Board of Directors

Brenda is the manager of Amplify BC funding programs, and brings more than 15 years of experience in Canada’s music industry. Most recently, she was at CiTR, UBC’s radio station, where she held the position of Station Manager and was the Publisher of Discorder magazine. In this role, she was responsible for strategic planning, stakeholder relations, fundraising, grant writing, finances and human resources, leading a team of 20 employees and 250+ volunteers to create local programming with a mandate to support local, Canadian and niche music. Brenda has a degree in music performance, as well as an MBA in Arts and Media from York University. She has organized festivals and community events, and chaired the boards of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the National Campus and Community Radio Association.

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.

Shane O’Neill is a government relations and public affairs expert, with a decade of experience in policy, politics and strategic engagement.
In his career, Shane has supported clients in a variety of different industries, including manufacturing, innovation, agriculture, transportation, culture and the arts.Prior to entering government relations, Shane was director of communications and constituency assistant to a member of Parliament. Off the Hill, he was also a field reporter and news anchor covering Prince Albert and the north of Saskatchewan for the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, and an associate radio producer with CBC/Radio-Canada in Toronto.Shane has a bachelor’s degree from Carleton University and a diploma in journalism, broadcasting and electronic media from Durham College in Oshawa.

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.

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.

Interim

Pierre has been working in the media industry since 1990. He began his career as an advertising consultant with the daily newspaper LeDroit in Ottawa. In 2019, he made his debut in community broadcasting as Executive Director of 94.5 Unique FM in Ottawa.

Barry has been a programmer on Campus/Community Radio since 1999. Barry joined CFRU in 2007 and spent time as the stations Technical Coordinator, Administrator and three contract periods as the Station Manager. He also spent about 3 years as the Chair or Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. For the past little while he help to develop social media policy for non-profits through Infinite SM out of Toronto, and have spent time developing a service for seniors around nostalgic music and music therapy for individuals challenged with Alzheimer and other types of dementia.