season and resulted in a Gemini nomination for Best Dramatic Writing category for his work on the series.

Sudz’ episodic television directing work includes Heartland and Wild Roses for CBC, the pilot and second episode of ‘Da Kink in my Hair’ for Global, ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ for CTV, ‘The Famous Jett Jackson’ for Disney, ‘Drop the Beat’ for CBC, ‘Skin Deep III’ for Life Network, ‘Tell It Like It Is’ for W Network, ‘Brand New Life’ for NFB/YTV and ‘Canadian Geographic for Kids’ for TVO.

Sudz’s powerful half-hour dramatic debut, ‘My Father’s Hands’ screened at The Toronto’s International Film Festival. It had its Canadian television premiere on CBC and went on to win prizes in Canada at the 2000 Yorkton Film Festival (4 awards including best drama, script, direction and best actor), and internationally, including the $20,000 HBO Short Film Award at the Acapulco Black Film festival. The film was also nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Short. In addition, Sudz co-directed the National Film Board’s documentary film, ‘Speakers for the Dead’.

Melissa Sykes, Vice President, Content Diversity, Scripps Networks Interactive, is responsible for ongoing external partnerships and content diversity outreach for HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, and Travel Channel to serve current business needs and maximize future growth opportunities. Her responsibilities include expanding diverse production resources and developing key relationships with multi-cultural partners. She is the former SVP, Program Management at HGTV where she developed focused partnerships between programming, ad sales and consumer marketing. Prior to that she was SVP, Original Programming at HGTV overseeing the network’s slate of top performing lifestyle series.

Colette Johnson-Vosberg is a TV & Film professional that specializes in business affairs with a creative flair. Colette has written, directed and produced two shorts, one drama entitled “Gotta Get Ahead” and the other a documentary, entitled “The Hootenanny”, as well as worked on CFC shorts and MOW’s for Showtime, such as “What Girls Learn” with Elizabeth Perkins and Scott Bakula. Colette has a unique background of having been in the fields of broadcasting, distribution and a funding agency that has established well-rounded expertise in the TV & Film industry as a whole.

Colette’s business affairs expertise started with the Specialty Channel team at Global TV, where she contracted and managed deliverables for both original programming and acquisitions. A few years later, she managed the business and legal department at Vision TV and ZoomerMedia Television, which entailed relationship building with producers and international distributors. Colette’s knowledge base includes distribution contract management of rights and working with the sales team at Motion Picture Distribution. Government funding agencies Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Media Fund, gave Colette the expertise of how competitive funding works and what they look for in the application process.

Currently, Colette is providing services to clients in the role of producing, writing private and government funding applications, tax credit applications, contracting and connecting people to people.

Ron Waksman is the Senior Director, Online and Current Affairs for Global News.

Ron has executive oversight of the project to reinvent Globalnews.ca in order to create the ultimate mobile news experience on any device. In his current role, Ron oversees Global News’ Digital First initiative, evolving legacy broadcast newsrooms into 24-hour digital news platforms.

Ron is a senior advisor for all Global News operations and strategic planning, and the executive-in-charge of Global News’ Gemini and RTDNA award-winning investigative program, 16X9.

Waksman is responsible for the network’s journalistic principles and practices, which includes editorial standards, professional conduct and ethics. He was the Executive Editor of the second edition of Global News Journalistic Principles and Practices, published in January, 2012. The second edition was updated specifically to include new areas of journalistic practice such as online newsgathering, as well as guidelines around copyright and fair dealing.

Ron has a 21-year track record of executive editorial, broadcast, production and online news management. He is a multiple RTDNA, Edward R. Murrow and Gemini award winner. He played a key role in the growth of Global News, joining Global Ontario as a writer in 1989. Ron was appointed Executive Producer of National News in 1996, then in 2005 he was named News Director at Global Toronto.

Ron was recently nominated as an adjudicator for the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and he is a member of the Organization of News Ombudsmen. He has been a member of the advisory board at the University of Western Ontario journalism program and a part-time radio and television instructor at Ryerson University.

Ron lives in Thornhill, Ontario with his wife and three sons. He is an avid aviation enthusiast.

John Young is the Managing Director of Temple Street. In addition to running Temple Street’s day to day operations, John has spearheaded the company’s move into branded content and digital media, acting as the lead on deals with some of Canada’s largest brands, while forging new relationships with leading digital agencies.

John has served as a director on the board of Temple Street since 2009. Prior to joining Temple Street, he held various positions within the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System pension fund (OMERS) and was Managing Director of OMERS Private Equity.

A lawyer by training, John also serves on the board of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He is Vice Chairman of the Toronto International Film Festival Group’s Steering Committee, and in 2005 was voted as one of Canada’s top 40 under 40 in-house counsel.

John was born and raised in Loch Lomond, Scotland and graduated from the University of Dundee with an LLB (honors). He also received a Diploma in Legal Practice from Glasgow University. He is a graduate of the Directors Governance College at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business.

Sadia Zaman is Director, Original Program Development, CBC News and Centres. Before her move to CBC, Sadia was the Executive Director of Women in Film and Television-Toronto, a high profile not-for-profit for three years.

Sadia is a respected industry leader with a solid understanding of multi-platform content creation, distribution, and aggregation. She has built her leadership, management, and editorial skills through award-winning work as a team leader, writer, producer, host and interviewer. She has created hundreds of hours of original television at public service broadcasters Vision TV, TVO, and CBC.

Sadia’s work has been nominated for three Geminis. Shows she worked on won another two Geminis. She has also received dozens of other industry awards.

Recently Sadia was selected as one of six female media leaders in Canada to take part in the Creative Leaders program. In 2007 she was a finalist for the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. She has been named a trailblazer by the Reelworld Film Festival and in 1998, she was one of four Canadian journalists awarded a prestigious Southam Fellowship for Journalists at Massey College, University of Toronto.

Sadia is often asked to speak at events about a range of media, leadership, and diversity issues.