Board, Staff, Advisors

Amy Stewart is a professional artist who has studied, practiced, taught, and run a creative business in New Brunswick, Canada for 20 years. She started her career as a professional photographer and pianist and performed with and captured many musicians, artists, and bands in her career. Through her experience of performance and visual art, she gained a love for producing and directing film.

Amy worked her way through different roles on film sets and became a member of the senior leadership team at Hemmings House Pictures. She was responsible for corporate and commercial film productions as an Executive Producer.

Amy currently collaborates with and leads amazing crews and creatives as a film Producer and Director and has a passion for supporting women in the film and music industry. Most recently, she has directed, produced and written 2 music videos with an all female identifying crew.

Ife Alaba, a dynamic professional in the entertainment and film industry, currently resides in St. Johns. With a multicultural background being born in Nigeria and growing up in South Africa, Ife has made significant contributions to productions, specializing in background casting for both local and network shows. Her discerning eye for talent, evident both on and off-camera, has crafted authentic and inclusive portrayals in storytelling.

In addition to her independent film work, Ife serves as a journalist for CBC NL, hosting and producing shows such as “Being Black in NL” and “Stuffed.” Her role involves not only providing insightful coverage but also contributing to the rich narrative of CBC NL.  As the Director and Founder of the Occupy All Spaces, Ife passionately advocates for equal opportunities for black creatives in Film in Newfoundland & Labrador.

In the future, Ife Alaba wants to tell stories about marginalized experiences through animations and produce family game shows.  Ultimately, Ife Alaba wants to make sure that Newfoundland and Labrador is a great place for Black storytellers to thrive and survive.

Jan Miller is an international consultant and trainer specializing in film and television coproduction and co-venturing. She continues to present one of the world’s top Pitching and Content Development workshops globally, which has also crossed sectors into the music and animation industries, working with Women in Animation’s Animation Career EXCELerator program and the East Coast Music Association.

Jan introduced the first Strategic Partners (aka AIFF Partners) and headed it up for 12 years. She also co-designed and presented the successful Trans Atlantic Partners and CMPA’s International Co-production Accelerator Program. Jan was co-founder of Canada’s first film school, the National Screen Institute, and continues to work with the NSI offering her expertise and workshops.

Most recently she was co -creator of Women in View’s Disabled Producer Lab which is presented by the NSI. Committed to supporting women working in the industry, Jan was the first Chair of Women in Film and Television-Atlantic introducing its annual Making Waves Conference and the WAVE Awards.

Jan also co-designed and presented four iterations of the Women in View’s Five in Focus training opportunities. Jan sits on the Board Executive of Women in View, WIFT-Atlantic and also is on the Board of the Canadian Artists’ Network.

Kimberlee McTaggart has been working in the Canadian film industry for over 30 years. She has produced and directed, but editing is her first love. She began her career editing documentaries, but is now mainly in the world of drama. Her most recent work includes Call Me Fitz, Studio Black, Seed, Pure, Diggstown and Moonshine. Kim won a Gemini for the Call Me Fitz pilot and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for her work on Call Me Fitz, Seed and Moonshine, as well as the feature film Blackbird.

Kim is currently the Editors’ Caucus rep for DGC-Maritimes, the Vice-president of the Canadian Cinema Editors, and former Chair/current treasurer of WIFT-AT.

Martina Kelades is a multi-talented artist based in Halifax, NS. She is recognized as a professional storyteller and works as a screen actor and mental health and wellness speaker. She is also the host of the Life Out Loud Podcast, as part of the creative branch of her business, Life Out Loud Mental Health Consulting & Creatives.

Martina’s business venture in mental health was the avenue that unexpectedly led her back into the film industry in 2020. Since then, she has worked on several commercials and productions in TV and film. Martina was nominated for a 2024 Screen Nova Scotia Award for Outstanding Performance for her role in the Bell Fibe series Trapped. Among a group of talented actors and industry friends, she feels deeply honored to receive this recognition and to be a part of the thriving local film community in Nova Scotia.

As an active member of WIFT-AT, ACTRA Maritimes and Screen Nova Scotia, Martina’s mission is to inspire diverse voices and opportunities within the industry spaces and encourage visibility for underrepresented creatives and their stories. By involving herself in conversations and consultations for BIPOC performers, she actively works to increase fair and equitable representation of Black artists in the industry, fostering a more inclusive and diverse creative space.

Martina’s involvement with WIFT-AT is a testament to her intentional commitment to elevating the voices of underrepresented artists and achieving greater representation within the local film community. Her vision is to engage and incorporate more diverse stories into scripts, casting choices, and overall production and distribution systems. Additionally, Martina is passionate about integrating her expertise in mental health and wellness to develop distinctive and impactful forms of storytelling.

Morgan Salter is the manager of Screen Nova Scotia’s Content Creator funding programs which support Nova Scotian creators by providing funding to eligible productions. In this role Morgan enjoys managing relationships with producers, as well as the development, evaluation, and delivery of the Content Creator Fund and the Amplified Voices Development Program.

