Board of Directors 2011 - 2012
Executive Committee
Chair
Jay Thomson
Vice-President, Broadcasting Policy and Regulatory Affairs
Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA)
Vice-Chair
Suzanne Morin
Assistant General Counsel, Privacy
Research In Motion Limited
Vice-Chair
Wendy Newman
Senior Fellow, Faculty of Information Studies
University of Toronto
Treasurer
Susan Bower
Vice-President, Business Operations
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
Member-at-Large
Arlette Lefebvre, M.D.
Staff Psychiatrist, Division of Child Psychiatry
Toronto Hospital for Sick Children
Secretary
Cathy Wing
Co-Executive Director
Media Awareness Network
Board Members
Warren Cable
Vice-President, Content Management and Merchandising
Kobo Inc.
Serge Carrier
Coordinator, Business Development
SOFAD
Rita Shelton Deverell
Nancy's Chair in Women's Studies
Mount Saint Vincent University
Joycelyn Fournier-Gawryluk
President
Canadian Association of Principals
Jacob Glick
Canada Policy Counsel
Google Inc.
Jason Kee
Director of Policy and Legal Affairs
Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC)
Monique Lafontaine
Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs
ZoomerMedia Limited
Jean LaRose
President and CEO
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
Craig McTaggart
Director, Broadband Policy
TELUS Communications Company
Tom Perlmutter
Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson
National Film Board of Canada
Mark Sikstrom
Executive Producer
CTV News Syndication and CTV.ca
Paul Taillefer
President
Canadian Teachers' Federation
Carolyn Wilson
President
Association for Media Literacy
Observers
Duncan Cass-Beggs
Director, Learning Policy Directorate
Strategic Policy and Research Branch
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Claude Doucet
Director, Legislative, Industry and Regulatory Policy
Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch
Canadian Heritage
Martine Vallee
Director, Social Policy
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Andy Kaplan-Myrth
Policy Advisor, Electronic Commerce Branch
Industry Canada
Biographies of Board Members
Susan Bower (first elected to MNet Board in 2009)
Currently Vice President, Business Operations for Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, one of the country's leading children's charities, Susan brings more than 20 years experience as a business operations executive in a variety of fields. As a consulting C.M.A., Susan has been a strategic advisor to a range of industry leading organizations including Women in Film and Television Toronto, the Ontario Pharmacists Association and the United Church of Canada. She has also served in a number of vital strategic roles with Vision TV, holding various leadership positions including Executive Director, Strategic and Organizational Development, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Finance and Administration.
Warren Cable (first elected to MNet Board in 2007)
Warren joined CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. in 2005 and currently leads a number of teams with responsibility for FPinfomart and Licensing in the B2B realm, as well as Local Sales, Training, and Online Directories in the company's Interactive Division. Under Warren's leadership, this diverse portfolio of businesses has enjoyed significant success.
Warren joined CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. directly from Toys'R'Us, where he held the role of General Manager for toysrus.ca. He and his team were responsible for the development and successful launch of the site in 2004, as well as the e-commerce strategy of the company internationally. Warren was also Director of Shopping and E-Commerce with AOL Canada, responsible for the strategy and implementation of e-commerce and retail programs. He was also the General Manager of Chapters.ca and has held progressively senior positions with The Body Shop Canada and The Bank of Nova Scotia.
Serge Carrier (first elected to MNet Board in 1997)
Serge is SOFAD's Coordinator of business development. From 2005 to 2007, he was COO of FacePrint Global Solutions, a biometrics solution provider in California. Until 2005, he was the vice president, Strategic Development, at CogniScience, one of Canada's foremost e- learning publishers. As CEO, from 1987 to 2002, Serge was responsible for developing Micro-Intel's educational software, in collaboration with ministries of education across Canada. Before starting Micro- Intel, Serge developed educational software and taught science and computer science at the high school and college levels.
