Digital Media at the Crossroads

Dr. Carolyne Sumner is the Executive Director of DM@X. She is currently an Assistant Professor and Cross-Cultural Exchange Advisor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, and has recently completed her PhD in Musicology from the same institution. Her doctoral thesis investigates the gatekeeping activities of a network of musicians and music administrators who governed the cultural institutions crucial to the dissemination of Canadian art music during the mid-twentieth century, and evaluates the subsequent challenges posed by the implementation of a national cultural policy in Canada upon their activities during the postcentennial era. Since the beginning of her academic career, Carolyne has presented her research at professional conferences including The Canadian University Music Society and the American Musicological Society, and her work has been published in Les Cahiers de la Société québécoise de recherche en musique (SQRM), Intersections, and American Music. Over the course of her academic career, Carolyne's research has been generously supported by various provincial and federal academic awards and grants, including the Ontario Graduate Student award and a SSHRC Doctoral fellowship award.

Doug Barrett is a veteran of over 30 years in the Canadian media and entertainment industries. He is Adjunct Professor at Schulich School of Business where he teaches on Business and Strategic Solutions for Digital Media. From 2006 to mid-2013, he was the President and CEO of PS Production Services Ltd., a leading supplier of professional motion picture production equipment. For 20 years prior, Barrett ran one of Canada's most successful entertainment law practices at McMillan LLP, and was repeatedly listed by ‘LEXPERT' as one of Canada's 500 Leading Lawyers. He has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Television Fund, and was a key founder of the Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program. Barrett's extensive list of board service includes the Banff Television Festival, the Feature Film Project of the Canadian Film Centre, and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. He holds an MSc from the Newhouse School in Syracuse and an LLB/JD from Dalhousie.

Grant Buchanan is a top-ranked communications lawyer, a counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and head of the firm's Communication Group. His practice covers a wide range of telecom, broadcast and copyright matters. His experience includes acting as counsel to many broadcasters, telecommunications companies and others. These include/have included BCE/Bell Canada, BBC, Bloomberg, Corus Entertainment, Loral, NTT, theScore, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Directors Guild of Canada, Astral Media Radio, Toronto Metropolitan University Radio Inc., Stingray, and SiriusXM Canada; Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency Inc., Pelmorex, Nextwave Broadband, Tata, VisionTV, World Wrestling Federation and many more. He is listed at the top of all of the relevant legal ranking services, and was named “Communications Lawyer of the Year” (Toronto) by Best Lawyers in Canada in 2020. He is the President of the International Institute of Communications, Canadian Chapter, and is the National Coordinator of the McCarthy Tétrault & Martin Family Initiative Mentorship Program for Indigenous Students. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Counsel at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Lincoln Alexander Faculty of Law as well as in the Faculty of Communication and Design.

Charles Davis is a professor in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he holds the ES Rogers Sr Research Chair in Media Management and Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Sara Diamond is a member of the expert panel of the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation (CCPC) and a Senior Advisor with Navigator based out of Toronto. Sara is a global strategist focused on creating an innovative and inclusive future with extensive experience in design thinking and strategic foresight. Sara's breadth of experiences in leadership, innovation and service will drive the work that she does with CCPC.

She has served as president of OCAD University in Toronto, Canada for fifteen years and is now President Emerita. Sara holds an ICD.D (Directors Designation) Institute of Corporate Directors and Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, a PhD in Computing, IT and Engineering from the University of East London, a Masters in New Media Arts from the University of Arts, London, and a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, History and Communication, Simon Fraser University.

Sara founded and led the Banff New Media Institute, a global digital think tank, research centre and incubator as a senior administrator at The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, and has created and supported start-up incubators including the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre, OCAD U's Imagination Catalyst and OCADU CO. She leads institutional transformation within digital media/ICT and diverse industry sectors, arts, and post-secondary institutions.

