Susan Alexander has been a creative force within Canadian television for over two decades, as a Producer and Executive for independent production companies and the broadcast community. As a Production Executive with Corus Entertainment, Susan has overseen the development and production of numerous dramatic series, including Mary Kills People, Ransom and Private Eyes. A recipient of several prestigious awards including a Gemini for Little Mosque on the Prairie, Susan has developed and produced hundreds of hours of Canadian television to critical acclaim. Equally important to her is the work she does nurturing emerging talent through her role as a mentor at the CFC, of which she is a proud graduate, and through many industry-sponsored programs. Susan is a member of WIFT-T, the WGC, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and is a graduate of WIFT-T's Media Leadership Program (2016).

As Finance Director, Toronto Blue Jays, Janet Chant leads the Finance operations for the Rogers Centre and Blue Jays. She has worked with Rogers in various capacities since 2008 including leading large transformation projects, implementing the Enterprise Risk Management program as well as supporting the Digital Media Publishing division. Prior to joining Rogers, she spent a few years in Fort McMurray, AB, working on a large municipal project and also taught business classes at Keyano College. Janet holds an MBA from Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Argie Eliopoulos joined the CFC in 2008 and currently serves as Director of Partnerships and Events. In this role, Argie is responsible for negotiating corporate partnerships and designing, implementing and coordinating sponsorship strategies. Prior to joining the CFC, Argie managed major public and private events in Toronto; she was the Events Manager of L’Oréal Fashionweek, Director of Events of the Greek Film Retrospective, and managed other various conferences, tradeshows and corporate events. She holds a certificate in Events and Meeting Management from George Brown and a Business Communication Certificate from the University of Toronto. Argie is an active CANFAR entertainment advisory committee member, and is a currently a parttime instructor at George Brown College (Event Sponsorship & Fundraising and Event Leadership & Human Resources).

Emmy award winning producer, Tanya Green, has been in the animated arena for 15+ years and she has overseen and managed many projects from development to final delivery.  As VP Production at Brown Bag Films (a 9 Story Company), she produced hundreds of hours of animated television including Emmy award winning preschool series Peg + Cat for PBS, Emmy award winning Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood for PBS, Top Wing for Nickelodeon, and the reboot of Magic School Bus for Netflix. In her current role, as Head of Animated Series at Sinking Ship Entertainment, she develops and produces animated series for kids and family. Before she entered the animated arena, Tanya worked on a number of performing arts series, dramatic series, feature films and documentary series for various broadcasters in Canada.  

Susan Karnay is an entertainment lawyer and consultant with over 20 years of experience in the Canadian film, television, music, and gaming industries. She currently handles business & legal affairs for Tangent’s animated film productions. Susan previously worked in the entertainment group of a leading national entertainment law firm and as in-house counsel for various Canadian production, broadcast and telecommunications companies. She holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business, and LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario. Susan is an active supporter of the arts community in Toronto, and adjunct instructor of business law at Trent University.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Gloria Ui Young Kim is an alumni of the University of Toronto, the Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab, and TIFF Talent Lab. She wrote, directed, and produced her latest short, Flamenco, for CBC (2015) and won the 2017 Corus Fearless Female Filmmaker Award. Gloria has won numerous Golds for her commercial work at the Cannes Lions, Bessies, the Marketing Awards, One Club, ADCC, and has had over a million views online. She recently directed two episodes of Sinking Ship’s Dino Dana (TVO, Amazon); two episodes for Riverbanks’ When I Grow Up (TVO) and 7 episodes of BGM’s It’s My Party (TVO). Gloria is now working on two features: Deception, a thriller (WIFTV Genre Competition); and Queen of the Morning Calm, a redemption story (WIDC Feature Film Award). Gloria was chosen by Women in View as one of the 2017 Five in Focus and is a Creative Lead for Lunch agency.

As VP, Head of Original Content for Blue Ant Media, Sam brings over 30 years of production expertise to services such as Cottage Life,  T+E, Makeful and Smithsonian Canada. Sam oversees commissioning for BAM’s portfolio of brands, working closely with independent and in-house producers to create premium content that sells around the world.  Sam has written, produced and directed many series and one-offs. She was previously Director of Programming for Discovery Canada and Animal Planet.  As SVP of Factual for Cineflix Productions, she executive produced series like May Day, Final 24, Mega Moves and Urban Legends. As Acting Director of Factual Content for History Television, Sam oversaw shows like Ice Pilots and Secret History. As VP and executive producer for RTR Media, Sam executive produced  BBQ Crawl and Mother of the Bride.

Terry Markus is an independent consultant and lawyer providing business and legal affairs services to the screen-based industry.  A graduate of the University of Toronto and Queen’s University Law School, she has held various senior legal, business and regulatory affairs positions at: Astral Media Inc.; Alliance Communications Corporation’s broadcasting division; Catalyst Entertainment Inc.; and Gullane Entertainment PLC group of companies. Terry has also worked at S-VOX Group of Companies in the roles of Executive Vice-President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. She has co-executive produced a feature-length theatrical film, Suck, which premiered at TIFF in 2009; executive produced a documentary short, Chasing the Lion; and, is executive producing a feature-length theatrical film, Cold Strings.

Cailyn Michaan is a Marketing Manager at Walt Disney Studios, where she is responsible for managing the media planning/buying and experiential marketing strategy in Canada for key Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucas Films, Blue Sky Studios, and 20th Century Studios releases. She is a passionate digital marketer and people leader who has managed client relationships with major film studios and fortune 500 brands at some of the largest Media and Entertainment companies in the country. Prior to Disney, Cailyn held management positions leading marketing and digital sales teams at Cineplex Entertainment and Rogers Media. She holds an Honours B.A degree in Film Studies and Creative Writing from the University of Western Ontario. Cailyn is excited to be a member of WIFT-T, and aims to help empower women to push past their limits and lead successful and fulfilling careers.

Virginia Thompson, President of Vérité Films, is an award-winning executive producer, TV series creator, and audience engagement strategist. Currently, Virginia is Executive Producer of Corner Gas: The Animated Series. She’s also Executive Producer of The Governor General Performing Arts Awards Gala, which aired on CBC and SRC in June 2017. Virginia also produced Corner Gas: The Sitcom (CTV), and Corner Gas: The Movie. Additional credits include the internationally acclaimed children’s series Incredible Story Studio (Disney/YTV), the youth drama series renegadepress.com (Global, APTN) and the comedy series InSecurity (CBC). Virginia enjoys mentoring emerging creators and producers. She’s a board member for The National Screen Institute and a guest lecturer at Ryerson School of Media.

Karen Walton is a film and television writer and Creative Executive Producer. A Film Writing graduate of the Canadian Film Centre, Karen holds a BA-Honours in Drama from the University of Alberta and was the 2016 Showrunner in Residence for the CFC’s Bell Media Prime Time TV program. She is known as the writer of Ginger Snaps. Her credits include Orphan Black, Queer As Folk, Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story, and the true-life rape culture saga, The Many Trials of One Jane Doe. Karen founded the public online community known as inkcanada. Awards include: Margaret Collier Award for Screenwriting, Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny Screenplay, a Canadian Screen Award for Best Dramatic Series, the Banff Media Festival Fellowship Alum Award, a Women In Film and Television’s Crystal Award, ACTRA-Toronto’s Nell Shipman Award and the Writers Guild of Canada’s Writers Block Award.