We are pleased to introduce our TVO Executive Management Committee, Board of Directors and voluntary Regional Councillors, and answer some frequently asked questions about the roles of these dedicated teams of individuals.
TVO is managed by a team of experienced broadcast and educational professionals who are dedicated to excellence in the programs and services we deliver.
Click on an Executive Management Committee member's name to read their biography.
Lisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde believes in the power of media to engage, to inform, and to serve the public good. Since her appointment in 2005 as TVO's CEO, Lisa has ushered in a new era for Ontario's public educational media organization, leading its transformation to a fully-digital, interactive source of multi-platform educational content that empowers people to be engaged citizens of Ontario.
Lisa's dedication to a strong Canadian media sector began upon her graduation from McGill University's law school, when she joined the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as legal counsel. While with the CRTC, she also served as Director General-Cable Television, Specialty and Pay Television Service. Lisa practiced law in Montreal (where she was a partner at Heenan Blaikie). As Astral Television's President and CEO, she was instrumental in transforming the then-declining pay TV category into highly successful branded television networks, and in supporting the Canadian film-making community.
The world of film is a passion for Lisa, which she has combined with her commitment to contributing to the growth of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), heading up the board's Finance Committee. Her other not-for-profit and private sector boards and advisory boards include the Canadian Digital Media Network Advisory Board; the McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management, International Advisory Board; the Noranda Income Fund (she is Chair of the Board of Trustees); the Consumers Waterheater Income Fund and the Government of Ontario's Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. Fluently bilingual, Lisa champions the cause of educational broadcasters across the country as the Chair of ATEC (The Association for Tele-Education in Canada), and represents TVO internationally as an Executive Committee member of the CBA (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association).
Nancy Chapelle
Nancy Chapelle has been a key player in Canadian and international television, film and animation production for over twenty-five years. Her wide-ranging expertise in the entertainment industry encompasses broadcast production, distribution, and international co-productions, all of which has contributed to her successful tenure as Managing Director of Content and Programming at TVO since 2003.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, where she acquired her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1982, Nancy first made her mark in the industry associate-producing the Don Adams (Get Smart) sitcom Check it Out. Her managerial career began with Producers Group International, where as General Manager she was responsible for their entertainment division. In 1990 she helped co-found Catalyst Entertainment, managing operations for the company's slate of original properties which included animation, live-action series, movies-of-the-week and feature films. By 1997 she was President of the company, while simultaneously managing North American operations for Gullane Entertainment/Britt Allcroft Group. At Gullane she also executive-produced a slate of family movies and children's series, including the $20 million feature film Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
Nancy's current position at TVO includes a seat on the public educational media organization's Executive Management Committee, where she plays a key role in the development and implementation of the organization's strategic objectives and policies. She is responsible for the design of the network schedule, and all production and new media activity.
A tireless promoter of innovative and enlightening programs for children, Nancy's many credits include Noddy, The Longhouse Tales, and Shining Time Station. She has received numerous industry awards and nominations including Best Children's Program from the Banff Television Festival and Best Animated Series from the Alliance for Children and Television, as well as several Gemini Award nominations.
Nancy Chapelle lives in Toronto, where she is a member of Canadian Women in Communications, The Alliance for Children and Television, The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.
Sarah Irwin
Sarah is the Managing Director of the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), TVO's non-broadcast educational division. Offering Ontario curriculum courses from grades 9 to 12 in both official languages, the ILC is the Province's designated provider of distance education and GED testing. Under her leadership, the ILC won the 2007 CNMA award for Excellence in Learning. Sarah sits on the Canadian Heritage Virtual Museum Editorial Board and is a member of the UNESCO International Adult Learners Week committee.
Prior to her appointment with the ILC, Sarah was TVO's Director of E-Learning, setting up and running the $10 million e-learning initiative known as the Lifelong Learning Challenge Fund, which resulted in the creation of eight sets of online courses amounting to over 1000 hours of courseware in partnership with eight colleges, universities and institutions.
Sarah joined TVO in 1997 after spending 15 years at the CBC in various capacities ranging from production, business affairs and acquisitions, with her final role as Manager, Marketing and Sales, CBC International Sales. During this time, Sarah also worked as a Market Mentor for MIP and MIPCOM with the OFDC. She holds a BA from York University; an MBA completed on-line through Athabasca University, and an M.Ed from OISE/University of Toronto.
Clara Arnold
Clara Arnold has extensive human resources and labour relations experience in diverse industries including broadcasting, retail/distribution, healthcare, manufacturing and technology. Over her career Clara has held senior HR positions at Domtar (Chemicals Division), MDS International and BOC (Canox) before joining TVO in 1993.
