ACE Jury Members
Amanda Cawley
Amanda Cawley is an award-winning composer known for crafting fantastical themes for film, television and games. Inspired by the power of music to enhance storytelling, Amanda specializes in creating sonic landscapes that connect narrative concepts with melodic motifs, reflecting them through carefully chosen instrumentation and soundscapes. Her talent for breathing life into characters and worlds through music has garnered recognition and admiration throughout Canada and beyond.
Her portfolio includes a variety of media, including 105+ episodes of the globally-distributed animated TV series Fireman Sam, animated series American Girl, animated short Ostinato and 20 episodes of the documentary series Ageless Gardens for which she received nominations for Best Original Music, Non-Fiction at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards and Canadian Screen Music Awards. In 2022, Amanda was recognized by SOCAN foundation with two emerging screen composer awards.
Amanda Konkin
Amanda Konkin has produced multiple short films, series and animated projects including The Butterfly Affect (best short animation, La Femme Film Festival (2020)), iDorothy (2021) and The Switch (2016). Her short film Happiness (2020) is available via the Dust platform and her latest project, the music video Euphoria for artist Kristin Carter has amassed almost 100K views in its first month on youtube.
In addition to her independent projects that have received funding from sources such as Women in Animation, Telus Storyhive, Bell Media, Crazy 8s and OUTtv, Amanda works full time in 3D animated television at Mainframe Studios as the manager of their Global Studio Pipeline and co-chairs the studios Culture Club with a particular focus on developing Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives. She recently produced her first live action feature film called One Must Wash Eyes that is currently doing the festival circuit.
Amy He
Amy He is a Leo nominated Art Director based in beautiful Squamish, BC. She graduated from Sheridan’s Classical Animation Program in 2013, and OCADU’s Florence, Italy program in 2014. After school she moved to Vancouver for a short contract, but quickly fell in love with the West Coast and is still here 10 years later.
Amy has worked as a Character Designer on TV series such as Equestria Girls, My Little Pony, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, The Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pocket, as well as the My Little Pony: The Movie. She worked as a BG Artist on Carmen Sandiego, and Last Kids On Earth. Amy started Art Directing in 2019, working on projects such as Polly Pocket (2D), the Strawberry Shortcake Specials (3D), and Lego Friends (3D).
Ann-Marie Perrotta
Anne-Marie Perrotta – Creator, Head Writer, Executive Story Editor
Anne-Marie Perrotta is a Montreal-based Creator, Head Writer, and Executive Story Editor with over 700 television credits, including the award-winning series, Arthur, Ranger Rob, Max & Ruby, Interstellar Ella, ToonMarty and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Anne-Marie was also an Executive Story Editor and writer on 51 episodes of the live-action series Big Top Academy (Discovery Kids Latin America/TVO/Cirque du Soleil Images/Hulu). She has also developed many animation and live-action series for producers and broadcasters around the world. She recently finished a 16-year stint as the Quebec Councillor for the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC). In addition to being the Chair of the WGC’s Animation and Awards Committees, Anne-Marie has been a member of the Bargaining Committee for several rounds of bargaining. She has also won the WGC’s highest honour, the Writers Block Award, for service to Canadian screenwriters.
Ari Wise
Ari Wise is the owner and director of Core Music Agency, Canada’s largest talent agency focussing on film, television and games composers. Before establishing his agency, Ari Wise was himself an award-winning film composer, with over 200 features, TV Movies, live and animated episodes of television, documentaries and short films to his credit. Some highlights include: "The Conclave" starring Brian Blessed and James Faulkner, "Police Academy, the Series" and "School of Life", starring Ryan Reynolds. A graduate of the University of British Columbia's Music Composition program, and of the University of Southern California's world famous, "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television" Advanced Studies Program, Ari has spent the last 17 years representing a stellar roster of successful screen composers. To date, he and his fellow Core Agents have negotiated well over 1500 composer agreements, including for such masterworks as: A24’s The Witch and The Lighthouse, and 20th Century Studios’ horror prequel The First Omen.
His passion for the art and business of music in film has brought him to lead and participate in film festival industry forums and discussion panels at TIFF, VIFF, Victoria Film Festival, and Whistler Film Festival. He has been interviewed for, and been the subject of, featured articles in some of the industry's leading publications. In the past, Ari has served on the board of directors for the Vancouver Post Alliance and has chaired many Leo Juries.
