Executive

President - Joan Heaton

Vice President - Danuszia Mordasiewicz

Director - Julian Brown

Secretary - Mike Catlin

Treasurer- Bob Story

Pro Bono Lawyer - Mary Ann Higgs

Our Staff

• Karen Dolan, Executive Director- karen@artskingston.com
• Josh Lyon, Office Administrator -   info@artskingston.com
• Mark Streeter - Admin Assistant, Student Workstudy Program
• Greg Tilson, Program Coordinator-  programs@artskingston.com
• Ted Worth, Grants Director; Business Manager - ted@artskingston.com
• Sayyida Jaffer, Grants Officer -   sayyida@artskingston.com

Our Board

Carolyn Barnett learned to knit and sew as a child in England,  and has been an artisan for 29 years, 27 of which have been on the knitting machine. She started Carolyn M. Barnett Designs after years as a Nursery School Teacher (ECE from Mohawk College) and one year of Fashion Design and Technique at Sheridan College. Customizing knits has allowed her create costumes for Mirvish Productions, Stratford Festival and TV commercials. Working in polymer clay and felt, Carolyn creates the buttons and pin closures, collars and embellishments for her knitwear. Teaching figures highly in her life now passing on her knowledge and skill with the knitting machine, polymer clay and designing for these mediums. Falling in love with technology led to also building web sites. Carolyn grew up in England and went into Grade 11 at LCVI upon immigrating to Canada. She spent two decades in Toronto before moving back to Kingston in 1995.

Julian Brown spent his professional life as a scientist, working mostly at Queen's University, but also at a government research laboratory in Australia . In addition to his teaching in chemistry, he pioneered a course in engineering disasters, wrote several textbooks and organized a Symposium for students on climate change. As part of his research activities he organized several national and international research conferences. He has participated in choral music in Kingston over a long period, but on retirement, he shifted his attention to the visual arts. He and his wife Kaaren have established the Kingston Prize, Canada's Portrait Competition. He has been a member of the Board of the Kingston Arts Council since 2004, and has been active in fundraising for the arts in Kingston.

Michael Catlin attended Regiopolis College in Kingston  and completed his education at Loyola College (B.A.) in Montreal. Michael has worked in Social Services for the Province of Ontario, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care. Presently Michael is a Family Mediator with Limestone Mediation.

Michael has been involved with almost every theatre company in town as an actor, director and producer: Domino Theatre , Kingston Summer Theatre ,Kingstown Players, Dramatic Impact, Theatre 5, Thousand Islands Playhouse  Kinsmen Club and 5 Star Productions. Michael has won the Best Director award at the Eastern Ontario Drama Festival and at the Theatre Ontario Festival. Michael is presently on the Board of Directors of Domino Theatre.

Michael has also acted in a number of films and recently co-produced ‘Ruby Can’t Fail ‘ shown at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival .

Michael has been a Board member for three years, two as Secretary and previously sat on the Advocacy Committee.

 

 

Stephanie Earp is a writer - of songs, articles, poetry and knitting patterns. Her creative work has appeared in the Anitgonish Review, Taddle Creek Magazine and Room of One's Own. She has played in a number of bands, sharing the stage with artists like Sarah Harmer, Amanda Palmer, Jill Barber and Luke Doucet. She was a staff writer at TV Guide Canada for five years, and her work has appeared in Elle Canada, Canadian Living, and The Kingston Whig Standard. She is currently a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and Kingston Life.

 

 

 

 

 

Ashleigh Fortune was born at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and was raised as an “Army Brat” living coast to coast in the United States and in Germany.  At the age of 12 Ashleigh moved with her family to New Hampshire and lived there until the age of 15.  The family then moved to a community north of Kingston.   After graduating from Sydenham High School Ashleigh attended Algonquin College and Carleton University, focusing on Public Relations studies.  After leaving Ottawa she returned to the U.S. to work for two years on a project related to the reconstruction of Iraq.  Ashleigh returned to Kingston in the autumn of 2006.  In 2007 she opened Chameleon Nation with the goal of creating a gallery where people could feel at ease with art regardless of their experience in the art world.  The gallery ran for three years closing in early 2010. Ashleigh is currently in the HR field and is enjoying being part of the Kingston Arts Council!

 

 

Joan Heaton has lived in Kingston for the best part of her adult life.  A Queen's grad, she was employed by the Frontenac/Limestone board, teaching English, Librarianship, Phys. Ed. and working in Administration.  Extensive travel has exposed her to many cultures and heritages, including the three years when she coordinated an exchange program with students from the former Soviet Union and a local school.  Other interests are diverse and include horse training, silver smithing and journalism.  She has participated in various arts groups and is an enthusiastic patron.