Clara's responsibilities have included a full range of labour relations & human resources functions and issues including HR strategy and organizational design; workforce adjustment; business acquisition, growth and development; compensation, benefits and pension administration; training and development; recruitment and selection; labour negotiations and collective agreement administration. Clara has also provided consulting services to organizations on an ad hoc basis.
At TVO Clara is the senior human resources expert for the organization. She plays a key role in formulating, recommending and enabling the implementation of human resources and labour relations strategies, policies and services. In addition, Clara Influences and assists workforce planning activities, organizational design and the alignment of resource strategies and initiatives to TVO's strategic agenda.
Clara holds a bachelor of Commerce (McGill 1976) and a Master of Industrial Relations from the University of Toronto (1977).
Jill Javet
Jill Javet joined TVO in November, 2001. As Vice President, Corporate Relations, Jill and her team are responsible for corporate communications, internal communications, stakeholder, media and community relations, and customer relations.
Jill came to TVO from Goodwill Toronto, where she spent nine years, most recently serving as Director of Communications, from 1998 to 2001. Jill was responsible for launching Goodwill's first-ever TV advertising campaign, which garnered the Gold CASSIE Award, The IABC Silver Leaf Award and the Goodwill International Award for Best TV Spots.
Previously, Jill began her career working with several service-side Toronto marketing agencies including Ki Promotions/The Gaylord Group, Catalina Marketing and Holdroyd & Associates Communications.
Jill currently sits on the Communications Advisory Committee for the non-profit Media Awareness Network, and has served on several volunteer committees including the Goodwill International Marketing and Communications Advisory Group; the Fundraising Committee for the Henderson Hoedown for Wellspring Cancer Support; and The Publicity Committee for the Recycling Council of Ontario's annual ReVamp Environmental Fashion Show. Jill has been a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society and the Canadian Marketing Association.
Originally from Montreal, Jill is a graduate of Queen's University with a B. A. Honours Diploma in French Studies.
Todd Slivinskas
As Chief Technology Officer, Todd Slivinskas is leading TVO in leveraging digital information technology to enable the organization to deliver on its strategic imperatives. In his role, he is accountable for I.T. service delivery, broadcast maintenance, operational support, software and infrastructure projects, and strategic direction. His successes include major transformations in customer service, IT governance and communications, standards, quality, accountability and delivery of I.T. initiatives.
Some of his notable achievements at TVO include delivering:
- a corporate Intranet
- a new Outlook e-mail System
- a new Tape Library Management System
- a Peoplesoft ERP system
- a SOCAN Music reporting system
- security infrastructure and policies
- a new I.T. datacenter
- enterprise backup system and processes
- an e-Commerce solution for Membership donations
- consolidated web infrastructure
- an IT PMO
- ITIL processes and SLA for Service delivery
Prior to joining TVO in 2002, for over 12 years Todd held various I.T. management positions in a variety of industries including financial, telecommunications and electric utilities. Most recently he managed the domestic and international brokerage networks at RBC Capital Markets for two years. Prior to this, Todd was responsible for infrastructure and software delivery at Sprint Canada and Toronto Hydro. In these roles he led teams on large budget I.T. implementations and provided direction from a number of dimensions including: strategy, operations, marketing, finance and project management.
Todd obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1991 and an MBA in Science and Technology from Queen's University in 1999. He is also currently serving on the Board of Directors for a mid-sized Credit Union.
Erika Kramer
Erika joined TVO in September 2007 as Manager of Distribution Services. In her current role as Vice President, Distribution Services, she is responsible for Master Control, Transmission, Media Encoding and the Media Library.
Erika started her television career in 1988 as a founding member of VisionTV, Canada's first non-profit, multi-faith broadcaster. As one of only 10 employees, she was given the opportunity and encouragement to work in a number of roles, ranging from Traffic to Technical Producer. She found her niche in Technical Operations where, over the next 19 years, she made a significant contribution to the growth of the organization (known today as S-VOX) with the launch of One: the Body, Mind and Spirit Channel and later the Christian Channel. In the last years of her tenure at S-VOX, Erika was the Director of Technical Operations, Broadcast Systems and Traffic. Just prior to leaving S-VOX, Erika completed the build of a brand new, digital file-based Post Production and Master Control Facility, hired all of the technical staff and managed the migration of on air operations from two independent service providers to the new in-house facility.
