Board of Directors

Nathan Wright has a long history of trust and leadership within First Nations communities in Ontario and the Yukon as well as nationally at the Assembly of First Nations.He is currently the Principal at Wright Strategies as well as a council member at the Six Nations of the Grand River. He has a wealth of experience working for First Nations in policy and program development as well as establishing and maintaining key relationships with all levels of Government and the private sector.In his work for his community, Mr. Wright has worked hard to support 100.3 CKRZ known as “The Voice of the Grand.” He has seen how crucial radio is in supporting local business, information and community connection.

Lois L. Ross has spent the past 30 years working in Communications for a variety of non-profit organizations in Canada, including the North-South Institute. Born into a farm family in southern Saskatchewan, trained as a journalist and photographer, she is the author of both fiction and non-fiction books. Two of these books are based on the lives of Prairie farm people. Lois has also worked internationally in Latin America and the Caribbean, reporting and writing about life in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The topics she is passionate about include agriculture, rural and international development, and health.

Sandra Hines is a designated accountant with a Masters in Strategic Financial Management. Since 2004 Sandra has actively served as a Board member for various community lead organisations as a means ‘giving back to the community. Sandra is a Finance Director with over 10 years’ experience of providing financial guidance to strengthen programs, teams and organisational decision making across the provinces and overseas specifically within SeedChange, the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (UK) federal government. She collaborates with others to translate strategies into operational activities.Sandra plays a key role in driving finance to the heart of decision making and is a member of the Global Affairs CFO engagement group and the Green Budget Coalition. Sandra has two adult children and enjoys swimming. Recently she is revitalising her pianist skills, having been classically trained.

Meredith works as a senior software developer at LyricFind Inc., a Toronto-based company that collects royalties for songwriters and provides song lyrics to clients. Her involvement with campus and community radio began at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus where she volunteered with Heatwave Radio in a variety of roles, including programming director and station manager. She later served as Secretary of the National Campus and Community Radio Association.

Ms. McAvoy is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Pacific Tubulars Ltd., a position she has held since 2019. As CFO she oversees the accounting, business support, financial planning and analysis, treasury, investor relations, internal audit and tax functions with Pacific Tubulars. Ms. McAvoy has over a decade of experience working in the Oil and Gas industry, helping to build companies with strong foundations for success.Ms. McAvoy was previously Chief Financial Officer of Rafflebox Technologies, a software start-up, founded in Alberta. Ms. McAvoy is a Chartered Professional Accountant holding a B. Comm from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

Karl is a dynamic person who is passionate about broadcasting and his community. He is committed to leveraging the power of data to improve services to Canadians and the communities they live in. Karl has extensive experience with the Federal Government having served in various policy and technology roles with the Parks Canada Agency, the Canada Food Inspection Agency, and the Privy Council Office. He is currently serving as a Data Policy Analyst at the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Geneviève became involved in the community very early on, particularly in the cultural and events fields, at all levels of responsibility. Her career path has been eclectic, to say the least, in entrepreneurship, research, teaching (university and high school), writing and translation, among other fields. Her academic research and professional mandates have, for the most part, focused on information technologies, whether teaching their use and operation, deploying them in organizations, or measuring their impact on personal and professional life. Since 2018, she returned to community-based work and currently holds the position of Administrative and Communications Director at the Corporation de développement communautaire du Pontiac. Geneviève is particularly interested in the media’s role in local news and information, especially in the context of information globalization.

Christine brings forward a wealth of knowledge from her educational and past work experience. She holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from Bishop’s University, with concentrations in both Finance and Business Management. She has had both Public and Private sector experience, including six years as a Financial Consultant at Investors Group as well as time spent in Prime Minister’s Office, in addition to the Privy Council Office, where she currently works as Senior Advisor. Christine has had extensive consulting experience working with businesses to help them in a wide array of services, ranging from marketing strategies, to developing business plans and market feasibility studies. She has also had a wide range of working experience in small, medium and large organizations.

Angelica Carrero holds a law degree from McGill University and is a member of the Quebec Bar. Following her studies, Angelica began her career in labour law. She then developed a more specialized expertise in labour relations in the arts and cultural sector. For more than eleven years, she was senior labour relations advisor at the Société des auteurs.e.trice.s de radio, télévision et cinéma (SARTEC), where she helped negotiate and manage collective agreements for screenwriters and adapters. She then joined the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) as senior legal counsel, responsible for negotiating and drafting a first collective agreement for the industry. She then took on the mandate of interim executive director at the UNEQ in a particular context for the union. Before joining ARCQ, she also headed the professional development team at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. She was appointed Director General of ARCQ in September 2024 and sits on the board of directors of the CRFC. When she’s not at work, Angelica devotes time to her role as a trustee on the board of the Fondation de l’école FACE, a music school for primary and secondary school students.

With a wide range of experience in non-profit management and economic development, Louis Béland is renowned for his commitment to Francophone minority communities. In October 2024, he was appointed Executive Director of the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada (ARC du Canada), where he uses his expertise in mentoring, coaching and innovation to strengthen and promote French-language community radio stations across the country.

Before joining ARC du Canada, Mr Béland held a number of key positions, including general manager of the Réseau agroalimentaire de l’Est ontarien, where he oversaw the implementation of a five-year strategic plan and developed a new regional brand. He was also Regional Director for Prescott-Russell at the Eastern Ontario Training Board, leading a financial literacy training project for 400 students in partnership with JA Northern and Eastern Ontario.

His career path includes roles such as Regional Director of Francophone Programming at JA Northern and Eastern Ontario, Eastern Regional Director at the Société économique de l’Ontario, and co-founder of Café de Joël Inc, a coffee roasting and catering company. These experiences have enabled him to develop solid skills in management, entrepreneurial development and community mobilization.

Mr Béland is also active in a number of organisations, including as a director of the Canadian Journalism Collective. His ability to build solid relationships with partners and his commitment to the development of Francophone communities make him a valuable asset to any project aimed at strengthening and promoting community initiatives.

Barry Rooke is a seasoned nonprofit executive and media strategist with a passion for community empowerment and innovation within the sector. Currently serving as Executive Director of Cider Canada / Cidre Canada, he leads national advocacy and capacity-building efforts for the country’s rapidly growing cider industry. He also serves as Executive Director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC), where he has championed independent media, digital transformation, and policy reform since 2015.

Barry’s journey began at age 15 in campus/community radio at CFRU in Guelph, Ontario, where he later held roles including station manager and board chair. He has a diploma in Radio and TV Broadcasting, a degree in Human Resources, and a Master’s degree in Communication, with a research focus on social media use in Canadian broadcasting.

As a Certified Association Executive (CAE), Barry brings a unique blend of grassroots experience and strategic leadership. He has hosted over 1,500 radio shows and podcasts, contributed to national policy discussions, and authored op-eds on media access and equity. His work bridges the worlds of media, advocacy, and entrepreneurship, continually focusing on building resilient, inclusive communities.
When he’s not leading national initiatives, Barry enjoys refereeing Soccer, Softball and Australian Rules Football, sampling cider and spending time with his corgis, @thecidercorgis