Board of Directors
Amanda Strong
Amanda Strong is a Canadian Screen Award and Emmy nominated director, artist, stop motion storyteller and has served as a media-based artist for nearly 20 years. She is Michif/Red River Métis and is a member of the MMF (Manitoba Métis Federation) . Strong is the owner, producer and director of the Vancouver based animation studio Spotted Fawn Productions Inc where they create stop motion animations, books, installations and explore digital technologies that compliment the handmade art of stop motion. She was also a director at Atomic Cartoons, director of the recent Emmy award winning 2D animated TV series, Molly of Denali on PBS.
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Strong started Spotted Fawn Productions as a space to merge her artistic interests and training with the dream to make stories move – in informative, educational, entertaining and visually exciting ways. SFP utilizes a multi-layered approach and unconventional methods that are centered in collaboration and community on all aspects of their work. Strong’s studio successes have screened and exhibited across the globe, most notably at Sundance, Cannes, TIFF, TIFF Top 10, VIFF, OIAF, Museum of Anthropology, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the National Museum of American History.
Emma Gignac
Emma Gignac serves as the Supervising Director and head of the
Animation Department at Mercury Filmworks, bringing 25 years of
industry experience. Throughout her career, she has gained
comprehensive expertise across various animation disciplines,
including posing, layouts, storyboarding, and digital animation. For the
majority of her career, Emma has held the role of Animation Director,
with the past decade dedicated to directing and enhancing team skills
at Mercury Filmworks.
During her tenure at Mercury Filmworks, Emma has contributed to a
wide array of series, including "Centaurworld," "Wander Over Yonder,"
"Star vs. The Forces of Evil," "Interrupted Chicken," "Hilda," "The Proud
Family," "Tangled: The Series," and several short projects.
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Heather Puttock
Producer, Collaborator, Entrepreneur
Heather has been working in the kids and family content creation space for 20+ years. She has produced hundreds of episodes for clients such as Netflix, Mattel, Amazon, Spinmaster, PBS, Hasbro, and more; and worked with many brands including Barbie, Angry Birds, Transformers, Hot Wheels, Hatchimals, Wolverine & The X-Men, and others. She is a co-founder and partner at Kickstart Entertainment and currently serves as President from Vancouver, B.C.
Heather is responsible for overseeing the many projects that have been created within and serviced by the studio. She also takes great pride in nurturing Kickstart’s international partnerships and productions to produce world-class content for global audiences. Most recently she founded 708 Sound Studio, a new voice recording and audio post facility located in the Strathcona and specializing in the animation industry’s voiceover and sound design needs. She has a passion for sharing and supporting career advancement in content creation and wholeheartedly believes that storytelling is what connects us as humans.
Heather Renney
Heather Renney has 25+ years of experience in animation production and currently is a Supervising Producer at Atomic Cartoons.
She has worked on many award-winning productions, most notably the Peabody Award-winning (2019) and Emmy nominated Molly of Denali for PBS/GBH. Heather is passionate about advocating for the advancement of women and BIPOC people within the industry, and does this by creating internship opportunities for underrepresented groups at Atomic. In addition to her role at Atomic, Heather serves on the Board of Directors at VIVO Media Arts and volunteers for the Women in Animation Vancouver ACE Program as Associate Producer.
Janet Perlman
Janet Perlman is a Montreal-based animation director, writer, and illustrator known for her absurdist sense of humor and distinct animation style. Her short films have gained global recognition, including an Oscar nomination, an Emmy, and numerous international accolades. In addition to her films, she has written and illustrated four children's books, including Cinderella Penguin, and the graphic novel Penguins Behind Bars. She has worked extensively with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) where her films include “The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin”, “Bully Dance” and most recently, “The Girl with the Red Beret”. Her independent experimental films explore non-traditional storytelling, and include “My Favorite Things that I Love, “Sorry Film not Ready” and “Janet Perlman’s Pinocchio”.