Erika is Past Chair of the Canadian Broadcast Distribution Association (formerly CSUA), Chair of Ontario DTV Over-the-Air Consortium and represents TVO on the DTV Technical Working Group. During her career she has worked on various sub-committees of the Specialty and Premium Television Association, CAB, Canadian Digital Television Inc. and the Canadian Satellite Users Association.
Erika is a graduate of the Radio and Television Arts program at Ryerson, and is only one credit shy of attaining her B.A. in Philosophy, which she hopes to complete some day. She lives outside of Toronto with her husband, two fabulous teenagers and several beloved pets.
Winnie Wong
Winnie is Vice President of TVO's Business Development, Revenue and Marketing team, a group that was formed in September 2009 with the objective of merging key business areas of Digital Strategy and Business Development, Marketing/Communications, Corporate Sponsorships, Fundraising/Donations and Research. Representing another bold step in the broadcaster's digital evolution, Winnie is responsible for supporting TVO's focus on building self-generated revenues, integrating digital into all areas of its business and building the TVO brand across all platforms. In addition, she continues to manage the IdeaShaker, an innovation lab that focuses on connecting emerging technology with content, market opportunity and new business ventures. Since starting at TVO in September 2007, Winnie has played an integral part in driving the development and launches of key partnerships for TVO including YouTube, Apple (iTunes), Adobe, Yahoo! Canada and Joost.
As a seasoned International business executive, Winnie has held key management and leadership roles in Digital, Marketing Communications, Global Business Development and Strategy for leading global organizations. While at Microsoft and Intel, Winnie was responsible for driving integrated marketing communications strategies for key business and marketing programs for Consumer and Business to Business segments. This included marketing strategies around brand building, advertising, market research, product positioning, messaging, merchandising, sponsorship and integrated communications campaigns including print, web, direct, promotions, packaging and events. As Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at DealTime/Shopping.com (eBay) in New York, Winnie oversaw and managed all strategic partnership alliances for over 50 key partners including Bertelsmann, AOL/Time Warner, Bank of America, Fleet, Chase, AT&T, Sprint.
As Partner at OgilvyInteractive in New York, Winnie provided strategic marketing consulting to agency clients for brands such as IBM, Nestle, Perrier and San Pellegrino, and was responsible for digital marketing solutions to build client brands, launch products, and generate customer acquisition and loyalty. In addition, Winnie has worked at American Express with marketing planning and strategy around customer loyalty and retention and her digital and business development consulting has been employed by ABC/Disney and In-Sync Consumer Insight. Prior to her digital days, Winnie worked in the Music Industry in New York as the Director of Publicity for A&M Records/Polygram.
Winnie holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Commerce and Economics from the University of Toronto (Trinity College). In addition to her role with TVO, she is also a Board member and advisor for a number of regional and international educational and research organizations.
TVO's Board of Directors represents the interests of the millions of Ontarians who take advantage of our educational programs and services.
The Board governs the activities of TVO's executive team to ensure that our stakeholders receive value for their investment.
Click on the name of a TVO Board Member to read their biography.
Peter O'Brian
Peter is an accomplished independent film producer and director whose movies have won 19 Genie Awards. Over three decades, his successful collaboration with talented directors and original Canadian projects has made him a leader in Canadian cinema. Peter attended the University of Toronto in the mid-Sixties while playing in the rock band The Whiskey Sours and transferred to Emerson College in Boston in 1967 to study film and mass communications. His producing career began in the mid-Seventies with the low-budget comedies Me, Love at First Sight (starring Dan Aykroyd) and the international cult classic Outrageous! (as Associate Producer). In 1977 he founded Independent Pictures Inc and began to produce some of Canada's most important films of the Eighties, including The Grey Fox and My American Cousin which won Best Motion Picture Genies for 1983 and 1986 respectively. In 1984 The Grey Fox was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as best foreign film. Disney's One Magic Christmas came next, followed by Gordon Pinsent's John And The Missus and Far From Home with 20th Century-Fox in 1994. Peter made his directorial debut in 2003 with the Toronto Film Festival favourite, Hollywood North, a satirical look at the Canadian film industry during the notorious tax shelter years. Peter has been passionately associated with the Canadian Film Centre since he became a founding board member in 1986 and was then appointed by Norman Jewison in 1988 to be Executive Director for the Centre's first critical years of operation. He established the Resident Program and served as Producer-in-Residence in 1997 and Executive Producer of the Feature Film Programme in 2000-01. Peter has served on many other industry boards, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Academy of Canadian Film and Television. He was appointed Chair of the OECA Board of Directors on November 1st, 2005.