Rita Shelton Deverell, C.M., Ed.D. (first elected to MNet Board in 2005)
Rita is an Independent Producer/Director/Writer/Performer of television and theatre for RJ Deverell Productions. Her drama series "Solo Flight International" debuts on OMNI, versioned in three languages, in 2007-08. In 2005 she completed her term as the Director of News and Current Affairs, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, where she mentored her Aboriginal successor. Deverell's career in journalism has been one of pioneering innovation and creativity. With an unceasing drive for social justice, she is one of the first Black women in Canada to be a television host and a network executive. A founder of Vision TV, the world's first multi-faith and multicultural network, she held several senior positions there as well as the network anchor job. In 2006 she was appointed the first CanWest Global Fellow in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario. An inspiring mentor and teacher, Rita Deverell serves as a role model for young journalists and audiences alike. Rita has recently been appointed Nancy's Chair in Women's Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.
Claude Doucet (first appointed to MNet Board in 2010)
Claude Doucet is Director, Legislative, Industry and Regulatory Policy in the Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch at the Department of Canadian Heritage. Claude has been at Canadian Heritage since 2005. His current responsibilities include providing policy advice on broadcasting issues with respect to the the CRTC and its mandate, Private Members' bills, jurisdictional issues including litigation, official languages, 3rd languages, media awareness and media literacy.
Claude worked at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission from 1996 to 2005. During that time, he held various positions of increasing responsibility and participated in the development of a wide range of broadcasting policies, from radio to distribution, including the transition to digital TV.
Joycelyn Fournier-Gawryluk (first elected to MNet Board in May 2011)
Joycelyn has been an educator for over 30 years in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her classroom experiences were at the Middle Years and High School. She has been a school leader for 19 of these years. From 1999 until 2008, she served on the provincial school principals' organization. The Manitoba Association of Principals evolved to being the Council of School Leaders (COSL) of the Manitoba Teachers' Society. She served on the executive of this board and was a volunteer chairperson for two years. In 2006, she was elected as the first seconded Chairperson of COSL, and served in this capacity for two years. During this time, she became the representative from Manitoba on the Canadian Association of Principals (CAP). She has served as Provincial Director and most recently has been on the CAP Executive. Joycelyn became President of CAP in May 2011.
Jacob Glick (first elected to MNet Board in 2008)
Jacob Glick is Google's Canada Policy Counsel. He is part of a global policy team, working with academics, civil society, industry and government to keep the Internet awesome.
Jacob studied Political Science and Law at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining Google he was General Counsel and Director of Policy Development at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. Jacob enjoys mid-90's bubblegum pop and is the starting centre fielder for one of the worst softball teams in Ottawa. His old Apple Newton MessagePad is buried in a drawer somewhere.
Jason Kee (First elected to MNet Board in May 2011)
Jason J. Kee is the Director of Policy and Legal Affairs for ESAC. Prior to joining ESAC, Mr. Kee was an associate with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP practicing in Intellectual Property, Information Technology and Entertainment Law. He is the former legal and policy counsel to the Canadian Interactive Alliance / Alliance Interactive Canadienne. He is the founder and former chair of the interactive media committee of the Canadian IT Law Association, Technology Liaison for the Entertainment, Media & Communications Section of the Ontario Bar Association, and an active member of numerous other legal associations.
Monique Lafontaine (first elected to MNet Board in May 2011)
Monique Lafontaine is Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs for ZoomerMedia Limited - Television Division. She oversees all regulatory and policy matters for the organization, including preparing applications and interventions to the CRTC, and attending CRTC public hearings. Monique has worked in the area of Communications Law and Policy for over twelve years. She holds an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa and Masters of Laws in Communications Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. Her work experience includes a position as Counsel at McCarthy Tétrault, General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Directors Guild of Canada, and as a senior broadcast policy analyst at the CRTC. Monique has written extensively in the area of broadcast regulation, and is co-author of the Broadcast Regulatory Guide and Broadcast Regulatory Handbook.
