Core Staff
Guy Rodgers
Executive Director
A graduate of the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada, Guy Rodgers has worked in film and television, and specialized in writing large-scale multimedia productions for museums and special events across Canada, as well as the US, Europe and the Middle East. A long-time arts activist, Guy Rodgers was co-founder of the Quebec Drama Federation (QDF) and the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), was a member of the founding board of le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), and was founding Executive Director of the English-Language Arts Network. In 2015 he was appointed to l’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. During the past year, he wrote a multimedia capsule celebrating the 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act that was projected onto the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and he performed in Tim Brady’s Symphony #9 for 150 electric guitars presented at the Oratory St-Joseph.
Deborah Forde
Admin Manager
In 1999, after over 20 years in community development, Deborah’s work led her to the practice of professional community engaged arts through the study of Theatre for Development at Concordia. Emerging first as a director, with Bryan James’s Terminal,Terminal and Rahul Varma’s State of Denial, Deborah went on to spend two years supporting other emerging artists through Black Theatre Workshop’s YouthWorks, and 3 years serving the English-speaking theatre community as Executive Director for the Quebec Drama Federation. Currently also freelancing with the Teesri Duniya Theatre family as the Fireworks Development Coordinator, Deborah is pleased to continue supporting emerging artists and facilitate community connection to, and through, theatre. She has also recently directed the inaugural production of Canada’s first Muslim theatre company, Silk Road Institute. Deborah is thrilled to be officially joining the ELAN team, as she has felt like part of the family for years.
Swati Khanna
Program Manager
In a career spanning over a decade in India, Swati acquired experience ranging from conceptualization to scripting, shooting and post-production of television shows and was one of the most talented professionals of the media industry. As the Creative Director for various top General Entertainment channels in the non-fiction programming team, Swati has helmed super-hit reality shows like Dancing with the Stars, Fear Factor, Bachelorette, and many big award shows. In her roles at other national networks like NDTV and MTV, Swati has handled all aspects of television production. In Canada, Swati has worked for Teesri Duniya Theatre, The Fringe Festival and Just for Laughs in senior managerial positions. She is currently the Program Manager at ELAN.
Sufia Duez
Communications Coordinator
Sufia Duez studied Literature and Publishing in Toronto at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University (graduate studies). Though she has worked primarily in the domain of literary arts (publishing, literary festivals, and event programming), Sufia is delighted to expand her understanding of arts and culture in Quebec and Canada at large. She enjoys playing the piano and is presently working towards finishing her first novel.
Emily Enhorning
Membership Services Coordinator
Emily Enhorning recently completed her B.A. at McGill University, where she studied English Literature and Gender Studies. She spent the last few months writing her honours thesis, which compared the Canadian Pacific Railway to Amazon drone delivery; now, she is excited to bring her energy back to writing, printmaking, and community arts organizing.
Nick Maturo
Research Coordinator (Quebec Relations)
Nick Maturo holds an M.A. in Communications Studies from McGill University and a B.F.A. in Electroacoustic Studies from Concordia University. His ongoing research considers musician labour and the role of institutions within the rapidly evolving field of online music distribution. As an artist, Nick has been active in Montréal’s experimental music community for over ten years and has performed at the Suoni Per Il Popolo and MUTEK festivals.
Andre Athanasiadis
IT Coordinator and Consultant
Andre Athanasiadis has come to be known as the go-to IT professional of the Montreal arts community. With a breadth of experience in computer systems and networks since 1996, Andre has brought his expertise to numerous technical schools, universities, and arts organizations. Over the years, his work has been trusted by, among many others, McGill University, Teesri Duniya Theatre and the Quebec Drama Federation. ELAN is proud to have Andre as one of our longest contributing staff for over ten years.
Claire Robitaille
Bookkeeper and Administrative Support
After two decades in the countryside near Montreal raising rambunctious children, goats and several breeds of poultry while operating a commercial greenhouse-vegetable business, Claire moved to Montreal in the late 1980s. Her volunteer work for social justice in the Milton Park area eventually led to eight years as president and fill-in general manager of C@M Internet, Montreal’s pioneering not-for-profit internet service provider. She currently provides bookkeeping, administrative and management-support services to a handful of community and arts-oriented organisations. Claire studies intensive organic gardening and regenerative agriculture. She looks forward to operating a small-scale farm when she retires.
Project Managers
Christie Huff
Arts & Education Lead Consultant
ACE Initiative. ArtistsInspire Grants.
Christie Huff helps organizations in the arts, community and education sectors to align with the needs of the people they aim to serve to achieve measurable social impact. Her goal is to empower the people she works with to approach their challenges as collaboratively as possible so that their change efforts may be successful and sustained. Before completing her Master’s degree in Human Systems Intervention (2012, Concordia), she had undergraduate degrees in economics and commerce, a Certificate in Adult Training & Development (OISE), and experience working with for-profit, government, and non-profit organizations and social enterprises. Christie currently oversees ELAN’s strategic approach to connecting Artists with Educators through the ACE Initiative and the soon-to-be launched Micro- Grant program.
