New Leaders Roundtable - Navigating Governance and Engaging with Your Board

  • DATE: October 27 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm EDT
  • FEE: FREE for Members / FREE for Non-Members
  • VENUE: PACT Zoom
  • OPEN TO: Anyone who has stepped into the role of Artistic Director, Managing Director, and other comparable positions since early 2020.

Over the last three years, our sector has gone through a tremendous amount of change, including an unprecedented increase in turnover of leadership positions. The New Leaders Roundtable is a monthly series curated to support these theatre workers through guest speakers, resource sharing, and peer to peer support.

Each meeting will begin with a 50 minute guided Q&A session with a senior leader in our industry. After the Q&A section, the guest speaker will leave the meeting, and a dedicated 60 minute Peer to Peer Session starts, where the attendees can discuss their shared issues and concerns in confidence, and benefit from each other’s experiences. 

The second session, Navigating Governance and Engaging with Your Board, will convene on Friday October 27th, 4pm - 5:30pm ET. Our guests for this session are Jay Dodge, co-artistic director of Boca del Lupo, past president of the PACT board, the chair of the PACT Governance Committee, and co-rep of the Creator Centric Companies Caucus, and Marnie Hamagami, Artistic Producer at Theatre NorthWest, Board Member and Chair of the Regional Advisory Caucus at PACT.

Join Jay and Marnie as they delves deep into the challenges faced by new leaders when communicating with organizational boards. This pivotal discussion will address concerns raised at the recent PACTCon's New Leaders dialogue, focusing on:

  • The importance of upfront transparency regarding organizational crises, ensuring new leaders are informed before they commit.
  • The ongoing challenges of board recruitment and HR intricacies.
  • Striking a balance between maintaining a positive work culture and upholding organizational reputation.
  • Effectively communicating transformative changes, especially against the backdrop of previous organizational missteps, both to funders and to ensure board alignment.

Jay Dodge is the distinguished Co-Artistic Director at Boca del Lupo, one of Canada's foremost avant-garde theatre companies. With a rich history in the arts, Jay has been instrumental in steering Boca del Lupo to new heights, fostering innovative projects and nurturing emerging talents. Renowned for his visionary approach to theatre, he seamlessly blends contemporary themes with emmersive experiences, pushing the boundaries of conventional performance. Beyond his role at Boca del Lupo, Jay is an advocate for the arts, contributing to dialogues on theatre governance, leadership, and organizational best practices. His dedication to artistic excellence and transformative storytelling continues to shape the theatre landscape. You can learn more about Jay and Boca del Lupo here.

Marnie Hamagami is currently the Artistic Producer of Theatre NorthWest located in Prince George, BC. Hamagami has worked in the NFP sector for most of her adult life - and always worked for a board. Hamagami has one son who is the light of her life.

During the Roundtable discussion, Christine Rossi-Wright, Senior Program Worker at the AFC, will be present to provide a supportive and empathic ear. At the end of Roundtable discussion, she will summarize what was discussed as a group and provide any insight and takeaways, with the overarching goal of ending each session on a constructive note.

Christine Rossi-Wright BEd, MSW, RSW (Ont.)

Senior Program Worker, The AFC

Christine is a registered social worker and holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Windsor. In her role at The AFC, Christine coordinates their Emergency Financial Aid program and provides direct social work support to clients in need. She is an instructor of the Mental Health First Aid Course and facilitates workshops and presentations directly for the arts & entertainment community. Christine's education and experience is complemented by her previous work as an actor in professional musical theatre and her strong ties to the Toronto arts community. Christine draws on her vast and diverse experience to create helpful educational content that primarily focuses on mental health and wellness, in an effort to reduce the stigma in the industry around mental health problems. 

Please register for this session by Wednesday October 25th, 6pm ET. This session is open to non-PACT members if space allows.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email our Program Associate Panthea Vatandoost at pantheav@pact.ca.