Amir Ali Alibhai (British Columbia)

Chair of the Education Committee

Amir Ali Alibhai is well known to most artists throughout the Lower Mainland in BC, and across the province and the country through his work as an artist, curator, educator, volunteer and passionate contributor to the arts for the past twenty years.  
  
Amir was one of the founders and past president of the Rungh Cultural Society, which published Rungh, a magazine of contemporary diasporic South Asian culture (1992-1997), and was part of the initial staff team that established and developed the innovative Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre . He was a cultural planner for the City and District of North Vancouver’s joint North Vancouver Office of Cultural Affairs, before taking on his current role as executive director of the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture.

He has also worked as a gallery educator and curator at the Richmond Art Gallery (1989-1996), assistant and guest curator at the Surrey Art Gallery (1995-1997) and as an independent curator/cultural writer since 1989.

As a volunteer, Amir has served on various boards and committees throughout his career, including for several years on the board of ArtStarts in Schools and more recently, the board of the Canada Council for the Arts (2005-2008). Amir holds a bachelor's degree in microbiology (Immunology 1985), a bachelor's degree in fine arts (Painting 1989) and a master's degree in curriculum studies (art education 2000).

Erika Beatty (Nova Scotia)

Governor

Erika Beatty is CEO of Symphony Nova Scotia, one of the most broadcast and recorded orchestras in the country. 

Erika (BA ACS: Finance and Economics, UWO) has worked in the arts for more than 20 years and for the past 15 years, has held leadership positions with orchestras in New Brunswick, Mississauga, Niagara and Winnipeg before making Halifax her home in 2007. 

She is also a volunteer board member for Orchestras Canada, served on the Cultural Policy Advisory Committee for the City of St. Catharines and the Regional Municipality of Niagara and has served on juries for the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of Nova Scotia’s Culture Division and FACTOR.  She is one of the event co-chairs for the Bluenose Marathon and volunteers for the Grainery Food Co-op in Halifax’s north end. 

Luc Fortin (Quebec)

Vice President & Chair of the Governance Committee

Since 2006, Luc Fortin has been president of the Quebec Musicians’ Guild, a professional association of more than 3200 freelance musicians. A partner of the American Federation of Musicians and member of the International Federation of Musicians, the Guild defends and promotes the economic, social, moral and professional interests of its members. Fortin is also a board member for the Canadian Conference of Musicians, which unites Canadian musicians’ associations who are members of the American Federation of Musicians, and vice-president of the board of the Fonds d’investissement de la culture et des communications (FICC), a venture capital fund that acts as a financial partner for companies that create, produce, distribute and promote cultural products and services. He acts as trustee of the Canadian Musicians’ Pension Fund and has been appointed to the Standing Committee of the Socio-economic status of artists by the Quebec Minister of Culture.

With a masters degree in music from the University of Montréal, Fortin is also a professional musician and manager of his own record label and publishing company. He is currently a municipal councillor for Verchères, Quebec. 

André Leclerc (Quebec)

Secretary

André Leclerc is co-founder and partner at Gagné Leclerc Groupe Conseil. He has more than 25 years of experience in the cultural sector. As a consultant, he specializes in strategic management and planning for a number of public administration and cultural organizations at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. He has a vast knowledge of the arts sector, having been managing director of programs at the Conseil des Arts et des letters du Québec (CALQ) and later, a member of the board of directors of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC). André has had extensive experience managing and leading major cultural institutions. Previously, he was the administrative director at the Théâtre du Trident in Quebec City and the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal. As the administrative director at Le Devoir, he helped the newspaper reestablish its financial footing and reposition itself within the media environment. He is an active member of his community and contributes to the development of arts and culture through his involvement as a board member at Culture Montréal, Les Arts et la Ville and the Canadian Conference of the Arts.  Additionally, he is a member of the Forum partners Conférence des élus de Montréal.

Tom McFall (Alberta)

Chair of the Membership Committee

Tom McFall is the executive director of the Alberta Craft Council, Alberta’s largest provincial arts service organization. The Council operates the second largest public gallery in Edmonton and the only gallery in Alberta dedicated to craft culture. The Craft Council organizes 15 to 20 exhibitions annually for Edmonton, Calgary, provincial and occasionally national or international audiences. The Council also provides a wide range of career and marketing services for emerging and professional craft artists.

Tom’s background is in industrial design and design history and he has taught both subjects at the University of Alberta. He also has extensive experience in curating, writing, lecturing and developing exhibitions, particularly on topics of material culture, regional character and folk as well as fine craft.  Tom is involved in arts advocacy, locally, nationally and internationally. He has been president of the Alberta Cultural Action Network and chair of the Craft Working Group for Trade Team Canada - Cultural Goods and Services. He currently volunteers on the Edmonton Artists Urban Village (PAL affiliate) board, Edmonton Arts Habitat board, the US Craft Organization Development Association board and several projects teams of the Canadian Crafts Federation.