Sara brings over three decades of service on university, not-for-profit, and start-up boards; as chair of juries, associations and association executives, and advisory committees. She consults with governments, industry, boards and institutions on digital media and economies, AI adoption, design, public art, cultural sector, and inclusion policy. She is passionately committed to equity and respect for Indigenous knowledge and cultures. She is an inventor and lateral thinker; an internationally recognized artist, turned research and policy leader. She continues research in data analytics, and visualization and the relationships of human practices, culture, and technologies. Sara has been recognized for her service initiatives through several awards, for example, she was appointed to the Order of Canada C.M. and the Order of Ontario and received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for Service to Canada. She has received two digital media "pioneer" awards, an Inspiring 50 award for the Advancement of Diversity in STEM fields (Government of Netherlands and Senate of Canada); and was designated a Canada 150 leader, champion and luminary and one of Toronto Life's 50 Most influential in 2014.

Lisa de Wilde is a visionary and transformational leader. As CEO of TVO she transformed the educational broadcaster from an analog operation to an innovative, fully digital leader. While also building up a current affairs powerhouse at TVO, Lisa’s sharp focus on education technology created groundbreaking new tools and programs to position TVO as an award-winning global leader in EdTech.

Lisa is an Adjunct Professor in the Schulich School of Business MBA Program in Arts, Media and Entertainment Management and currently serves as a Board member of TELUS, Toronto Global, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. She is also a former board member and Chair of the Board of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

She is a lawyer by training who began her career at the CRTC, was a partner at a major law firm and served as President and CEO of Astral Television Networks. She has residences in Oakville and Montreal. Lisa is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, has received honourary degrees from Toronto Metropolitan University and Brandon University, holds a Bachelor of Arts and of Laws degrees from McGill University and is a member of the Order of Canada.

Sabreena Delhon (she/her) is the CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy, a non-partisan registered charity with a mission to realize a resilient democracy with an engaged public and responsive institutions. For over a decade she has directed multi-stakeholder research and outreach initiatives that have made an impact across justice, academic, and non-profit sectors. Sabreena has appeared as an expert witness before Parliamentary committees on matters relating to political participation and frequently provides commentary about democratic engagement for various media outlets such as the Globe & Mail, CBC Radio and the Toronto Star. She is the host of Humans of the House, an award winning podcast that explores the lived experience of former Members of Parliament. Sabreena is a Senior Fellow at Massey College and is a recipient of the Coronation Medal for service to Canada. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Alberta and an MA in Sociology from Dalhousie University.

Kadon Douglas is a social impact leader and advocate for racial equity in Canada's screen media industry. As the executive director of BIPOC TV & FILM, a community-centric non-profit movement, she works to create funding, training, and employment opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour creatives at all levels and roles. She also challenges colonial and discriminatory practices in the non-profit sector, with a commitment to justice, decolonization, and reconciliation.

With over 10 years of experience in the creative industries, Kadon has a proven track record of developing and implementing effective marketing and communications strategies, building and engaging diverse audiences, and supporting creative talent in building thriving careers. She has worked as a manager, coordinator, researcher, and digital specialist in various organizations, such as The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University and Women in Film & Television-Toronto. She is also a two-time fellow of the Hot Docs Film Festival and a graduate of several certificate programs in media management, fundraising, and non-profit management. Kadon is passionate about storytelling and storytellers, and strives to transform the Canadian screen industry by uprooting barriers and amplifying BIPOC and other marginalized voices

Dr. Lorena Escandon is from Mexico (B. in Information Technology), and has lived in Sweden (M.Sc in Entrepreneurship), Spain and now Canada (Ph.D in Innovation Management). She speaks Spanish, English and French. Her courses are at the intersection of innovation, creativity, technology and entrepreneurship because those are her passions and research interests. She is trying to get people to work together and use technology to create new ideas and bring them to the market. She organizes workshops, bootcamps and special programs to get participants working together out of their comfort zone. She loves post-its, travel, coffee and walking her dog.