Maisha Moore
Maisha Moore is an Annie Award winning Art Director and Production Designer from Vancouver Canada. Maisha has been in the animation industry for the last 18 years, working on globally recognized media such as Lego Star Wars Rebuild the Universe, The Addams Family, and Young Love. Maisha is also currently a mentor on the WIA ACE Career Accelerator.
Melissa Graham
An Award-winning Producer with superior knowledge of 2D and 3D Animation Production. A Sheridan Animation Alumni with over 25+ years of Creative Experience in the Animation Industry. A high-achieving and well-versed professional, with hands on experience in Animation as a top-notch communicator and skilled problem-solver. From artist to Nelvana’s Director of Production, she is skilled and experienced consulting with clients, building loyal lasting relationships. Passionate and driven about creating industry leading animation and mentoring talent globally, with an ability to adapt in an environment where change is constant.
Morgana Duque
Morgana Duque is an animation production executive with over fifteen years of experience in the film and television industry. With her background as an artist, Morgana fosters a work environment where crews can thrive while supporting the creative vision to deliver awesome 2D and CG animated content. Morgana is currently Senior Vice President of Production at WildBrain, one of the largest animation studios in Canada. She leads production teams responsible for creating series for Netflix, Apple TV+ and LEGO to name a few. Prior to her role as SVP, she was the producer on titles such as Go, Dog. Go! and Sonic Prime, both Top 10 series on Netflix in over 45 countries. Her projects have been recognized with multiple wins and nominations from the Children’s & Family Emmys, Annie Awards, and LEO Awards, among others. Morgana is deeply committed to creating a space where every person feels safe to be themselves. A member of the 2SLGBTQI+ community and a Brazilian immigrant to Canada, she has been a leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at WildBrain since 2020, spearheading internal efforts to grow and foster an inclusive culture.
Nadine Westerbarkey
Nadine Westerbarkey has close to 30 years' experience in TV and film animation across different countries starting from Germany to Australia and Canada. Nadine has worked as animation director, animator, story artist, designer and other creative roles on projects with studios like Disney, Dreamworks, Universal and Netflix. Currently, she serves as Studio Creative Director at Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver, overseeing all productions and their set up creatively while supporting studio creative teams during development and production. In 2021, Nadine received the Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction Award for her focus on authentic storytelling, diversity and inclusion in her work in the animation community. Through Women in Animation and Atomic, she is also passionate about mentoring emerging artists and helping to guide their growth into leadership roles in the industry.
Rose-Ann Tisserand
​Rose-Ann Tisserand is co-founder of Flying Kraken Creative Studios, a boutique, Canadian-based studio that creates original animation content and specializes in award-winning animation design services. She is also Founder and Co-Executive Producer of WIA Vancouver’s award-winning Animation CareerEXCELerator Program(ACE) which advances the careers of those who identify as women into key creative roles by providing mentorship, training, and hands-on experience as they make a short film.
Over 5 years, ACE has grown from 5 initial key creative roles in BC to 8 roles from across Canada. ACE is currently sponsored by Netflix Canada, Telefilm and Creative BC. She has worked as a production executive for 22 years over seeing 300+ hours of film and television production. She was supervising producer at Bardel Entertainment, Consulting Producer with the NFB, and is currently Executive Producer/Co-Creator of a series in development with Silvergate Media. She also sits on the Spark Animation Leadership Board and is Executive Advisor on the WIA Vancouver board.
Sarah Serata
Sarah Serata is an Emmy award-winning animation producer with over 20 years of experience in the animation industry. As the Director of Entertainment Operations at Spin Master Entertainment, she excels in supervising both feature film and series production while managing third-party vendor relationships. Sarah's strategic approach to cross-departmental collaboration has resulted in numerous successful projects, elevating both artistic and commercial standards.
Stephanie Morel
With more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Stephanie started out in the corporate world before venturing into the creative industry, where she found her true home. Having worked in the video game and animation industries for the past 15 years, she played a significant role in launching multiple game development and animation studios across Canada. With a strong emphasis on culture, work environment, and employee well-being, Stephanie is passionate about taking on new challenges and continues to be a motivating force in the industry.
