Our Foundation

TERRY E. MARKUS, Chair

Lawyer, Independent Business & Legal Affairs Consultant

Terry Markus is an independent consultant and lawyer providing business and legal affairs services to the screen-based industry.  A graduate of the University of Toronto and Queen’s University Law School, she has held various senior legal, business and regulatory affairs positions at: Astral Media Inc.; Alliance Communications Corporation’s broadcasting division; Catalyst Entertainment Inc.; and Gullane Entertainment PLC group of companies. Terry has also worked at S-VOX Group of Companies in the roles of Executive Vice-President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. She has co-executive produced a feature-length theatrical film, Suck, which premiered at TIFF in 2009; executive produced a documentary short, Chasing the Lion; and, is executive producing a feature-length theatrical film, Cold Strings.

Jenn Kuzmyk, VICE CHAIR

Executive Director, Banff World Media Festival and Playback

As Executive Director of the Banff World Media Festival and Playback, Jenn oversees all aspects of the renowned international event and commercial stewardship of Canada’s premier national media industry publication. She is also course director at York University. Previously as Director of International Distribution at Proper Rights, Jenn led program sales in key territories in North America and Europe, headed up the company’s OTT strategy and financed projects for the international market. As VP, Development at Cream Productions, Jenn created, developed and co-executive produced television series for top channels worldwide, including Emmy nominated series Wild Things, and hit international TV format Know-It-All. Prior to joining Cream, Jenn spent a decade as Canadian Bureau Chief and an Editor at C21Media, a leading UK-based trade publisher focused on the global business of television and digital media content.

JANET CHANT, TREASURER

Director of Finance, Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club

As Finance Director, Toronto Blue Jays, Janet Chant leads the Finance operations for the Rogers Centre and Blue Jays. She has worked with Rogers in various capacities since 2008 including leading large transformation projects, implementing the Enterprise Risk Management program as well as supporting the Digital Media Publishing division. Prior to joining Rogers, she spent a few years in Fort McMurray, AB, working on a large municipal project and also taught business classes at Keyano College. Janet holds an MBA from Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Helen Argiro, SECRETARY

Writer, Executive Producer, Director, Rebel Street Productions

With a decade of film and TV experience to her credit, Helen wrote the feature film screenplay adaptation of bestselling author Jay McInerney's novel: Story of My Life. She is the co-writer/producer/director of the independent feature film Hayley's Comment—showcased in the Film Canada Pavilion at Cannes. She also spent four years working in development at TVO. More recently, Helen's first collection of short stories Sex & Suburban Lunacy, a popular cult favorite, was selected by Ranker as one of the Top 50 Best Absurdist Fiction books of all time. Sex & Suburban Lunacy is currently being adapted into a romantic-comedy series for cable TV. Helen has also written and performed stand-up comedy at the Comedy Bar (Toronto). Her company, Rebel Street Productions, has projects in various stages of development, including the scripted series Byron Pope, and the comedy series Unionville.

Carolyn Allain

Account Manager, National Bank of Canada

Carolyn is a manager at National Bank's CreativeIndustries Group, a leader in offering made-to-measure domestic and international entertainment financing solutions for film, television and digital media productions. Before joining National, Carolyn’s experience spans more than two decades as an award-winning producer and business affairs specialist.Carolyn’s versatility as a producer and financing specialist allows her to offer expertise in many genres, supporting producers in navigating the dynamic marketplace. She is also a passionate supporter of growing Canadian talent, and is alumni of the National Screen Institute and the Canadian Film Center’s, GoWest Project Lab. Carolyn has a bilingual BSS from the University of Ottawa.

Argie Eliopoulos

Director, Partnerships and Events, Canadian Film Centre (CFC)

Argie Eliopoulos joined the CFC in 2008 and currently serves as Director of Partnerships and Events. In this role, Argie is responsible for negotiating corporate partnerships and designing, implementing and coordinating sponsorship strategies. Prior to joining the CFC, Argie managed major public and private events in Toronto; she was the Events Manager of L’Oréal Fashionweek, Director of Events of the Greek Film Retrospective, and managed other various conferences, tradeshows and corporate events. She holds a certificate in Events and Meeting Management from George Brown and a Business Communication Certificate from the University of Toronto. Argie is an active CANFAR entertainment advisory committee member, and is a currently a parttime instructor at George Brown College (Event Sponsorship & Fundraising and Event Leadership & Human Resources).

Laura Heath Potter

Producer

Laura Heath Potter is an emerging Independent Producer currently cultivating and working with emerging writers and directors developing and writing both scripted and factual original content. With more than twenty years of film and television communications experience, she is currently utilizing her publicity experience and industry knowledge to bring her unique perspective to the development and pitching process. With a background in both film and television, Heath Potter was previously the Director of Communications for Bell Media’s CTV Networks. Overseeing publicity for CTV’s acquired, in house and original Canadian programs, Social PR and talent relations she joined the company in 2005. Previously, Heath Potter worked for Odeon Films, Corus Entertainment and The TorontoInternational Film Festival.

MARILYN ORECCHIO

Consultant

With over 20 years of experience in the advertising and broadcasting arena, Marilyn Orecchio has developed a strong, multi-disciplined approach to business. Most recently she held the role of Vice President, National Sales at Corus Entertainment, where she was responsible for establishing and executing the Business Development Strategy for the Corus Entertainment brands. Marilyn played an instrumental role in building Corus’ reputation as a strong solutions provider that leverages content and insights to deliver results. Currently, Marilyn is engaged as a Sales and Strategy Consultant working with female entrepreneurs in the areas of software, travel and content creation.