Jean LaRose (first elected to MNet Board in May 2011)
Jean LaRose is a First Nations citizen from the Abenakis First Nation of Odanak. He was raised in Ottawa where he studied Journalism at Algonquin College and obtained his B.A. in Social Communication at the University of Ottawa. He later began study for his Masters in Public Administration at L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration Publique (ENAP). He was named Chief Executive Officer of APTN in November 2002. Since his appointment, he has brought the network from a deficit position of more than $5.5 million dollars to a surplus position. The network has moved to a digital, high-definition platform and now employs over 130 people. APTN was one of the host broadcasters for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and carried over 10 hours per day of Olympic events in English, French and in eight (8) Aboriginal languages.
Mr. LaRose sits on the Board of Directors of the National Screen Institute, the Board of Directors of On-Screen Manitoba and the Nisga'a Commercial Group. He also served on the National Capital Commission Advisory Committee on its mandate review to provide Aboriginal perspective as it pertains to the future plans of the National Capital Commission (NCC), and the Advisory Committee on Indigenous Property and Authenticity Rights that was established by Heritage Canada. He has been a panelist and public speaker on a variety of forums, speaking to the issues and matters that pertain to the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.
Arlette Lefebvre (first elected to MNet Board in 2002)
A child psychiatrist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Arlette specializes in working with children with disabilities. She is also a professor of Child Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Arlette has been involved in media education for many years: she pioneered the use of the Internet to help to connect disabled children to their mentors, friends, and the broad community. She was the founding president of Ability OnLine, and also wrote Taking Your Kids Online: How and When to Introduce Children to the Internet. Her career has earned her many awards - the most recent being the 2002 Dr. Richard Ten Cate Professional Community Award, the Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre's Circle of Honour Award, the Order of Ontario, and the Order of Canada.
Craig McTaggart (first elected to MNet Board in 2008)
Craig McTaggart has been a member of TELUS Communications Company's Corporate Affairs team since 2004. He is currently Director, Broadband Policy with responsibility for Internet and intellectual property policy matters. Craig earned his doctorate in law under the supervision of Professors Hudson Janisch and Michael Trebilcock at the University of Toronto in 2004. An Ontario lawyer since 1997, Craig holds a B.A.(Hons.) in history from Queen's University, an LL.B. from The University of Western Ontario, and an LL.M. and S.J.D. from the University of Toronto. Craig is a recreational triathlete and lives in Ottawa with his wife and two daughters.
Suzanne Morin (first elected to MNet Board in 2008)
Suzanne Morin received her law degree from the University of Ottawa. After clerking at the Federal Court of Canada, she was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1992. She completed the Regulatory Best Practices Certificate program offered by the School of Policy Studies from Queen's University in 1997.
Since her call to the bar, Suzanne has been working in the areas of privacy, copyright, telecommunications and electronic commerce generally, including spam, network neutrality, child exploitation and offensive content. After almost 19 years in the telecommunications industry including Bell Canada, Suzanne joined Research In Motion Limited in June 2011 to head up privacy globally. Suzanne remains involved with many associations including the Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation (CCAICE), the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the CTIA-Wireless Association, and the Canadian Bar Association (CBA). Suzanne is currently a board member of the Standards Council of Canada.
Suzanne speaks frequently at Canadian and international conferences on various issues and submits the occasional article to various legal publications.
Wendy Newman (first elected to MNet Board in 2002)
Wendy is a Senior Fellow at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, and also past-president of the Canadian Library Association. Her areas of expertise include leadership, advocacy, community networks, public libraries as a force for community economic development, and the "smart communities" movement - she has written on all those subjects. Wendy has sat on a number of government and community committees, such as the National Broadband Task Force, the Heritage Advisory Group of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Conference Board of Canada's Advisory Group on Connectedness. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Library Science from the University of Toronto.