Daniel Webster
Digital Solutions, ARTS2U
A 30 year veteran of the music industry Dan has led projects in digital distribution, sales and marketing, ticketing, artist development, and festival development. Dan is currently managing ELAN’s (English Language Arts Network, Quebec) research on Digital Solutions, and managing the ELAN’s ARTS2U prototype development. In 2019 Dan will lead a Canada Council – DSF funded project that develop connections and collaborations among digital initiatives. In 2018, the music company Dan founded ‘Greenland Productions’ celebrated 25 years in business. In 2014 Dan created TIXZA, a ticket solution for small venues. Dan is co-founder of Osheaga Music Festival and the creator of the Green Stage at Osheaga. Dan’s early work in co-creating the peer to peer file sharing technology FLIPR in 1999 was his first foray into offering a solution for artists to self-distribute music in the internet age.
Past Project Managers
Farah Fancy
State of the Arts – 2019
Farah is an arts manager, performer and artist who for over 15 years has been using the arts as a mechanism to teach about equality, rights, personal histories, self-actualization and community bridging. She is rooted in working with cross-cultural populations to promote the arts to a diversity of communities and to outreach to new audiences to overcome emotional and cultural barriers. Farah co-founded, with Julio Hong, Le Groupe Herencias, whose mandate is to use the arts for the promotion, exchange, and acceptance of identity, culture and heritage through creation, art education, training, and creative arts therapies. Farah is also a public speaker for organizations who use the arts as a means to strategize for economic development, goal setting, re- visioning, or for those who want an experience simply for the love of the arts.
Anne Clark
Arts Alive! Québec (2017 – 2018)
(Arts Alive Québec summer 2017 and 2018) — Following a long career as a professional stage manager, Concordia University lecturer, and subsequently General Manager of Geordie Productions, Anne now free-lances in a variety of administrative roles, currently with Centaur Theatre, McGill University, and ELAN.
June Park
Performing Arts Market Access Project Manager – Workshops
June is an arts consultant, writer and cultural connector based in Montreal. She has worked in Montreal for several arts organizations including Youtheatre, Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal and RUBBERBANDance Group. She sat on the Executive Board of the Quebec Drama Federation as Treasurer and was Director of Marketing for Opera Ontario/Opera Hamilton, and Development Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum. She continues to work with various groups committed to increasing the visibility and integration of culturally diverse artists from all disciplines. June has her M.A. from the University of Toronto, B.A. from U of Calgary, and studied arts management at the University of Waterloo, Cultural Careers Council of Ontario. She is currently finishing a manuscript while working as a freelance grant writer, agent, and arts administrator.
Emilia Alvarez
Performing Arts Market Access Project Manager – Showcases
Emilia has worked in the professional international performing arts community as a producer, administrator and agent both for independent artists and for festivals including FTA, CINARS and Pop Montréal. In 2015, Emilia was the Performing Arts Market Access Coordinator for ELAN, where she researched and proposed over a dozen touring strategies for the anglophone performing arts community in Québec, which are now being partly implemented through the PAMA workshops and showcases projects. Her expertise lies in international contemporary performance touring networks. Emilia studied Photography and Mathematics at Concordia University, and is starting a doctorate in Mathematics in the Fall.
Mariam Assaf
Performing Arts Market Access Showcases Assistant
With a Marketing degree from Concordia University and an avid interest in arts and culture management, Mariam has been working in the arts, mostly in music, since 2008. She has worked for festivals, associations promoting local talent, managed bands, and organized many concerts and events for both local and international artists.
Stephen Lawson
Project Manager – Visiting Curators Series 2017
Stephen Lawson is a multidisciplinary artist who continually crosses the boundaries of theatre, music, television, performance art, curatorial practice, radio, print and video. He has worked in various capacities as a cultural worker and organizer, and since 2001 he has been collaborating with artist Aaron Pollard as 2boys.tv, creating and touring transmedia performances, installations and videos internationally.
Ximena Holuigue
Project Manager – Visiting Curators Series 2017
Ximena Holuigue works as a curator and facilitator for interdisciplinary projects which has allowed her to create a cultural bridge with Cuba through diverse cultural exchanges, among them, working as assistant-curator to the director in the Havana Biennial 2015 Edition. Since 2016, she is the project manager of the Montreal-Havana art exchange, funded by the Montreal Arts Council and led by the RCAAQ institution in Montreal. She is also the creative producer for Para Todos For Todos, a documentary about El Mejunje, an LGBT performance venue and community center based in Santa Clara, Cuba (out in 2018). She continues to work as a facilitator, project manager and fixer in various art, film and music related projects in Cuba and abroad.
