Board of Governors

(Appointed August 1, 2021 / Re-Appointed August 1, 2024)

Carleen Thomas is an educator and former council member for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She was appointed Chancellor of Emily Carr University in August, 2021 and re-appointed for a second three year term effective August, 2024. Find out more.

Dr. Kelly holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She earned an MA from Tufts University after beginning her graduate work at Harvard University. She obtained a PhD in art history from the University of British Columbia.

In 2004, she joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at DePaul University in Chicago. She worked in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and in the Honours program until joining Emily Carr as an associate professor in the Faculty of Culture + Community. Dr. Kelly served as assistant dean of the faculty from 2012 to 2015. Find out more.

(Appointed February 17, 2023)

D.J. Avison, KC is the CEO and Executive Director of the Law Society of British Columbia. He has served in many different roles over the course of his career. This includes 13 years with the Attorney General of Canada, an appointment as Deputy Minister of Justice for the Northwest Territories, a return to British Columbia where he served as Deputy Minister of Education/Advanced Education, Crown Corporations and Health. He was the President of the University Presidents’ Council of BC and its successor organization, The Research Universities Council of BC during a period of extraordinary growth.

Avison was Chief Negotiator for British Columbia with the First Nations Education Jurisdiction Agreements and for the Social Union Framework Agreement.

Avison was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019 (now King’s Counsel), was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of Thompson Rivers University in 2006, received the BC Net Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, the 2010 Leadership Award from Life Sciences in British Columbia and, in 2012 was recognized by the First Nations Education Steering Committee for his contributions to First Nations education.

He has extensive board experience on more than 30 boards including Chair of the Foundation for the Centre of Disease Control, Vice-Chair of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Chair of the Centre for Drug Research and Development, and the BC Oil and Gas Commission.

(Appointed July 31, 2021 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)

Lorcan O’Melinn is the former Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT). Previously, he held executive financial and administrative positions at the Coquitlam School District and Riverview Hospital. In these roles, Lorcan participated in strategic planning and governance initiatives and developed long term budget and financial systems.

Lorcan served on the Board of the Great Northern Way Campus Trust. The Trust was established by the academic shareholders (Emily Carr University, BCIT, UBC, SFU) to manage the lands, assets and income as well as support the academic programs on behalf of the four institutions. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Pacific Community Resources Society. The Society provides quality, accredited social services across British Columbia, including education, employment, housing, substance use, mental health, and youth and family support services.

In addition to his CPA accounting designation, he is a graduate of UBC with a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and a Diploma of Technology (Administrative Management) from BCIT. He took the Executive Leadership Course (Transformational Leadership) from Queen’s University.

(Appointed July 31, 2021 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)

Mary Macaulay is a lawyer and a partner at Mandell Pinder LLP in Vancouver. For more than 20 years she has acted as counsel for Indigenous peoples in Aboriginal and treaty rights related litigation. Throughout her career, Ms. Macaulay has taken part in the practical and academic development of the law on Aboriginal litigation issues, and is the author of the litigation handbook Aboriginal & Treaty Rights Practice (Thomson Reuters, published 2000) and co-author of "Snow Houses Leave No Ruins": Unique Evidence Issues in Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Cases, The Saskatchewan Law Review, 1996. She has acted as both chair and presenter at numerous legal conferences on Aboriginal law issues. Ms. Macaulay is also active in her community, serving as a director of the Western Front (an artist - run centre for contemporary art and new music) and of the Contemporary Art Gallery, and as an honorary council member of the Canadian Society for the Decorative Arts. She holds a Master of Laws focusing on alternative dispute resolution and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.

(Appointed July 31, 2023 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)

Sung Van is the Principal of Latitude Agency, a Vancouver boutique branding, communications and design firm serving public and private sector clients in British Columbia and South Korea for over 25 years. Latitude's clients include local companies and organizations such as BC Hydro and BC Children's Hospital, and international corporations such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Hyundai Group and Lotte Hotels.