Revised & Updated: April 2007
Ajay Agrawal
Ajay is Assistant Professor of Strategic Management and Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, where he teaches Competition and Strategy in Creative Industries and Corporate Strategy in the school's MBA program as well as Advanced Topics in Strategic Management in the school's Executive MBA program. He has also taught Technology Strategy (MBA), Business Strategy (undergraduate) and Economics of Innovation (Ph.D.) at Queen's University in Kingston. In the late 1980s Professor Agrawal began attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC. At UBC he received a Master's degree in Engineering and Business Administration in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Strategy and Economics in 2000. He was Visiting Scholar at both the London Business School in 1994, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1998-2000, where he did his Ph.D. dissertation research. Professor Agrawal began his teaching career in 1996 as a Teaching Assistant in the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration. Two years later, again at UBC, he was lecturing on Government, Business, and Welfare Economics. His research explores the economics of creativity and innovation, commercialization of university inventions, knowledge spillovers and flows, and private-sector competition over public-sector science. He has presented his research at a variety of institutions including the Harvard Business School, MIT's Sloan School, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Stanford University, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and the Federal Reserve Bank. In 2006 Professor Agrawal was appointed a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Among Professor Agrawal's numerous awards and honours are recognitions for outstanding research from Queen's University and the title of "Professor of the Year" awarded by the MBA class at Rotman in 2006 and again in 2007. Professor Agrawal makes his home in Toronto, where he was appointed to the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVO) Board of Directors in April 2007.
Revised & Updated: May 2007
Nana Barnor
A true leader, Dr. Nana Barnor is a Toronto-based pediatrician who came to Canada from Ghana in 1967 to begin her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. Active in the local Ghanaian Community, Dr. Barnor was involved in the formation of the Association of Ghanaian Canadians, becoming the organization's first Vice President and then Acting President. She has also volunteered with the University of Toronto Summer Mentorship Program, hosting students from marginalized backgrounds and helping them gain knowledge about careers in medicine and science.
After completing her pediatric training at the Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Barnor began her professional career on active staff at St. Joseph's Health Centre, on the courtesy staff at Women's College Hospital, and in private practice. She was chief of pediatrics at Humber Memorial Hospital from 1986 until its amalgamation in 1997, and is a former Developmental Clinic Consultant with University Health Network. Dr. Barnor is still on active staff at Humber (now known as Humber River Regional Hospital) and Women's College Hospital (courtesy staff), and is an associate at University Health Centre.
In addition to her staff appointments and clinical experience, Dr. Barnor is a preceptor in the faculty of Arts and Science at U of T, and is a member of the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Ontario Medical Association.
Her previous Board memberships include Havergal College (where she served on its Finance and Audit Committee), Humber Memorial Hospital and Africans in Partnership Against AIDS, where Dr. Barnor was the Chair of the Board for six years. In addition to her new role on the TVO Board of Directors, she continues to be a member of the Board of Governors of Oolagen Community Services, a charitable organization mandated to help children in mental health crisis.
In 2003, Dr. Barnor was recognized with the Ghanaian Canadian Achievement Award for Professional Excellence.
Posted: October 2009
Judy Blank
Judy's commitment to education and volunteerism has been a consistent theme throughout her many years of service in the Niagara region. Her strong interpersonal skills and effective rapport with people of all ages led to a successful career as an elementary school teacher (she began teaching in the early 1960s), and later as a volunteer with the St. Catharines General Hospital Auxiliary, where she has played an active role since 1980.After receiving her teaching certificate from Hamilton Teacher's College in 1961, Judy began her professional career with the Lincoln County (now Regional Municipality of Niagara) Board of Education. She also taught with the Etobicoke Board for several years, before returning to the Niagara region in 1965 to teach with the District School Board of Niagara, from which she retired in 2004. Learning has always been a two-way street for Judy, as witnessed by her attainment of a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brock University in 1990. She makes her home in St. Catharines where, in addition to her contributions to the community, she enjoys fitness classes, yoga, walking, tennis, reading, and spending social time with family and friends.
Revised & Updated: August 2007
Penny Eizenga
Penny has spent the last fourteen years working in various departments with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., including assisting in the development of a new walk-in care clinic for transplant recipients. Before joining Novartis, she was a practicing nurse for several years. Penny also worked for the Trillium Gift of Life Network as a Communications Coordinator for South-western Ontario. Her career with Novartis began in the Transplant Business Unit, where she assisted with the sales and marketing of several types of immune-suppressing therapies for organ transplant recipients. She then moved into the Health Policy department, where she was responsible for building alliances with key Ontario healthcare decision makers, both at the political level, and with professional and patient advocacy organizations. Moving back into the Transplant Business unit as a Medical Liaison Manager, Penny implemented clinical research trials of interest to transplant hospitals in Canada. Recently, she has made a significant career shift to immerse herself in her true passion: acting. Although she has spent the last 16 years acting "part-time", she felt it was now time to devote herself to the craft "full-time". In addition to her acting experience, Penny is also a board member with the London Community Players, and the professional Grand Theatre. Her recent theatre credits include Angels In America and How I Learned to Drive, both with Fountainhead Theatreworks in London, Ontario. Penny's days are now filled with acting classes, auditions, reading scripts and acting in film and theatre projects.