Bianca Marrocco
Bianca Marrocco is a Creative Executive at Aniventure, where she specializes in finding and developing features for global kids and family audiences. With a keen eye for storytelling and a passion for animation, Bianca brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to her role. Her dedication to nurturing creative projects has helped bring numerous successful animated works to life, resonating with audiences worldwide.
Her credits include Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (Netflix), Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (Paramount), Hitpig, and Animal Farm. Bianca is committed to bringing joy and entertainment to families through innovative and engaging content that captivates and inspires.
Carl Upsdell
Carl Upsdell, Head of 2D Animation at Atomic Cartoons, is a skilled Director and Animation Specialist in the film and television industry. With a career spanning over two decades, he has worn many hats including but not limited to Compositor, Animator, Animation Director and Director.
While at Atomic, he has worked on a number of series as Animation Director including Counterfeit Cat, Hilda, Curious George and most recently Dogs in Space. Most recently, Carl transitioned into the role of Head of 2D Animation on the Atomic Cartoons leadership team which allows him to mentor and support the upcoming talent across studios.
Cinzia Angelini
Cinzia Angelini, director and creator of animated films, has worked for major international studio sin the animation industry for more than twenty-five years. While she started out as both a 2D and 3D animator, she later became a story artist for Warner Brothers, Sony Imageworks, Duncan Studio, Disney Animation Studios, Dreamworks and Illumination Entertainment. Her body of work includes Balto, Prince of Egypt, The Road to Eldorado, Spirit, Spider-man 2,Bolt, The Minions Movie, Despicable Me 3, The Grinch and Abominable.
Cinzia is currently directing HITPIG, an Aniventure upcoming animated feature produced at Cinesite Studios.Cinzia has also written and directed “Mila,” a CG short film about a little girl, whose life takes an unexpected turn in WWII.Her idea of bridging cultural diversity through the magic of animation, led to an invitation to speak at TEDx Trento, and at TEDx Vail-Colorado.Cinzia moved to Los Angeles in 1997, where she currently lives with her family.
Emma Gignac
Emma Gignac serves as the Supervising Director and head of the Animation Department at Mercury Filmworks, bringing 25 years of industry experience. Throughout her career, she has gained comprehensive expertise across various animation disciplines, including posing, layouts, storyboarding, and digital animation. For the majority of her career, Emma has held the role of Animation Director, with the past decade dedicated to directing and enhancing team skills at Mercury Filmworks.
During her tenure at Mercury Filmworks, Emma has contributed to a wide array of series, including "Centaurworld," "Wander Over Yonder," "Star vs. The Forces of Evil," "Interrupted Chicken," "Hilda," "The Proud Family," "Tangled: The Series," and several short projects.
Francine Delgado
Francine Delgado is a Costa Rican/Canadian artist who has made significant contributions to the animation industry and comic book art. She co-founded the Bocetos Community in Costa Rica, a collective focused on integrating and educating local illustrators. Internationally, she conducts online training sessions, workshops, and speeches for both Latin American and Canadian communities, reflecting her dedication to nurturing emerging artists. Notable projects include the award-nominated feature filmThe Addams Family and Marvel Upper Deck’s
Legendary Black Widow.
Currently, she is working on an undisclosed Disney feature film. Previously, she was an art director on an unfinished feature film for Disney Plus. She has also art-directed projects like Barbie: It Takes Two and A Touch of Magic.
Heather Puttock
Producer, Collaborator, Entrepreneur.
Heather has been working in the kids and family content creation space for 20+ years. She has produced hundreds of episodes for clients such Netflix, Mattel, Amazon, Spinmaster, PBS, Hasbro, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros and more; and worked with many brandsincludingBarbie, Wolverine & The X-Men, Angry Birds, Hatchimals, Transformers, Hot Wheelsand others. She is a co-founder and partner at Kickstart Entertainment and currently serves as Presidentfrom Vancouver, B.C. Heather is responsible for overseeing the many projects that have been created within and serviced by the studio. She also takes great pride in nurturing Kickstart’s international partnerships and productions to produce world class content for global audiences.