Sung also actively gives back to the community through Latitude's "Latitude Gives" program, offering pro bono branding and communications services to charities such as the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation, Coast Mental Health Foundation, and BC Women's Hospital. He further contributes to his community by serving in volunteer and governance roles, including as President of the Canada Korea Business Association, and as a member of the Pacific Advisory Council for Rogers Television OMNI Channel. He is also a past member of the Board of Governors at Vancouver Community College. Sung graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and from BCIT in Marketing Management.

(Appointed December 1, 2023)

(Appointed December 1, 2023)

Natasha Tony, CEO of Vancouver-based Elevate Inclusion Strategies, is a sought-after labour relations specialist, consultant, leadership coach, trainer, and speaker. In 2022, Natasha was recognized as a Black leader in Vancouver by the Vancouver Economic Commission.

Natasha is committed to applying an intersectional, human rights, and reconciliation lens to all that she does. Her deep experience in mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution supports leaders in helping them navigate the stages toward sustainable inclusion.

Natasha works with corporations, businesses, crown corporations, all levels of government, labour unions, and social justice organizations. Her work requires a deep understanding of organizational structure, strategic initiatives, inclusive leadership, and human resources.

Prior to establishing Elevate Inclusion Strategies, Natasha worked for 15 years as an Extras Casting Director in the British Columbia film industry. Following that, she worked as a Labour Relations Specialist, also in the film industry. During this time, Natasha gained a reputation for working collaboratively with unions and Hollywood studios on complex workplace issues.

Natasha also championed and developed the renowned Inclusive Leadership and Inclusive Workplace Training Program for the film industry delivered across Canada and the US. She was recognized for her training by Women in Film + TV Vancouver with a Spotlight Award.

In collaboration with Creative Pathways (Creative BC), Natasha was honoured to contribute to the Creative Equity Roadmap for the recruitment-focused Creative Pathways website. Creative Pathways aims to increase equity and improve diversity in the British Columbia motion picture workforce.

One of Natasha’s priorities has always been to give back to the community she lives and works in. She is currently a board member of Black Women Film! Canada and an Appointed Bencher with the Law Society of British Columbia.

(Appointed July 31, 2024)

Harv is a strategic and forward-thinking executive leader with a successful business background and a track record of community leadership and contributions. She is known as a dynamic and collaborative change agent who is skilled in corporate governance, knowledgeable about legal issues related to Human Resources and IT, and who combines big-picture thinking with a practical focus on risk management. A confident and engaging public speaker, she has developed and delivered various courses as an Academic Instructor at the BCIT Business School and has successful Entrepreneurial Leadership and Business Consulting experience.

Harv’s specific areas of expertise include Operational Excellence, Change Management, Strategic Human Resources, and Information Technology transformation. She is on the Board of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, and her previous Board experience includes Chairing Committees for Surrey Memorial Hospital and Canuck Place, Volunteering for Donations and Fundraising for St. Paul’s Hospital and York House School, Chairing the Membership Committee at the Arbutus club, and she was a Founding Mentor for the Aragon Leadership Academy.

Harv received her MBA in Human Resources from Royal Roads University, her Certified Human Resources Professional designation through the HR Association of BC, and is fluent in English, Punjabi, and Hindi.

(Appointed July 31, 2024)

A veteran of the telecom sector and IT industry for more than 25 years, Steven Kinsey has been active in helping industry recognize the innovative role of technology in advancing goals and objectives.

As Executive Vice President of strategy and planning at Charter, a leading communications technology firm, he collaborates with the executive, sales, engineering, and operations teams to build and execute on Charter’s Run, Grow, and Transform plans.

Prior to joining Charter, Mr. Kinsey was Executive Vice President of sales at CounterPath after spending six years with Cisco Canada—first as Regional Manager for the Western Canada public sector team and then as Vice President of Cisco’s Canada West operations. Previous to Cisco, Mr. Kinsey was the Western Canada Regional Manager at Nortel Networks.

Mr. Kinsey is a graduate of the Directors College, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, and has also attended executive training at Harvard Business School and the Banff School of Advanced Management. He also has a diploma in yacht design and has a long history in boating—from design to construction and sales—and holds a number of records as a competitive sailor.

