AtG warmly welcomes three new members to our Board of Directors. Learn more about these wonderful folks below!
Ilona Dougherty
Ilona is the Co-creator and Managing Director of the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo. She is an award-winning social innovator and a regular voice in the Canadian media advising business, civil society and government on how they can tap into the value and unique abilities of young people. She has extensive leadership and governance experience having co-founded several successful organizations. In 2004, she Co-founded Apathy is Boring, a non-partisan social enterprise that educates Canadian youth about democracy and encourages them to vote.
Ilona has long had a passion for the arts and a commitment to supporting the Canadian arts community. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University in 2003, toured her award-winning choreography internationally and worked in artist management in the years after completing her degree and most recently was on the Board of Directors of Studio 303 in Montreal. Ilona was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2009, was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network in 2015.
Amy Burstyn Fritz
Amy Burstyn is a co-founder and the president of Burstyn Inc. She brings over a decade of extensive public relations experience with event management and corporate communications. She is a dedicated leader and devoted partner to clients, in constant demand by top-tier brands and high net worth organizations for her steadfast management of complex projects and delivering measurable results without compromise.
Amy is an active participant in Canada’s arts and culture community, and a volunteer with multiple not-for-profit organizations in Toronto. She devotes her energy, capabilities and motivation to contribute to society in Canada with a smile. Amy is welcomed by her connections in Canadian arts and culture, fashion and lifestyle, government and public affairs.
Ian Cusson
Ian Cusson is a Canadian composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis and French Canadian descent, his work explores the Canadian Indigenous experience, including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.
He studied composition with Jake Heggie and Samuel Dolin and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award, and several grants through the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Ian was an inaugural Carrefour Composer in Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 2017-2019. He is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. He is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. He lives in Toronto with his wife and four children.