Revised and updated: June 2007
Kambiz Kazemi
Kambiz is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and is the former Senior Vice-President of Institutional Sales & Trading for Fimat Canada Inc., one of the world's largest global brokerage organizations. Kambiz is a graduate of Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electricité et de Mécanique de Nancy in France and received his MBA from McGill University in Montréal. After an earlier engineering-oriented career, he moved on to positions with HSBC Securities Canada and CIBC. Fluent in French, English, Spanish and Persian, Kambiz lives in Toronto where he became a member of the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVO) Board of Directors in 2007.
Revised and updated: January 2008
Diane Kelly
Diane brings to the TVO Board of Directors a wealth of corporate governance experience. She is the Chair of Community Living Kingston, an organization which supports people in the Kingston area with intellectual disabilities, and sits on the Boards of the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston and Theatre Kingston, a small professional theatre company. She has also served on the Boards of Kingston General Hospital, Epilepsy Kingston, the Arthritis Society, the YMCA and the Victorian Order of Nurses, having acted as Chair for the latter three organizations. Diane was a partner with the law firm of Cunningham Swan Carty Little & Bonham, LLP. She has recently moved to Queen's University as in-house legal counsel. Prior to entering the field of law, Diane taught Spanish at Acadia University (she has a Master's in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont, and pursued further doctoral studies in Spanish at the University of Virginia). She received her Bachelor of Arts degree and LLB from Queen's University in Kingston.
Revised & Updated: January 2008
Raymond G. Paradis
Raymond is a long-time advocate of physical fitness training and effective education for special needs students in his home town of Temiskaming Shores. A teacher at École Secondaire Sainte-Marie from 1974 until 2001, Raymond also headed up the school's Special Education (1980-86) and Physical Education (1994-2001) programs. While acting as Chair for the Special Education Project (Bill 82) in the late 1980s, Raymond oversaw implementation of the Project for special needs students in the region. An avid golfer, he was a promoter and organizer of four high school tournaments at the New Liskeard Golf Club. He also coached the New Liskeard Junior Golf Team for 10 years, and was an instructor for the Junior Golf Program at the Haileybury Golf Course. Raymond was recognized by the Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association in 1993 with their Provincial OFSAA Award for Leadership in School Sports. That same year, he also received the New Liskeard Coach of the Year Award. A qualified hockey, basketball and volleyball referee, Raymond continues to play an active role in supporting sports and physical fitness among young people in his community.
Revised & Updated: August 2007
Judith Robertson
Judith is a global financial services professional with experience in the US, Europe, Japan and Canada. She is the former Executive Vice President responsible for product development and strategic initiatives with Perimeter Financial Corp. Prior to that Judith was President and CEO of Markets Inc., where was responsible for the launch of BlockBook (TM), one of the first alternative markets in Canada. Before joining Markets Inc. in 2003, Judith spent over 11 years with Barclays Global Investors, one of the largest global asset managers in the world, working in San Francisco, London, and Toronto (she was global head of securities lending and Managing Director). Returning to Canada with BGI in 2001, she headed up their transition management business and brokerage subsidiary. Judith began her career with CIBC Wood Gundy, where she was a Vice President in Corporate Finance in their Toronto and Vancouver offices. A Chartered Financial Analyst, Judith received her MBA from The Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario, graduating with distinction, and her Honours BA from the University of Toronto. She is active in several industry and community organizations, and is invited frequently to speak at industry events. Judith makes her home in Toronto with her family, where she is currently serving on the board of MITACS (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex systems), as well as TVO's Board of Directors, to which she was appointed in May 2007. In late 2008, Judith was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Belzberg Technologies Inc.
Revised & Updated: Jan. 2009
How is the Board appointed?
Members of the TVO Board of Directors, including the Chair, are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
How many times does the Board meet?
The TVO Board of Directors meets at least three times a year, including its Annual General Meeting. Meetings are called by the Chair and must be held within four months of the last meeting.