George Murray (Newfoundland)

Governor

George Murray is an accomplished writer and arts administrator living in St. John’s, Newfoundland.  Artistically, he is recognized worldwide as a a poet with five acclaimed books and a publishing record spanning all continents.  He also writes arts journalism for magazines and news papers such as Maisonneuve, the Globe and Mail, The Guardian, the Toronto Star, etc.  In 2009, George was a judge for the Governor General’s Literary Award and has himself been nominated for several prestigious prizes in Canada and the US.  He has spoken and lectured around Canada and the US, notably as a keynote for organizations such as the Ontario Public Library Association and at Princeton University.

As an arts administrator, George has been the executive director of the Association of Cultural Industries of Newfoundland and Labrador, an arts advocacy and policy research organization, since February 2007.  He has sat on numerous national, provincial and municipal advisory panels, boards and committees, and has appeared before all levels of government to give testimony about the impact of government policy on the arts and culture sector in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Previous professional positions include: international communications coordinator for the University of Toronto; communications coordinator for the President’s Office (Memorial University); and policy analyst for the New York City Campaign Finance Board, as well as many positions as an educator of adults and youth.

Arden Ryshpan (Ontario)

Treasurer & Chair of the Finance Committee

Arden Ryshpan has worked in the film industry for nearly 25 years in a variety of capacities, with production credits on over 30 feature films and televisions projects. While chair of the National ACTRA Women's Committee, she wrote and presented a paper on the status of female performing artists, which led to the development of a charter of rights for female performers, now endorsed by actors unions in over 50 countries. Arden was on the board of directors of the Dome Theatre of Dawson College and was a faculty member in the drama department. In her previous capacity as eastern regional executive director for the ACTRA Performers Guild, she was one of the union's senior negotiators. After a period of time as assistant director general of the English Program at the National Film Board, she became the on location production liaison for ACTRA Montreal and the STCVQ, representing their interests in their dealings with the Hollywood majors. She was previously the executive in charge of directors affairs for the National Directors Division of the Directors Guild of Canada, where she was responsible for negotiations, lobbying and international representation for Canada’s film and television directors. In September of 2007, she was appointed executive director of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. In addition to her membership on the CCA board, she also sits on the Senior Advisory Committee for CARFAC Ontario.

Kathleen Sharpe (Ontario)

President & Chair of the Audit Committee

Jason van Eyk (Ontario)

Governor

In May 2011, Jason van Eyk was named Executive Director of ArtsSmarts  - an innovative model of arts-centred, in-school partnerships that push the boundaries of learning, redefine the environment of schooling, and re-imagine student success.

Jason may be new to ArtsSmarts, but he is no stranger to the transformational power of the arts, personally and professionally. While his first love is music – Jason holds an M.Mus from the Eastman School of Music – his practice has been aligned with arts education and administration activities for many years. Merging these worlds into one, Jason completed an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, specializing in art and media administration in 2000.

Since then, Jason has demonstrated his passion for an expanded role for the arts in Canadian life, a flare for teaching, and an appetite for launching new ventures wherever he works. You only have to look at the Canadian Music Centre, where he was the Ontario Regional Director 2003-2011, or the University of Toronto, where he was Founding Director of the U of T ArtsZone, to find examples of his impact. Add in his classroom experience and it becomes clear why Jason can connect with the ArtsSmarts mission in a deeply personal manner.


Jason volunteers with the Advisory Council of the University of Toronto Scarborough Arts Management program and the Advisory Council of ArtsBuild Ontario.

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Ivan Habel (British Columbia)

Governor

Ivan Habel is currently general manager for Green Thumb Theatre, a company specializing in touring new productions for youth across the country.  Ivan’s previous experience includes director of planning and education at the Stratford Festival, director of production at the Shaw Festival and various positions with Live Entertainment including production manager, technical director and concerts production supervisor.  He has also worked with and for Opera Atelier, Canadian Stage and the National Arts Centre among others.  He has worked in or toured into most provinces and internationally in a variety of art forms.  A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Ivan’s work has included experience in design and production as well as management positions.  He has served on several juries for the British Columbia Arts Council , the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Vancouver, including several multi-disciplinary assessment committees.  Ivan is currently active in advocacy efforts for increased and stable funding for artists in BC and participates on several committees for PACT including the Labour Relations Committee, the Membership Taskforce and other activities.  He has previously served on the board and executive for the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and as director of the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) Association.