Heather has cultivated relationships with many Canadian creators who inspired her to open Eh-Okay Entertainment, an independent IP company that focuses on Canadian talent and stories. Most recently she founded 708 Sound Studio, a new voice recording and audio post facilitylocated in the Strathcona and specializing inthe animation industry’s voiceover and sound design needs. Heather has a passion for sharing and supporting career advancementin content creationand wholeheartedly believes that storytelling is what connects us as humans.
Heather Renney
Heather Renney has 25+ years of experience in animation production and currently is a Supervising Producer at Atomic Cartoons. She has worked on many award-winning productions, most notably the Peabody Award-winning (2019) and Emmy nominated Molly of Denali for PBS/GBH. Heather is passionate about advocating for the advancement of women and BIPOC people within the industry, and does this by creating internship opportunities for underrepresented groups at Atomic.
In addition to her role at Atomic, Heather serves on the Board of Directors at VIVO Media Arts and volunteers for the Women in Animation Vancouver ACE Program as Associate Producer.
Janet Perlman
Janet Perlman is a Montreal-based animation director, writer, and illustrator known for her absurdist sense of humor and distinct animation style. Her short films have gained global recognition, including an Oscar nomination, an Emmy, and numerous international accolades.
In addition to her films, she has written and illustrated four children's books, including Cinderella Penguin, and the graphic novel Penguins Behind Bars.
She has worked extensively with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) where her films include “The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin”, “Bully Dance” and most recently, “The Girl with the Red Beret”. Her independent experimental films explore non-traditional storytelling, and include “My Favorite Things that I Love, “Sorry Film not Ready” and “Janet Perlman’s Pinocchio”.
Jennifer Twiner-McCarron
Jennifer Twiner-McCarron is the CEO and Chair of Thunderbird Entertainment Group, and the Company’s kids and family content arm, Atomic Cartoons. With a focus on diversity and inclusion, the Vancouver-based global multiplatform entertainment company creates award-winning scripted, unscripted and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and international broadcasters.
Jennifer joined Atomic Cartoons as the Head of Production in 2011. She was promoted to CEO of Atomic Cartoons in 2016, and CEO of Thunderbird in 2018. She continues to hold both roles, overseeing Thunderbird’s overall business as a public company as well as a team of more than 1,400 people, with offices and studios in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Ottawa.
Throughout the years, Jennifer has executive produced multiple titles including the Emmy-winning The Last Kids on Earth, which streams on Netflix, Dogs in Space, also streaming on Netflix, and Molly of Denali, which airs on PBS Kids. Her work has received several recognitions, including multiple Leo Awards, an ELAN, a DTV, two Emmys and a Peabody, among others.
In 2022, she was named as one of Business in Vancouver’s five Most Influential Women and to Bay Street Bull’s Women of the Year List. Jennifer was also named the Equity and Inclusion Champion in BC Business’ 2021 Women of the Year Awards, one of WXN’s Most Powerful Women in Canada (2019) and Executive of the Year by Playback Magazine (2018).
Jennifer sits on various boards and committees, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s BIPOC Council, the CKNW Kids’ Fund, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and more.
Jenn Strom
Jenn Strom is a Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker, editor and animator. Her animation work includes creating a motion comic: Amplify HER: Behind The Noise (2017) and working as an animatic and online editor for Bardel Animation. Her documentary feature-editing work includes Nisha Platzer’s Back Home (2022) which premiered at VIFF, Erin Derham’s Stuffed (2019), which premiered in the doc competition at SXSW, and Marie Clements’ musical documentary The Road Forward (2016) which premiered at Hot Docs and won 6 Leo Awards including Feature Documentary Editor. She is currently directing her first feature documentary, about the artist E.J. Hughes, for Knowledge Network. You can find out more about her work at https://jennstrom.com.
Jessica Brunson
As a Line Producer with a lifelong passion for Animation, Jessica Brunson draws upon her experience in 2D and CG workflows to help create engaging and meaningful content while fostering professional growth and personal well-being behind the scenes. She is renowned for taking challenging projects head on, bringing teams together, driving innovation, and nurturing creativity. She believes maintaining a healthy crew morale by advocating for mentorship and sustainable work practices is key to allowing teams and projects to flourish.
With 13+ years in the industry, she has worked on a wide range of shows including Star Wars Rebels at Lucasfilm, Harley Quinn at Warner Brothers Animation, and My Little Pony: Make Your Mark at Atomic Cartoons.
Kim Dent Wilder
Bio Coming Soon!