TVO has a unique network of volunteers in Ontario, representing all regions of the province, and comprising people from diverse backgrounds and interests. We are proud of this group of dedicated citizens, who work tirelessly to engage their communities in our cause, and provide valuable feedback to the organization. Our Regional Councillors are true "ambassadors" for TVO!
There are five regional advisory councils, representing Ontario's economic regions. Click on a region to meet its councillors.
Northern Regional Council
Tony Gaspar, Manitouwadge
Current position: Financial Services Representative at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Manitouwadge; prior to that, Tony enjoyed a long career in mining and metallurgy. His career path shows flexibility and willingness to learn and seek out new challenges. He has extensive community involvement in the far North and has strong fundraising skills.
Eugene Lefrancois, Kaministiquia
Commander In Chief, E.R. Lefrancois & Associates (Aboriginal Artwork Production - Mechanical & Building Restoration.) As Zone President of the Métis Aboriginal Association, Eugene represents the people and area from the small community of Raith to Batchewana Bay and north to Kapuskasing. Eugene has wide community involvement especially with the Ontario Métis Aboriginal Association.
Mark Mannisto, Sudbury
Mark is the Executive Director of Theatre Cambrian, Greater Sudbury's only year round operating theatre organization. Mark's career history includes positions at: Cinefest International Film Festival, Epilepsy Sudbury Manitoulin and the Ministry of Natural Resources. He is well known and has extensive community involvement in the Sudbury area. He is ambitious to create new, young audiences for TVO and has good connections within the community, the media and the arts.
Rick McCutcheon, Little Current
Rick is a publisher of two community newspapers and has excellent communication skills. He is particularly proud of a personal accomplishment 20 years ago when he assisted in making TVO available via transmitter to remote northern communities not served by cable television. He has a wide ranging network of good contacts in schools, newspapers and libraries. Rick is a long-time supporter and Star member of TVO.
Lise Moore Asselin, Mattawa
Lise is the CEO of the John Dixon Public Library in Mattawa and is part of the Blue Sky Regional Community Network. Through her involvement with both, she has encouraged libraries of the North Eastern region to promote TVO. Lise has strong community involvement in all five schools, day cares, Community Living, Nursing Home and local merchants.
Tamara Needham, Marathon
Tamara started her career as an educator and is currently the CEO of the Marathon Public Library. She has experience working with a wide range of client groups including children of all ages, parents, adolescents, seniors as well as physically and developmentally disabled persons. Tamara has lived in Northwestern Ontario all her life and has a good track record of community involvement.
Kim Pirie-Milko, Kenora
Kim is an educator with the Special Education department of a Kenora High School and has a lifelong interest in learning. Through her work with the schools, Kim has extensive contacts with libraries in Northwestern Ontario and volunteers extensively in the North. She is a singer/songwriter who performs regularly with the Kenora Harbour Front Entertainment series and shares her music with school children in their music programs.
Gary Rainbird, Sault Ste. Marie
Gary recently retired as Principal of Aweres Public School, Algoma District School Board, where he had a long career in education and teaching. Gary is well versed in his community, being active with the Canadian Red Cross (Disaster Management Program), and is a past member of the Alzheimer's Association Board of Governors. He is also the former treasurer of the Rotary YMCA Aquatic Club.
Donna Smith, Markstay
Donna is the CEO of two public library branches in two small towns between Sudbury and North Bay: Markstay & Warren. She has instituted preschoolers clubs in both community libraries as well as an after school drop in club in the Markstay branch for which she has been recognized by the Ontario Library Service North. Her community involvement is very wide and covers various educational entities. Her new initiative in the libraries this year is: geneaology centres; her goal is to put the family histories into a book and make it available digitally through the library's website. She is also involved in the Warren Historical Society that has just been awarded a 110 year old pioneer church property to use as a museum.
Southwestern Regional Council
Steve Andrusiak, London
Steve is a journalist and a university lecturer. He has a broad news, current affairs and television production background and has also produced and written stories for CBC radio, print and the web. In 2008 he founded storyvillage.ca. Steve teaches at the University of Western Ontario in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. He and his wife Larysa live in London. They have three children: Natalie, Michael and Paul and a new grandson-Jacob.
Jean Foster, Windsor
Jean is the Acting CEO at the Windsor Public Library; she works with many not-for-profit and public organizations in Windsor: the City of Windsor, the University of Windsor (in particular the Centre for Smart Community Innovation), St. Clair College, Teen Health Centre, Health Unit, Multicultural and settlement service organizations as well as both public and separate school boards. Jean has demonstrated many accomplishments throughout her career in Management, Strategic Planning, Finance and Information Technology. Her community involvement is vast and varied, having served on various boards: Hospice of Windsor, Information Windsor, Ontario Library Association, ONet, OLITA, Knowledge Ontario, to name a few.
