Women in View reveals 2012 creative leaders
Rina Fraticelli, Executive Director of Women in View, revealed the names of the 2012 Creative Leaders last June 21, 2012. The awardees were comprised of media creators, producers, directors, performers, and business executives all over Canada. The list of recipients includes:
Tracey Friesen, executive producer of the Vancouver studio of the National Film Board
Al Etmanski, author and social entrepreneur who successfully campaigned for the world’s first Registered Disability Savings Plan
Mary Henricksen, the current Deputy Director of Business & Rights for CBC
Alan Sawyer, Emmy-winning interactive content producer
Lisa Jackson, winner of the 2010 Genie for Best Short Film
Kim Collier, a multi-awarded director, dramaturge, and actor
Ngozi Paul, critically-acclaimed actress, writer, and producer
Jamila Hunter, Vice President of ABC Network Comedy; Karen Powell, producer, business affairs executive and partner in Perfect Circle Productions
Jocelyn Hamilton, Vice President, Original Programming, Kids, Comedy, Drama, at Corus Entertainment Sadia Zaman, highly-awarded broadcast journalist
Jennifer McGuire, award-winning producer and leader of CBC News
A pilot program that seeks to advance women into positions of leadership in Canada’s screen-based media industries, the concept of Creative Leaders hinges on the concept sponsorship. This kind of set up—which has long been practiced among men—is when an industry leader (the sponsor), recognizes, supports, and ultimately promotes the work of the talented and accomplished professional (the protégée).
Going beyond traditional mentorship, the sponsor and protégée will collaborate together on a program that they have both developed and propel the career of the protégée forward. By using their influence and their vast networks, the sponsors ultimately aim to bring the work of their protégées to national mainstream consciousness.
Fraticelli explains that media is big business in Canada. However, the “higher up the chain you go, the less likely you are to see the gender and racial diversity necessary to sustain the level of innovation needed in today’s media industries.” This is why media trailblazer Trina McQueen believes that “Creative Leaders fills a critical gap.” She explains that while women have made their mark in areas like journalism and TV programming, a “definite lag” still exists in other fields and “even successful women, if they are looking at top jobs in an integrated media industry, need knowledge and skills in new platforms, new technologies and new business models.”
Creative Leaders 2012 is a pilot program of Women in View, a national non-profit organization that seeks to revitalize the Canadian media industry by enhancing gender and cultural diversity both on screen and behind the scenes. Their other programs and initiatives for 2012 are the Women in Media Working Group, Directors’ Working Group, and the Annual Canadian Media Fact Sheet.
Women in View works with Women in Film & Television-Vancouver to present Creative Leaders. The program is also funded in part by Status of Women Canada, Telefilm Canada, and the CBC.
Category: News In Review, Women on the Inside
