Chair
Jesse Finkelstein is co-founder and principal of Page Two, a publishing company that helps experts, industry leaders and organizations publish non-fiction books. Jesse brings to her work an extensive knowledge of author relations, publishing operations, sales strategy, and digital publishing. In previous publishing roles, Jesse ran D&M Publishers day-to-day operations as Chief Operating Officer, leading the company’s digital and international sales strategies, licensing content in multiple formats and in global markets, and developing enhanced ebooks. Prior to this role, Jesse was associate publisher at Raincoast Books, where she managed the publishing department, oversaw acquisitions and sold foreign rights. She holds a master of publishing degree from Simon Fraser University.
Vice Chair + Secretary-Treasurer
Founder of Lark Productions, Louise Clark began her career at the National Film Board of Canada. Her career as a producer and broadcast executive spans television series, drama and comedy, documentaries and feature films.
For Canada’s top network, CTV, Louise developed and oversaw production on five seasons of the number one comedy CORNER GAS, and three seasons of the critically acclaimed ROBSON ARMS. She also oversaw production on multiple seasons of FLASHPOINT and THE LISTENER, ground-breaking Canada/US co-ventures. As Vice President of Program Development, she was responsible for all original development and production across Canada, and worked directly with CTV specialty channels Bravo, The Comedy Network, and Space.
Louise had oversight of all projects at Lark Productions with her partner Erin Haskett, who now runs the company, and was Executive Producer on four seasons of CTV’s original drama series MOTIVE (ABC & USA), critically acclaimed documentary series and ratings success, EMERGENCY ROOM: LIFE & DEATH AT VGH for Knowledge Network, and the hit format series REAL HOUSEWIVES OF VANCOUVER.
Board Member
Jeevyn Dhaliwal, K.C. is a Vancouver lawyer who represents public sector and business clients in connection with workplace immigration and related employment issues. Jeevyn is active in the legal community as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia, where she serves as first Vice President until 2024 when she will assume the role of President. Jeevyn has served as a longstanding Board member and past president of the South Asian Bar Association of British Columbia, in which capacity she has mentored and supported legal professionals of South Asian descent.
As selected by her peers, Jeevyn has been included in Best Lawyers Canada since 2014 and she is a Lexpert Zenith Award winner.
Her larger community involvement extends to singing at charitable and sporting events and she has, over the years, been a frequent guest anthem singer for the Vancouver Canucks NHL hockey team.
Board Member
Board Member
Amy Lang
Board Member
Amy Lang, President of North Shore and Mammoth Studios, oversees all aspects of the operations and administration of the two production facilities. Amy is actively involved in industry-building initiatives and is an Executive Director for the Motion Picture Production Industry Association (MPPIA) and a Director on the Invest Vancouver Management Board to champion long-term growth of the film and television industry in B.C. Amy previously held the position of Director of Finance & People at Bosa Development for the past 5 years and prior to that worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (Vancouver) from 2007 to 2017. During her years with PricewaterhouseCoopers Amy worked with both public and private companies across a broad range of industries including real estate, mining, forestry, financial services, retail, film & entertainment, and technology. Her time there also included working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (San Jose) focused exclusively on private equity venture capital in the life sciences & bio-medical field. Amy was also involved in leading the training and development programs for the CA (CPA) exams and has also worked as an Adjunct Professor in the accounting department at UBC Sauder School of Business. Amy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, a Master of Professional Accounting from the University of Saskatchewan, and is a CPA-CA.
Board Member
Shirley Lew is the Dean, School of Arts and Sciences at Vancouver Community College (VCC). Prior to this position, she was a librarian in leadership positions and active in province-wide initiatives such as Digital BC. She was also adjunct faculty in the library program at UBC. Prior to a career in libraries, she was a bookseller in Vancouver for over ten years.
Shirley has served on the boards of Vancouver Writers Fest and West Coast Book Prizes Society, and for two years was a juror for the City of Vancouver Book Awards. She was President of BC Libraries Association and is currently Chair of the BC Libraries Cooperative board. She co-edited and contributed to the collection Feminists Among Us: Resistance and Advocacy in Library Leadership, published in 2017. With her co-editor, Shirley was recognized with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Significant Achievement Award in 2018.
Shirley has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography and a Master of Library & Information Studies. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in education at UBC.