 

 

 

 

 

Margo Warner graduated from Toronto Teachers' College a long, long time ago. Her career in teaching included many subjects and grade levels from Primary through intermediate and then to Vocational Secondary levels, always with a focus on art. Margo then taught 'How to teach art in the elementary school' at the Faculty of Education, Lakehead University. While in Thunder Bay Margo was an elected school trustee for the Lakehead Board of Education.

She spent quite a few years at home raising 3 children during which time she volunteered at her children's schools, started a food bank in the Deep River area and took a few art courses, finding out that although she has a keen interest in the arts, she doesn't have much hands on talent.

 

Since arriving in Kingston over 20 years ago, Margo has been actively involved in her family's business, a moving and storage company. She has also been a volunteer for the Boys and Girls' Club, teaching after school art courses; the Canadian Institute for the Blind,teaching food preparation; Kingston's first Festival of Trees, chairing the Creative committee and organizing the seniors luncheon; the Seniors' Association, on the membership committee with a focus on the acquisition of corporate memberships.  She has chaired committees associated with the Rotary Club and Providence Care special events.

 

Margo looks forward each year to attending both the Kingston Writers' Fest and the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and reads, mainly novels, whenever she has time and is very impressed with the abundance of talent we have in our city.

 

 

Danuszia Mordasiewicz graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. She spent most of her early career as a teacher and social worker. The last thirty years she worked for the Federal Government in various capacities such as refugee settlement, Director of Employment Equity and then to the establishment of Sectoral Human Resource Councils. For the past fifteen years she has been taking classes at Ottawa School of Art, Saint Lawrence College and is now enrolled at the Academy of Realist Painters in Toronto.  She has exhibited her work in a variety of galleries and participated in the Florence Biennale. Danuszia is recently retired and moved from Ottawa to the village of Bath. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ekta Singh is the Equity/Diversity Advisor for Queen’s University and for the past 10 years has worked in the areas of: international education, immigrant settlement services, youth services, and special education. Originally from Ottawa, Ekta completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa and worked in variety of capacities supporting international students on campus. As a middle school English and Social Sciences educator, Ekta spent five years living and teaching overseas at private international schools in Kuwait and Mexico. Her work included supporting students with Autism and Aspergers syndrome.  

Ekta’s passion and interest in advocating for the challenges faced by historically marginalized groups in institutions of education is what led her to later pursue full-time graduate and research studies at Queen’s University. While in Kingston, Ekta became actively involved in organizing and promoting diverse arts programming such as: a South-Asian radio show with CFRC Radio, DJ workshops for youth from the North Kingston community, the annual Kingston Multicultural Arts Festival, and the Kingston Soul Shakedown DJ collective. Most recently, Ekta has become involved in helping produce a monthly TV show focused on promoting multiculturalism in Kingston and continues to share her love of international music while DJ-ing at monthly Soul Shakedown gigs.

Breanne Sinibaldi grew up in Northern Ontario in Sault Ste. Marie and moved to Kingston 3 years ago. Her creativity and knack for computer software lead her to Graphic Design. The inability to find photos that matched her specific design needs lead her to study Photography in Ottawa for 2 years at Algonquin College.

While continuing to work freelance in both fields here in Kingston she is also furthering her studies at St. Lawrence College in their Business Administration Marketing program.

She was inspired to join the Arts Council after assisting her cousin; a Northern Ontario painter set up her social presence online and assisted a close friend to open his first restaurant. Working with artists/entrepreneurs, providing support and opportunities for growth is something she values highly in the Arts Council and hopes to continue to support as a member on the Board of Directors.

 

 

Bob Story graduated from the Queen’s School of Business and spent several years working in Kingston as General Manager of Theatre 5 and teaching Theatre Management at St Lawrence College. After a stint running the office of a finance company in London, England he moved to Toronto to open up an art gallery and picture framing business with his wife. During this period he was a stay-at-home dad for two years. Following a return to school to study computers he worked and lived in California, France and England. Returning to Toronto again in 1992 he focused on the Web and e-commerce, establishing virtual businesses, working with on-line payment mechanisms, globalization and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). He actively participated in setting e-commerce standards in Canada through private sector and official government committees. Prior to coming to Kingston he was Director of Commercial Services at Visa Canada in Toronto. Bob splits his time between enjoying Kingston and his partnership in a firm which builds new houses in the Atlanta area.

 

 

Deborah Windsor is a cultural industry executive with over twenty years experience in all facets of Not For Profit Management.  Deborah is a seasoned CEO with proven ability to identify opportunities, deliver on strategic objectives, energize teams, and improve financial performance. Deborah was educated at Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie University in Halifax and has held senior management positions with The Writers’ Union of Canada, The Canadian Television Fund, CAW Community Development Group and Université Sainte-Anne Société de Logement. Deborah, a skilled communicator experienced in marketing, stake holder engagement and media and government relations, has utilized her skills to create festivals in Canada and India. She is a team builder driven by her commitment to community involvement. Deborah lives in Kingston, Ontario with her partner author Ray Argyle.