Peter S. Grant is a retired Senior Counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, one of Canada's largest law firms. For many years he was the head of its Communications Group. Mr. Grant pioneered the field of communications law in Canada, and for over 50 years his practice was substantially devoted to this field, including broadcasting and cable television licensing, satellite services, copyright negotiations, cultural industries, and telecommunications regulation. Mr. Grant is the author or co-author of numerous articles, books and publications, including Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004), Canadian Broadcasting Regulatory Handbook, now in its 14th edition (2017), Communications Law and the Courts in Canada, now in its third edition (2020), and Guide to the Copyright Board of Canada (2020). Mr. Grant’s autobiography, Changing Channels: Confessions of a Canadian Communications Lawyer, was published by Porcupine’s Quill in 2013. Mr. Grant was one of six experts on the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel, which published its report, Canada's Communications Future: Time to Act, in January 2020. Mr. Grant’s website, www.petersgrant.com, contains further information, including links to his recent and current essays.

Lisa Henderson is Dean of the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University. From 1994-2019 she was Professor of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she also served as Chair from 2009-13. From 2005-09, she was director of CISA, the Five College Center for Crossroads in the Study of the Americas. She is a radio producer by early training, co-founder of the International Communication Association's LGBTQ Studies Interest Group, and 2011 recipient of the Roy F. Aarons Award for outstanding contribution to GLBT education and research from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Her book Love and Money: Queers, Class, and Cultural Production (NYU, 2013) was a 2014 finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. New work considers artist/scholar collaboration and multi-modal research practice--how scholars use images, sound, music, code, and performance to create knowledge on campus and off.

Dr. Paul Hoffert is Adjunct Professor, Intellectual Property & Digital Media, of the Faculties of Law, Information, and Music at the University of Toronto, Chair of the Bell Fund, Chair of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, and President of the Glenn Gould Foundation. He is a former Faculty Fellow at Harvard Law School and the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society, Professor of Music, Film, and Digital Media at York University, President of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and Chair of the Ontario Arts Council. He is the author of best-selling books about the Information Age and a textbook about composing music for videogames and websites. He received the Pixel award in 2001 as Canada's New Media Visionary, and was inducted into the Canadian Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 for the success of his band, Lighthouse. Mr. Hoffert was awarded the Order of Canada in 2004 for his contributions to Media and Music.

For the past eight years Jean La Rose has been the Chief Executive Officer for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the first and only national Aboriginal broadcaster in the world, with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples. Since joining the network he has brought it from a deficit position to a surplus position, has moved the network to a high-definition platform and now employs 130 people. He established APTN service in eastern, western and northern communities, became a founding member of the new International Indigenous Broadcasting Network, and as partner of 2010 Olympics led the first ever broadcast in eight different Aboriginal languages, 14 hours per day.

Sally Lee is Executive Director of the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black and People of Colour Creators (CISF), the country's only dedicated production fund governed and operated by members of the Black and racialized communities it serves. CISF administers the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund and has Certified Independent Production Fund status with the CRTC. With the passing of Bill C-11, Sally has been leading CISF's participation in the Commission's consultations towards a modernized regulatory framework. She has also served in leadership and management roles at the staff and board levels at the Reel Asian International Film Festival, CARFAC Ontario, the Toronto International Film Festival the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto, the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Coalition of Canadian Media Arts Distributors, among others.

Trina McQueen is Co-Director of the Arts, Media and Entertainment program at Schulich School of Business. In her media career, she was Head of CBC Television News (where she launched and oversaw the development of Canada’s first news channel), founding President of Discovery Channel and President and COO of CTV.

She has served on numerous media boards, including CBC/Radio Canada; Telefilm, Banff World Media Festival, Historica Canada, TVOntario and the Canadian Journalism Foundation. In the arts, her boards include the Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage, Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards and Tafelmusik In education, she served the boards of the Banff Centre for Creativity, the University of Waterloo and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, as well as advisory boards at Queen’s, Toronto Metropolitan University, UBC, Carleton, University of Regina and the Arts ,Media, Performance and Design school at York University.