Kirsten Newlands
Kirsten is EVP, Production and Content Partnerships at Lion Forge Entertainment. Diverse Stories, Authentically Told is at the heart of all Lion Forge content. Kirsten has been nominated for two Emmys; and has won multiple Canadian Screen Awards and Leo Awards. She has been named one of British Columbia’s Most Influential Women – Stem Stars. She has Executive Produced more than 800 half hours of animated children’s television, including popular hits such as My Little Pony, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Carmen Sandiego, The Deep and Chip & Potato.Prior to joining Lion Forge, she ran the Production department for Hello Sunshine’s Kids & Family division, and consulted for both Guru Studio (True & the Rainbow Kingdom, Paw Patrol) and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Pretzel & The Puppies). As SVP, Production, she ran Wildbrain Studios for 14 years, growing the division into a powerhouse of kids content. She was active with CineCity, CHUM TV’s commitment to help emerging visible minority & aboriginal filmmakers produce short, dramatic films in the province of British Columbia. She is a Founding member of Drawn Together Vancouver, a past board member of Women in Film and Video Vancouver, is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, the National Screen Institute’s Totally Television Programme, and of the Canadian Film Centre’s Producer’s Lab. She is a past co-chair of Women in Animation’s Vancouver Chapter.
Marc Bertrand
Marc Bertrand joined the NFB’s French Animation Studio as a producer in 1998. Since then, he has earned credits on more than 130 films, many of them award winners. He has worked with Theodore Ushev for many years, producing some of the filmmaker’s most important works, including Blind Vaysha (2016), which earned an Oscar® nomination in 2017, and The Physics of Sorrow (2019), the Cristal Award winner for best short film at Annecy in 2020. Bertrand also produced Patrick Doyon’s Oscar®-nominated short Sunday (2011). Over the years, he has worked with both emerging and veteran directors, including Jacques Drouin, Diane Obomsawin, Andreas Hykade, Michelle and Uri Kranot, Janet Perlman and Janice Nadeau.
Melissa Graham
An Award-winning Producer with superior knowledge of 2D and 3D Animation Production. A Sheridan Animation Alumni with over 25+ years of Creative Experience in the Animation Industry. A high-achieving and well-versed professional, with hands on experience in Animation as a top-notch communicator and skilled problem-solver.
From artist to Nelvana’s Director of Production, she is skilled and experienced consulting with clients, building loyal lasting relationships. Passionate and driven about creating industry leading animation and mentoring talent globally, with an ability to adapt in an environment where change is constant.
Mitch Stookey
I grew up in the Canadian prairies and moved to the West coast to study Film, Video and Integrated Media at Emily Carr University (2010) and never left. I have been editing video professionally for 17 years, I have taught video production and media literacy, I co-founded and ran a video production company for over a decade and in 2015 I found my way into the Animation industry and proceeded to fall deeply in love with it. After being a Lead Editor on multiple shows, I moved into a directing role and could not be happier. I absolutely love working in Animation -- the people I work with, the projects I get to participate in, and being immersed in such a creative, fun and rewarding field.
Nadine Westerbarkey
Nadine has been working in the Animation industry for over 25 years, with vast experience in film and television working with well-respected studios such as Walt Disney, Dreamworks, Universal, DHX, Bardel and Atomic Cartoons where she currently holds the responsibility of Studio Creative Director. In her current role Nadine oversees all productions and is very involved in setting up all upcoming shows, supporting the creative teams during development and production.
In 2021 Nadine was awarded the YWCA Women of Distinction award for her work in the animation community with the focus on authentic storytelling, diversity and inclusion. Through WIA and Atomic Nadine dedicates a lot of volunteer and mentorship work towards support for artists to enter into the industry and growth towards creative leadership roles.
Nora Twomey
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Partner & Creative Director
Cartoon Saloon
Nora’s passion for visual storytelling began at an early age and has led her to explore the medium of animation with Paul Young, Tomm Moore , her partners in the internationally renowned Cartoon Saloon. From the studio’s early years, directing award winning short films & commercials, she went on to co-direct Tomm Moore’s ACADEMY AWARD® nominated The Secret of Kells while also guiding the development processes on a number of series including the preschool show Puffin Rock. Nora was Head of Story and Voice Director on ACADEMY AWARD® nominated Song of the Sea. She directed The Breadwinner, which was nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD® & GOLDEN GLOBE and won several international awards including the Best Indie Feature Annie and the Audience & Jury Awards at Annecy. Nora most recently directed My Father’s Dragon feature film, a Netflix original animated feature, inspired by the Newbery Award winning children's book by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Nora continues to develop original films and projects while working on Cartoon Saloon’s slate of projects in development and production. Cartoon Saloon makes brave stories, beautifully told.