In addition to serving on the Board of the BC Oil and Gas Commission (now BCER) for 5 years as a member of the audit, regulatory and GHR committees, Mr. Kinsey also served on the Board of the MSFHR for 7 years, including as Vice Chair, and as a member of the finance and audit committee. He also served for 11 years on the board of BCNET, a not-for-profit shared information technology services organization that represents the interests of post-secondary and research institutes in BC.

(Elected November 26, 2020 / Re-Elected November 26, 2023)

Lindsay McIntyre is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist of Inuit and settler descent. She has an MFA in Film Production from Concordia University and a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Alberta. Her multiple award-wining short documentaries, experimental films and expanded cinema performances are often process-based and for some she also makes her own 16mm film with handmade silver gelatin emulsion. Working in 16mm film using experimental and handmade techniques, her short films circle themes of portraiture, place, form and personal histories. She was named the 2021 Women in the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award winner, the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton recipient for Excellence in Media Arts by the Canada Council (2013), was honoured with the REVEAL Indigenous Art Award (Hnatyshyn Foundation, 2017) and her personal documentary Her Silent Life won Best Experimental Film at imagineNATIVE (2012). She has been a member of the Double Negative Collective, EMO Collective, artist-run film labs, and an international consortium of emulsioneers. Recent projects include an animated documentary for INUA at Qaumajuq, Ajjigiingiluktaaqtugut: We Are All Different (2021) which earned a special mention as one of 2021 VIFF’s Best Shorts and was nominated for Best Animation at the American Indian Film Festival, a Telus Optik Local documentary Final Roll-Out: The Story of Film (2018) and a monumental projection-mapping installation on the Vancouver Art Gallery, If These Walls (2019).

She is an Associate Professor of Film + Screen Arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design on unceded Coast Salish territories and she teaches film anywhere else that people will listen.

Rebecca (Becky) Bair is an interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver – the traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples – and is a graduate of the Masters of Fine Arts program at Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2020) where she was awarded the Governor General's gold medal for her academic achievements. While working in the Writing Centre, as a TA, a RA, a RF, a student union rep and as an advocate for students and colleagues in the institution, Bair was shortlisted twice for the Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize, and longlisted twice for the Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award.

Since graduating her work has been featured in Canadian Art Magazine, and NUVO magazine amongst many other publications. She has been in shows including Where Do We Go From Here?, Vancouver Art Gallery (2020); Facing Time, Surrey Art Gallery (2021); Rebecca Bair: Deep Conditioning, West Vancouver Art Museum (2022); Together/Apart, Susan Hobbs Gallery (2022); Rebecca Bair: Where The Light Meets My Shoulder, Art Gallery at Evergreen (2023) and Rebecca Bair: In Self-Regard, W Projects (2024) amongst many others. Bair has been a sessional professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design since 2020, and she has been a mentor to both artists with developmental disabilities and Black youth in Surrey. In 2021/2022, she was a teaching fellow through the AICAD fellowship at the Ontario College of Art and Design University where she taught at undergraduate and graduate levels, in addition to supervising a master's thesis in curatorial studies. In the summer of 2022 she was an artist in residence at the Burrard Arts Foundation. Most recently, Rebecca was a co-director at Solid State Community Industries, and she is the co- founder of a Black owned and operated artist run centre and community space in Surrey called The Black Arts Centre. Her research aims to explore the possibilities of specific representation and of identity through abstraction, non-figuration and interdisciplinary materiality.

Becky’s artistic, professional and educational goals revolve around common themes of celebrating Black plurality, as well as creating the conditions for interpersonal and intercultural care. She is deeply involved in and committed to the decolonisation of Art and Design academics, by prioritizing anti-racist and diverse ways of being, knowing, making and learning. Rebecca joined Emily Carr University of Art and Design as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor in August 2024.

(Elected August 1, 2023 / Re-Elected August 1, 2024)

(Elected August 1, 2024)

(Elected May 1, 2022)