Art Grady, Port Elgin
Art is presently retired after a long career in education, management, counselling and social work. He feels that there is a good mix of educational and cultural programming at TVO. His favourite program is The Agenda with Steve Paikin, which he finds to be very intense and in-depth. He has a long list of community involvement and volunteered in different capacities at various educational institutions and community centres.
Margaret Howard, Leith
Margaret is an author, dietitian and food & nutrition consultant who has written close to 20 cookbooks on a wide variety of food-related topics, including books devoted to people with diabetes and others based on healthy eating. Margaret has professional memberships with: College of Dietitians of Ontario, Canadian and Ontario Dietetic Associations, Ontario Home Economics Association, Ontario Home Economists in Business and Cuisine Canada. She participates in various volunteer activities in her community and has also held several board positions in the past.
Stewart Wayne Sinclair, Chatham
Current position: Information Systems and Accounting Administrator, United Way of Chatham-Kent. Having previously served as a residential counselor at Southwestern Regional Centre and as a professor at the St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Technology, Stewart possesses strong community contacts throughout local schools and libraries.
Southcentral Regional Council
Sheila Soden, Cobourg
Sheila's career as an educator includes: Special Education Resource Teacher - Secondary School Coordinator for the Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism - Teacher of Communications, Marketing, Media Studies and Co-op Education at the Nicholson Catholic College in Belleville. Her extensive community involvement includes membership in various community and youth committees and boards around Eastern Ontario. Sheila has just relocated to Cobourg from Belleville and continues her outreach in Southcentral Ontario.
John Storm, St. Catharines
John is the director of Oxford Learning in St. Catharines. He is past president of the Information Technology Management Board, member of the St. Catharines Culture committee, The Distress Centre of Niagara, and the St. Catharines United Way. He is a Founding Patron of the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council and a guest lecturer at the university level on communication issues. John is heavily involved in his local arts community and sits on the Niagara grant-review team for the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Pam Wolf, Cambridge
Pam is Cambridge's newest City Councillor elected in December 2006. An Honours graduate of York University and Teachers College, Pam has a teaching career span of 29 years for the Waterloo District Public School Board. She served on the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee, the Core Revitalization Committee, the Environmental Advisory Committee, the Grants to Groups Committee and on the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. Volunteerism is important to Pam and she has been a canvass Captain for the Canadian Cancer Society for over 10 years and served on the United Way Board of Directors. She has been an active member of the Cambridge Amnesty International Group and received the Oktoberfest Woman of the Year Award in 2001 for her humanitarian work. She received a Peace Certificate from the YMCA in recognition for her work in violence prevention programs and for leading and organizing Peace marches in Cambridge and Waterloo.
Greater Toronto Area Regional Council
Jorge Campos, Willowdale
In his position as a multicultural program director, Jorge has contacts with leaders of various communities, namely Portuguese, Spanish, Lebanese, Greek, Filipino, etc. Previous jobs included 12 years in adult education and five years as a judge at the Immigration & Refugee Board, Ministry of Employment & Immigration. He would like to see more involvement of ethnic groups on TVO shows and has wide media contacts.
Jae Chong, Richmond Hill
Jae has a long career in Information Technology and micro computers. He has a good knowledge of TVO's programs, watches The Agenda with Steve Paikin and appreciates TVO's children's programming. His community involvement is vast and varied. He has a good network in place which connects him to most Korean organizations in the GTA covering a community of over 100,000 people.
Kem Hamid, Markham
Kem is a real estate agent and has a client base of approximately 1000 households, 80% of which are from the Guyanese and West Indian communities. He has a good community involvement record and participates on a regular basis in various fundraising events.
Thando Hyman, Scarborough
Thando has just been named principal of the new Africentric Alternative School. She has a background of extensive community work, and at the same time is a well qualified educator. Her community involvement includes activities such as host of "The African Woman and Family", 89.5 CIUT FM - University of Toronto, Moderator/Facilitator with the Spelling Bee of Canada, Chair of the African Canadian Educators Network and Board member, Storytelling School of Toronto.
David Holmes, Oakville
David has had a lengthy career in a variety of senior management, marketing and sales positions with investment dealers in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Now he volunteers with TVO and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Sona Khanna, Oakville
Sona heads Splendor & Spice and Sona Khanna & Co. Event Designs involved in planning, design, & implementation of corporate & social events. A successful career in banking gave Sona a passion to serve and contribute to the community. She is extensively involved in the South Asian community and has keen interest in the diversity, cultural and social well being of the community she lives in. She has served on the Board of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Alterna Savings' Diversity Council. Currently, she serves as a member of the Halton Diversity Advisory Committee for the Municipality of Halton Region. She is proud to be part of the TVO Diversity council. She is highly motivated and active to deliver the TVO message in the communities she serves.