Prior to joining Screen Nova Scotia, from 2018 – 2022 Morgan helmed FIN Partners, the globally recognized co-production market at the Atlantic International Film Festival. With a background in production, Morgan has produced two short films including Keeper, which was awarded Best Short Film at the Screen Nova Scotia Awards in 2023.  

Whether she is teaching, writing, delivering workshops or working in community, Nikki brings her creative voice, enthusiasm for collaboration, and unwavering passion to everything she does. Since 2018 she has released her first two fictional novels, premiered her first short film at AIFF, and her feature script The Space Between won the RBC Script Development prize, and later was selected for Screen NS’s The Last Draft. In 2020 she co-founded the Black Wellness Co-op, a not-for-profit tasked with bringing wellness, fitness and yoga resources to Black and underserved communities in Nova Scotia and remains actively engaged in their mission. In her ongoing work as DE&I Educator and Keynote Speaker she continues to teach and inspire people to actively make change for the better within their organizations, communities, and most
importantly themselves and is excited to support WIFT-AT in its continued mission to bring more underrepresented voices and talent to the forefront.

Nikki brings a deep sense of responsibility, vision and unwavering determination to the WIFT Board, alongside an ability to see what’s possible in unlikely places and along new paths. As a long-time Teacher, Teacher Trainer and Facilitator, she loves uplifting the voices of others and supporting people and organizations in their evolution and through change. Serving on the Board is a chance to give back alongside being in community with those working to make the industry in Nova Scotia more equitable, inclusive and diverse; which means more authentic and powerful stories, and more voices being seen, heard and celebrated.

Sharlene Kelly is a PEI-based filmmaker with a significant presence in the local PEI film industry since 2016. She produced the comedy short “GUSTAV THE SNOW CHEF,” featured on CBC’s Short Film Face-Off XIII, and the comedy series “AWW, SHUCKS” for Bell Fibe TV1. An alumna of the Whistler Film Festival, Sharlene completed the WFF/PEI Accelerator Program in 2024 and participated in the JETS co-production pitch competition at Berlinale.

Sharlene is also recognized for her commitment to mentorship and community building within the industry. Her team is piloting a Mental Wellbeing Initiative for crew members on her first feature, THE SNAKE, funded by Telefilm’s Talent to Watch Program. As the operations manager of the 10th annual Charlottetown Film Festival, she oversees monthly mixers to address isolation among local filmmakers and maintains strong ties with organizations like FilmPEI, CreativePEI, and Art in the Open.

Stacy Gardner is a published poet, produced playwright, creative writing facilitator, and emerging filmmaker. Stacy’s non-fiction for magazine, Into the Abyss, was awarded the Gold Circle Award from NYC’s Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Stacy’s directorial debut, The Gaze, can be seen on CBC Gem’s Reel East Coast, which premiered at the Atlantic International Film Festival (2023), followed by the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (2023. Stacy’s second film, 73 Seconds both written and directed by her, will premiere at two festivals Fall of 2024. Stacy is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the Writers Guild of Canada, and WIFT-AT, and lives in St. John’s with her son.

One of the first female independent producers in Atlantic Canada, Terry has been a partner in Nova Scotia based production company Picture Plant since 1988.

Notable producer credits include the 13-episode drama series GULLAGE’S (CBC); multi-Gemini nominated movie of the week ONE HEART BROKEN INTO SONG (CBC); feature documentary THE MAN OF A THOUSAND SONGS (Super Channel/CBC) which premiered to standing ovations at TIFF in 2010, received awards for Audience Choice, Outstanding Direction and Best Documentary at the Atlantic Intn’l Film Festival and went on to enjoy a successful theatrical release; 2014 indie feature film HARD DRIVE (Super Channel/Netflix USA); two seasons of STUDIO BLACK! (CBC), nominated for the Canadian Screen Award – Best Limited Series and won the NS Screen Award for Best TV Series; DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR (CRAVE/Incendo), winner of the 2022 NS Masterworks Arts Award; BYSTANDERS (Super Channel/Vortex Media), winner of the Atlantic Intn’l Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay; CHRISTMAS ISLAND (co-pro with Vortex Media), scored top 2023 ratings on the Hallmark Channel.

Terry is developing several film and television projects through Picture Plant, including feature film co-productions with partners in the UK and Munich, along with a slate of debut features by Atlantic women filmmakers. Her current film MONICA’S NEWS is in post-production.

Terry is the recipient of a WIFT Atlantic Wave Award, was nominated for the CMPA Experienced Producer Award in 2021 and 2022 and presented with the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022, in recognition of her cultural contribution to Nova Scotia.

Terry is a member of the Canadian Media Producers Association and Screen Nova Scotia.

Tracey Lavigne (she/they) is a queer writer/director/producer from rural New Brunswick. She is an alumnus of the Reykjavik International Film Festival Talent Lab, the FIN Atlantic Film Festival Script Development Program, and a past winner of the CBC WIFT-Atlantic Pitch Competition. Tracey is the producer of the fantasy drama feature film Further Than The Eye Can See. Tracey’s short films exploring themes of identity, isolation, and connection have screened at festivals across Canada and beyond.