Greetings North York! I recently joined NYA as Interim Executive Director for the 2025-2026 program season.
Throughout my career in the creative sector, I’ve played a number of roles: film and TV camera assistant, talent pipeline executive at Warner Bros. Discovery, head of a makeup arts and design college, among others.
Ironically, despite spending my entire career literally marinating in the cultural industries, I’m not a particularly artistic person.
Even my vaguely creative early career pursuits – journalism and cinematography – had more to do with practical goals, technical skills and earning a solid union paycheque than the transformative beauty of art.
But there’s something about Canada’s arts, culture and creative industries sector which contributes more than $55 billion to our country’s GDP that has held me captive ever since I read my first “grownup” novel as a kid.
First, it was the artists themselves. Their talent and compulsion to create not only sent me to far-flung, unimagined worlds but also pulled me inwards to re-evaluate my innermost thoughts and values.
Then, it became the industry. That army of advocates and champions. Whether they’re on the dynamic side of performance or in the cautious arena of public policy, their drive to make this sector succeed never ceases to impress.
And finally, it’s the impact on the audience. Whether it’s through hyper-local events like arts-in-the-park or internationally renown events that attract global performers and visitors, communities flourish when they are served by the arts.
So while my guitar-playing might elicit a “Yikes, no” even from my own mother, it’s my deep connection to the artists and the ecosystem around them that keeps me fired up and optimistic about the future of this sector.