Laura Lightbown
Board Member
Laura Lightbown, President of Terra Films Inc., is a Gemini (CSA) and Leo Award-winning prime-time dramatic television producer. Laura has executive produced and consulted on numerous feature films and projects across Canada, including her recent work on the CBC television series “The Romeo Section”. She worked with Brent Butt’s (CTV “Corner Gas”) company, Sparrow Media Inc., where she produced the feature film NO CLUE, and executive produced the series “Hiccups” for CTV. Prior to that, Laura was CEO of Chris Haddock’s company, Haddock Entertainment, where she executive produced multiple successful CBC series such as “Intelligence”, the multi-award winning, eight-season series “Da Vinci’s Inquest”, “Da Vinci’s City Hall”, MTV/CTV’s “4Real”, as well as several made-for-television movies. Laura has sat on both the national and the B.C. branch boards of the Canadian Media Producers Association and has long been committed to mentoring a diverse group of professionals starting and building their careers in Canada’s motion picture industry.
Kesi Smyth
Board Member
Kesi Smyth began her career in Canada’s music industry in 2003, undertaking roles of progressive responsibility at Simkin Artist Management and 604 Records where she now holds the title of General Manager & Human Resources. With studies in marketing and human resources management, Kesi now oversees both label operations for the 604 Label Group and the many clients it serves, as well as professional development, people management, and inclusive practices for the company and its staff.
Most notably, Kesi was Sr. Project Manager for Carly Rae Jepsen during the peak of her Grammy-nominated blockbuster hit, “Call Me Maybe”. During that time Kesi was responsible for an array of activities including strategic marketing, day-to-day operations, and logistical planning for performances like the MuchMusic Video Awards, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, and more.
Kesi is a Board Member of both FACTOR (The foundation assisting Canadian talent on recordings), and the Canada Independent Music Association (CIMA) and serves ADVANCE, Canada Black music business collective, as a regional representative and as part of its membership committee.
Board Member
Jamie began his professional career as the First Nations Liaison for Klohn-Crippen Consultants, an environmental consulting firm based in Vancouver BC. At Klohn-Crippen, he built a solid reputation in community engagement, consultation, and commercial information technology applications.
In 2005, Jamie launched Sahetxw Consulting, where he has planned and delivered a wide range of successful projects for his clients, from broadband network projects and customized computer science courses to community capacity development and planning.
Now, as both an Information & Communications Technology (ICT) expert and a seasoned Aboriginal Governance consultant and facilitator, who has a background in traditional and digital arts, Jamie brings a truly unique blend of expertise, a remarkably diverse skill set, and a wealth of experience to any project he takes on. He also brings his passion and boundless energy.
He is a member of the Gitxsan Nation and currently sits on the Board of Governors for the Justice Institute of BC and First Peoples Cultural Council. He relishes the overlap between his various disciplines and fields of knowledge, embracing both the traditional and the modern.
Board Member
Bill Tam is recognized as one of the pre-eminent leaders of the Canadian tech sector. A lifelong entrepreneur, Bill has been actively involved with technology and start-ups as a founder, executive, investor, advisor and board member for the past 20 years. Bill co-founded the development of the Digital Technology Supercluster – a signature innovation program in Canada to drive large-scale collaboration among industry leaders, small and medium enterprises, and post-secondary institutions to develop new technology breakthroughs in digital health and climate adaptation.
Bill forges partnerships across private and public sectors to accelerate economic growth and foster inclusiveness. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Cascadia Innovation Corridor initiative – a cross-border partnership between British Columbia, Washington and Oregon to develop and promote a globally recognized hub of innovation and commerce.
Bill serves as a director of CBC-Radio Canada, Invest Vancouver and Creative BC. In addition, he serves as an advisor to the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, Founders Institute, the Rideau Hall Foundation and is as an industry advisor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is a recipient of UBC’s Dean’s Medal of Distinction for his contributions to the engineering and tech community.
Board Member
Kate Wattie is an entrepreneur in B.C.’s dynamic music industry and a leader within the province’s broader arts and culture community, where she also currently chairs the board for Karen Jamieson Dance. Kate is both co-owner of boutique guitar store, Exile Electronics, and artist manager and general manager of her own boutique record label and management company, Tonic Records. Kate brings a global perspective of the industry, combined with a deep understanding of the business behind music. Her career in the music industry began with Virgin Records in London, UK and led her back to B.C., with increasing responsibilities and experiences spanning from management of vintage guitar store, Another Music Shop, to serving previously for four years as a board member of the industry membership association. Her company Tonic Records has been recognized by the Western Canadian Music Awards for Impact in Artist Development and its current and past roster of award-winning clients includes: The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer, Leeroy Stagger, We Are The City, Ryland Moranz, Satellite and The Harpoonist, Terence Jack, Buckman Coe, Bocephus King, Rodney De Croo and Jody Peck.