She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received four honorary doctorates, from York University, University of Waterloo, Carleton University and Mount St. Vincent University. Other honours include the CBC News Hall of Fame, the Playback Film and Television hall of Fame, Crystal Awards from Women in Film and Television, and honourary life membership in the Directors Guild of Canada.

Catherine Moore is Adjunct Professor of Music Technology & Digital Media in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music where she teaches about music entrepreneurship and digital media distribution. In both courses, the emphasis is on rapid change in digital and cross-media business and her research areas include new ways to measure digital media content and the sustainability of cities through multi-national music initiatives. Professor Moore is regularly quoted in the media about the music industry.

Catherine Moore has been a music critic since 1990 for American Record Guide, and works as a consultant under the name "Doors To Music". She taught at New York University from 1995 to 2016, and directed the Music Business Program for many years. She is a graduate of Bishop's University, the Conservatoire de Musique (Montréal), and the University of Liverpool (UK).

David Nostbakken is the principal behind a number of Canadian and international media related ventures including Vision TV, WETV International, Canadian Green Channel, Ecology Global Network, China Green Channel International. He is President and CEO of the communication consulting company Nostbakken and Nostbakken Inc. He served as Director at International Development Research Centre supporting R&D in policy and application of information and communication technologies for development in developing countries. Nostbakken has been a teacher of communication and social entrepreneurship at Carleton University, Ottawa, and at the McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto where he was a McLuhan Centenary Fellow 2014-2018. He is currently the President/CEO of the McLuhan Foundation committed to digital media literacy worldwide.

Kenneth Rogers is Associate Dean of Research at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance, and Design at York University. He is the author of The Attention Complex: Media, Archeology Method (Palgrave Macmillan 2014). He has also published on a range of topics, such as alternative media, contemporary media art, crowdsourcing, environmental media, and biopolitics. He is the former president of the board of directors for the Los Angeles-based media arts organization Freewaves. His current book project, Petromedia: Oil Culture and Media Culture, is an exploration of the historical interdependence of new media technology and finite energy resources through the emerging critical optic of environmental media studies.

Jeremy Shtern is associate professor and a founding faculty member in the School of Creative Industries at Toronto Metropolitan University. Dr. Shtern’s research and teaching focuses on transformations in the structure and governance of communication industries and creative work as they reorganize around globalization and digital technologies. Dr. Shtern founded and directs the Global Communication Governance Research Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University and is also the founding editor of Canadian Journal of Communication’s Policy Portal, a project that provides a venue for publishing peer-reviewed, quickly published writing on Canadian communication policy issues. Jeremy teaches undergraduate courses in the Toronto Metropolitan University of Creative Industries and regularly teaches and supervises in the York/Toronto Metropolitan University Joint Graduate Program in Communication and Culture.

Richard Stursberg is the former President of PEN Canada. He is a communications executive who has been around the media business for a long time. He was President of the Canadian Cable Television Association, Cancom, Telefilm Canada and head of English services at the CBC. He currently runs a boutique consulting practice whose clients have included: Telus, Rogers Media, the Canadian Film Centre, Torstar Media and Allegro Capital. His controversial book, The Tower of Babble, was named one of the best books of 2012 by the Globe and Mail.

Stephanie Willsey is Chippewa from the Rama First Nation and from the marten clan.

Stephanie is an associate at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto. She maintains a broad litigation practice including class actions, media, and professional liability matters. Stephanie regularly works on behalf of First Nations communities and individuals. Stephanie has appeared as counsel before several levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2023, Stephanie completed a secondment as Senior Legal Counsel at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. She has a passion for Indigenous media and connectivity.

In addition to her legal practice, Stephanie commits significant time to both local and global Indigenous initiatives. Stephanie serves on the board of the Indigenous Bar Association, provides pro bono legal advice at the PBSC Indigenous Human Rights Clinic, and mentors Indigenous high school students through the Martin Family Initiative Indigenous Mentoring Program. Stephanie has also served as a delegate at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and EU Working Group on Indigenous Populations.