Tom Perlmutter (first elected to MNet Board in 2007)
Throughout his career as a filmmaker, writer and producer, Tom Perlmutter has been a fervent advocate of groundbreaking and socially engaged independent cinema. Before joining the NFB in 2001 as Director General, English Program, Mr. Perlmutter enjoyed a prestigious career in the Canadian film industry as the founding head of documentaries at Barna-Alper Productions, and partner in Primitive Entertainment. Mr. Perlmutter previously partnered with one of Canada's most noted documentarists, John Walker, on several award-winning documentaries. Prior to this, he was director of creative development for CineNova Productions and executive director of Alliance for Children and Television from 1993 to 1995. He has also worked as a writer and reporter, with a number of articles and publications to his credit.
Mark Sikstrom (first elected to MNet Board in 2001)
Mark is Executive Producer of CTV News Syndication and CTV.ca. Previously, he was director of Regional News and New Ventures for CTV Inc., responsible for the network's online news services, such as CTVNews.com and 21c.ca. Before that, Mark was a national and foreign correspondent, reporting from Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina and Washington, D.C.
Paul Taillefer (first elected to MNet Board in May 2011)
Paul Taillefer, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, holds a bachelor's degree from Laurentian University and a bachelor of education degree from the University of Western Ontario. In 1977, Paul began his teaching career at the École catholique secondaire Thériault in Timmins, in northern Ontario.
Involved in the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) for over 25 years, Paul has served as President of his local, Vice-President of the provincial board and served two consecutive terms as President of the provincial association.
Paul, a strong advocate for Francophone education in minority settings, has been a member of the Canadian Teachers' Federation Board of Directors since 2004, and during that time has chaired its Committee on French as a First Language twice and served as trustee of the CTF International Trust Fund. Since 2007, Paul has been Executive Vice-President and in 2010, was elected as President-designate. Paul came into his presidential functions in Ottawa in July 2011.
Jay Thomson (first elected to MNet Board in 2004)
Jay Thomson is Vice President, Broadcasting Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA). Previously, he was a consultant, Internet, broadcast and copyright, policy and regulation; and Vice President, Regulatory and Policy for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Prior to joining CAB, he was Assistant Vice President, Broadband Policy, for TELUS, where he was responsible for matters relating to Internet policy, broadcasting regulation and policy, and copyright. He was President of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers for over four years. He worked for ten years at the Canadian Cable Television Association where he was Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs. Jay worked as a policy analyst in various departments within the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission where he also undertook his legal articles. A member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, he obtained a law degree from the University of Victoria (1985) and a B.A. from Acadia University in Nova Scotia (1980).
Martine Vallee (first appointed to MNet Board in 2009)
Martine Vallee is Director, Social Policy at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Martine is responsible for the development of policy and regulation for a wide array of social and consumer issues in broadcasting, telecommunications and new media. These include accessibility of persons with disabilities to broadcasting and telecommunications, industry codes on programming standards, industry self-regulation in broadcasting and telecommunications, the reflection and representation of ethnocultural diversity and persons with disabilities in broadcasting, the portrayal of violence on television, advertising to children and alcohol advertising.
Martine joined the CRTC in 1988 and has held a number of positions within the Commission. Prior to 1988, Martine worked at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the former Department of Communications. Martine has an M.A. in Sociology.
Carolyn Wilson (first elected to MNet Board in 2008)
Carolyn is the President of the Association for Media Literacy in Ontario, Canada and has received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence for her work in media studies and global education. The award committee recognized Carolyn as a "tireless pioneer and advocate for media literacy and global education on the national and international levels".
Co-author of the best selling textbook, Mass Media and Popular Culture, Version 2, Carolyn has been invited to speak at conferences across Canada and around the world, hosted by such organizations as UNESCO and UNICEF. She has written numerous study guides for CHUM Television and CTVglobemedia, as well as curriculum documents and resources for the Ministry of Education in Ontario.
Carolyn is an instructor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
Board Alumni