Oana Suteu
Bio Coming Soon!
Sarah Serata
Sarah Serata is an Emmy award-winning animation producer with over 20 years of experience in the animation industry. As the Director of Entertainment Operations at Spin Master Entertainment, she excels in supervising both feature film and series production while managing third-party vendor relationships. Sarah's strategic approach to cross-departmental collaboration has resulted in numerous successful projects, elevating both artistic and commercial standards.
Shabnam Rezaei
Shabnam founded Big Bad Boo Studios to produce and distribute quality family programming.Shabnam has produced and directed Hulu Original Series “The Bravest Knight”, winner of 2020
GLAAD Award, with a second season currently in production. She has also created and directed original shows such as “16 Hudson” (Amazon Prime/TVOKids), climate change series “Galapagos X” (TVOKids, Knowledge Kids, Radio-Canada, Mediacorp), mini-series “Lili & Lola”(Oznoz/ICI TV), and musical series “ABC with Kenny G” (TVOKids, Radio-Canada).
Shabnam started her career producing series “Mixed Nutz”, and her first creation was “1001 Nights”, currently airing in 80 countries on Disney, Teletoon, Discovery Kids, Gloob Brazil, RTBF Belgium, and MTV3 Finland.
For more, please visit www.bigbadboo.ca or www.oznoz.com
Tamara Boutcher
Tamara's first dive into animation began at The Walt Disney Company.
As the studio transitioned from 2D features to 3D features, Tamara worked as the director of production, helping to guide the teams and develop the necessary practices and technologies for pioneering Disney’s unique blend of traditional and CGI practices. Tamara's work is featured in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, The Addams Family 1 & 2, Dinosaur, Escape from Planet Earth, and We Are Not Princesses.
Tracey Mack
Tracey is honoured to Executive Produce the ACE program with Women in Animation. She is an award-winning Producer with twenty years of experience, producing over 120 hours of television in both live action & animated film, television and digital media. She is currently COO / Head of Production for Imagine Create Media, where she is a Producer on Scout & The Gumboot Kids for CBC, nominated for both a Prix Jeunesse and NHK Japan Prize.Through her own company, Urban Safari Entertainment, she has just finished development on the animated feature, A Christmas Crisis, with Hollywood Suite, which she also wrote, and has produced The Adventures of Little Jake & Many Skies for APTN, the award-winning Kids’ Cookhouse, and the web series PARKED.
Vanessa Esteves
Supervising Creative Producer, Series Creator and Showrunner
Vanessa Esteves is a Supervising Creative Producer, Writer, Content Creator and Showrunner with a passion for story-telling. Having over 18 years experience in the animation industry, Vanessa has worked in multiple genres with a strong focus on preschool and comedy.
Vanessa works across Development and Current Series from concept to screen with a blended skillset of both creative and physical producing abilities. She has overseen many animated series and is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer on the animated comedy, Super Wish. When she’s not helping create dynamic content, she is often found watching it alongside the audience, her two young kids.
Rose-Ann Tisserand
Rose-Ann Tisserand is co-founder of Flying Kraken Creative Studios, a boutique, Canadian-based studio that creates original animation content and specializes in award-winning animation design services. She is also Founder and Co-Executive Producer of WIA Vancouver’s award-winning Animation CareerEXCELerator Program(ACE) which advances the careers of those who identify as women into key creative roles by providing mentorship, training, and hands-on experience as they make a short film.
Over 5 years, ACE has grown from 5 initial key creative roles in BC to 8 roles from across Canada. ACE is currently sponsored by Netflix Canada, Telefilm and Creative BC. She has worked as a production executive for 22 years over seeing 300+ hours of film and television production. She was supervising producer at Bardel Entertainment, Consulting Producer with the NFB, and is currently Executive Producer/Co-Creator of a series in development with Silvergate Media. She also sits on the Spark Animation Leadership Board and is Executive Advisor on the WIA Vancouver board.