Andy Merchant, Thornhill
Andy is a graduate Textile Engineer, who has worked as a Sales Engineer for various companies, and a businessman involved in international trading. His community involvement is extensive. TVO's educational mandate motivates him to learn more about the organization and promote its products and services around the Pakistani Community.
Upali Obeyesekere, Toronto
Upali is a business consultant who owns and manages an import/export company. His involvement with the Sri Lankan community in Canada spans slightly over 30 years with various organizations and in multiple capacities. During those years, he witnessed with great interest the growth of this Community from 4,500 people to almost 200,000 in the GTA. He believes that he could work towards promoting TVO's programs and services in a very effective manner. Upali is also a member of the board of directors of Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC).
Monika Osinska, Toronto
A motivated Ontario Public Service program/policy professional, Monika is currently Business Analyst, at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. She volunteers extensively around the Polish community. Her community activities also include Queens Quay Disabled Sailing Program, Walk against Breast Cancer and Princess Margaret Hospital. She is very enthusiastic to start committing some of her time to TVO.
Greg York, Mississauga
Co-founder of Second Opinion Investor Services, Greg has over 20 years of investment advisory experience. He has been associated with many organizations either as a volunteer, board member or founder: e.g. United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Children's Wish Foundation, YMCA, Community Foundation, Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Estate Planning Council and Rotary International.
Eastern Regional Council
Calvin Bowry, Kingston
Calvin is currently Manager of Continuing Teacher Education at Queen's University Faculty of Education. He has broad experience in the education sectors and with marketing ideas through his alumni networks. Personal interests include globalization and the internationalization of Canadian education.
Janice Brant, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
Janice is an adult educator and education consultant, specializing in literacy and recognition of prior learning (RPL) in First Nation settings. Currently she is working at Queen's University, providing leadership to the Aboriginal student services department. She is an active member and volunteer in her community with a special interest in Restorative Justice practices and processes unique to First Nations people.
Keith Clingen, Martintown
Keith just completed a three-year stint as Community Relations Officer, Eastern Ontario Health Unit, Cornwall where he developed and implemented effective strategies and educational techniques for healthy living programs. He has been very active in the community with key roles in the Chamber of Commerce and the Cornwall Education and Resource Centre.
Colette Grant, Rockland
Colette has been involved in education since the beginning of her career as a teacher, a school principal, a special education consultant and as director of special education programs and services. She was a member of various community committees involving children with special needs. Her interest in child and adult education is ongoing. She is fluently bilingual, a definite asset in the Rockland area where she has just relocated from Timmins.
Marc St. Germain, Ottawa
A communications professional, currently working at the Métis Nations of Ontario as Communications Officer, Marc is tasked with finding unique ways to educate and inform through written, verbal and visual communications. Having worked within the aboriginal community for a number of years and more specifically with the Métis Nation of Ontario, Marc is plugged in the community and has established a solid network across the province.
Councillors are appointed by TVO's Board of Directors, and report to the CEO. The primary role of a Regional Councillor is to help keep our organization in touch with people and their communities right across the province. Councillors will often help promote TVO's educational resources to their local public libraries, community centres, and school media resource centres.
What do TVO's Regional Councillors do?
- Provide broad-based input to the organization.
This means giving us feedback on big picture, long range strategic challenges and opportunities and keeping us informed about what issues and topics people in their communities and regions are talking about the most. These discussions take the form of round-table discussions with senior management and the CEO. - Provide focused input on specific TVO initiatives.
This offers TVO line managers and staff the opportunity to seek focused input on clearly-defined projects, initiatives, questions or issues related to content, marketing, technology or revenue. This is especially helpful when we are producing content that may have special relevance for a specific region of the province. - Ambassadorship
This means promoting special initiatives at the community level to raise awareness, assisting with TVO regional events or web events, or 'Virtual volunteering' (i.e. interacting with TVO's staff and viewers online).
TVO is committed to empowering people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. More than ever, our Regional Councillors Advisory Board is helping us connect on a personal level with the people of our province, allowing TVO to increase its impact in a vast territory as regionally and ethno-culturally diverse as Ontario.
To get involved or to find out more about TVO's Regional Councillors Advisory Board, please contact Amal Samara, Advisory Councils Liaison ext 2987 or asamara@tvo.org.
The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Think Again
