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Board of Directors

Deborah Renz – Chair

Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands

https://www.sidwilliamstheatre.com/

Deborah is the presenter and venue manager of the Sid Williams Theatre Society in Courtenay, BC. She has worked as a publicist, box office / front of house and volunteer with the Sid for many years before becoming the general manager in 2000.

Deb serves on many community committees in Courtenay as well as having served on the BC Live board of directors. She holds a B.A. from York University and a M.A. from Simon Fraser University.

Caitlin M. McKee – Vice Chair

South West Region

https://chancentre.com/

Caitlin McKee is the Programming and Partnerships Manager with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC. She is fortunate to have worked with many amazing arts organizations in Vancouver and Toronto including the Firehall Arts Centre, Dancing on the Edge, Soulpepper Theatre Company, and Dancemakers.

Caitlin is a committed arts volunteer and sits on the board of the Dancing on the Edge Festival Society, the programming committee of the Powell Street Festival Society and is pleased to be part of the BC Livel board.

Caitlin holds a B.A.(Hons) in Arts Management (with a specialization in Music & Culture) from the University of Toronto.

Lynnda McDougall – Treasurer

North Region

https://www.bvca.me/

Lynnda (she/her) is a Director on the Bulkley Valley Concert Association Board. Since 2012, she has held various executive positions and represented the BVCA to the Northern Presenters Group. She has been an adjudicator for BCTC’s grant applications and for the Pacific Contact Artist Selection Committee.

Lynnda has lived on Witsuwit’en territory in the Bulkley Valley since 1971. For the last 20 years she has worked at the Smithers Public Library. Prior to that, she was a logging contractor, bartender, secondary school teacher on-call, bookkeeper and financial manager. She attended New Brunswick Teachers’ College.

A passionate advocate for the performing arts, she hopes to shine a lens on the challenges of presenting in Northern and other small, remote and rural communities.

Theresia Reid – Secretary

Presenter Representative

https://www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca/

Theresia has been working in professional theatre for over twenty years. She started her career as an Equity Stage Manager at Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops, and then became the Resident Stage Manager for Sunshine Theatre in Kelowna, followed by Theatre North West in Prince George. While working in Kelowna she was a Guest Relations Team Leader and Box Office Ticket Agent for the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.

In 2010, Theresia moved to Chilliwack to start a new path as the Rentals Manager for the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, and then in 2022 became the Operations Manager for The Centre.

Erin Kennedy

South Central Region

https://www.ticketseller.ca/

Erin Kennedy is the Artistic Director of the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre (VDPACS) located in Vernon British Columbia. For the past thirteen years, she has been programming a multidisciplinary 24-38 performance season. In 2022 Erin started the popular annual North Okanagan Children’s Festival. VDPACS delivers over 50 community engagement activities each season which help deepen the community’s connection to the artists’ work.

Erin is a member of the International Market for Contemporary Circus and in 2021 became the co-chair of the working group Presenting Circus in Canada. Erin is a board member for the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA). In 2022 Erin won the BC Touring Council’s Presenter of the Year award.

Prior to her work at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, Erin worked as a freelance theatre maker in design and management in Montreal, Vancouver and the interior of BC. Erin is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s Technical Production Program.

Paul Hinrichs

South East Region & Festivals

https://www.kaslojazzfest.com/

Paul Hinrichs has always been a live music fan and spent his formative years touring Canada and the USA. Paul started presenting live music concerts in Nelson BC in 2010 and by 2013 Paul founded On The Road Management and Productions to provide artist management to BC based acts Shred Kelly, Shane Philip and The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra.

In 2014, On The Road Management also began presenting shows from Cranbrook to Kelowna in various theatres. In 2015, Paul became Artistic Director of the infamous Kaslo Jazz Etc Summer Music Festival, and the following year took over operations of the festival as the Executive Director. The 2016 festival went on to sell out for the first time in 25 years and has continued to sellout every year since!

Paul graduated from the Contemporary Music and Technology program at Selkirk College, is a juror for FACTOR, a judge for the JUNOS, and also the mandolin player and songwriter in bluegrass-inspired band The Heavy Lighters.

David Gonella

Festivals

https://rootsandblues.ca/

A MFA graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Film Department David Gonella moved to Salmon Arm from East Vancouver in 2006 after working in the movie and music video industry as a writer, director and producer. Between film gigs David served two years as the Guest Coordinator for the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Upon his arrival in the Shuswap David joined the Salmon Arm Roots&Blues Festival as its Volunteer Coordinator. Spending the next ten years with the annual music festival, David progressed through the organization, serving as the Site Manager, Production Manager, Festival Director, and in the Fall of 2017, David was promoted to lead the organization as the Executive Director.

Cultural and financial success are important indicators; David believes that long term organizational sustainability must include a deep and sincere connection to the Secwepmec community in the Shuswap region.

Kym Gouchie

Artist Representative

https://www.kymgouchie.com/

Kym Gouchie is from the Lheidli T’enneh (lay-tlee ten-ay), also known as Prince George. She has been a part of the arts community for 20+ years as a practicing artist but also as an arts administrator, event planner, consultant, and cultural advisor. She is a gifted storyteller and an award-winning singer/songwriter.

Kym embraces audiences while imparting messages of truth and hope. Kym Gouchie is a force!

Renae Morriseau

Artist Representative

Renae is a Cree (nehiyaw iskwew ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ) and Saulteaux woman (nahkawiskwêw ᓇᐦᑲᐃᐧᐢᑫᐧᐤ) from the Treaty 1 Territory. She’s been creating artistic works for most of her life, journeying across Canada and the globe in film, television, theatre, and music as a singer, actress, writer, director, and producer. She’s honoured to work and creatively collaborate with a variety of theatre companies, film and television productions, and live musical events in Canada and beyond.

Aaron Schubert

Agent/Manager Representative

https://www.paquinartistsagency.com/

Aaron Schubert is a Vancouver-based Booking Agent with Paquin Artists Agency. He has been with Paquin since 2006 with a short stint in between while working as an Artist Manager, Concert Promoter/Talent Buyer and Consultant. He began attending Pacific Contact in 2007 and was awarded the “Agent of the Year” award there in 2008.

Aaron books music, comedy and theatrical artists and shows across Canada and the US, with a primary focus on Western Canada. Career highlights include working with artists such as Sly & The Family Stone, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Owen Pallet, Fred Penner & Buffy Sainte-Marie.

He currently works with artists such as The Debaters, Mary Walsh, PIQSIQ, Alex Cuba, 2023 Juno Nominees Ombiigizi, Ibeyi, Ruby Singh and many more. He is also part of Paquin’s Exhibition team, working on Immersives such as Beyond Van Gogh and Beyond King Tut.

Justine Murdy

Self-Represented Artist

https://www.scrapartsmusic.com/

Justine Murdy’s experiences range from material culture enthusiast to artistic director, producer, writer, and designer (lighting, costume, marketing, instruments).

In 1998, Justine brought her world of design to Gregory Kozak’s world of music. They established Scrap Arts Music to create “Sculptural Music from the Materials Around Us.” Using recycled and salvaged materials of a harbour city in the midst of a massive construction boom as “source” for the instruments, Scrap Arts Music explores concepts of “transformation” through materials, processes, design, movement and sound – while having a great time!

Justine is thrilled to be a BC Live director.