Soni Dasmohapatra
Consultant, Educator & Arts Practitioner

Soni Dasmohapatra is a devoted consultant collaborating with individuals, groups, institutions, and agencies to shape tools that pave the way for inclusive platforms. Soni is currently a doctoral candidate at Royal Roads University in Victoria. Soni holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, a master’s in public administration from the University of Victoria, and a certificate in gender studies and human rights from Oxford University.  Being born and raised in Edmonton, Soni’s childhood was filled with exploring dance, music, and cultural connections to her ancestral roots in India. Soni spent a substantial amount of her adulthood In Toronto, leading grassroots social innovation and philanthropy efforts.  Her career journey of thirty years spans roles as a senior project manager in the Government of Ontario and a consultant for the United Nations. Soni has worked in Kenya and India. She has worked nationally, provincially, and municipally for the public service, voluntary sector, philanthropy, and higher learning. Now living in Edmonton, Soni is a cultural entrepreneur driven to craft holistic ecosystems that ignite social innovation. Her passion lies in mapping arts, culture, and heritage ecosystems to drive social innovation. She is committed to fostering positive change and progress in all the projects she undertakes.

Dr. Kamala Parel-Nuttall (Board Member 2021 – 2024)
Writer, Director & Producer

Kamala is an emerging Canadian filmmaker of South Indian and Eastern European descent, born in Calgary, Alberta. Kamala started her career in film and television in London, UK. More recently she has written, directed, and produced short documentary films for broadcast, commercial, and nonprofit companies. Kamala has a professional background in university teaching and research. Her academic areas of expertise are Religious Studies, History, and Philosophy. She is based in Calgary, Canada.

Michelle Wong (Board Member 2021 – 2024)
Writer, Director, Producer, Executive Producer & Business Affairs Consultant at Beans and Rice Inc.

With more than 25 years in the film and television industry, Michelle brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of production experience to Creatives Empowered. She is a writer, director, producer and executive producer, and the current Head of Business Affairs at Seven24 Films and Beans and Rice Inc. Michelle’s production credits cross all formats, from television movies to feature length documentaries, performing arts specials and features, including but not limited to Heartland and Wynona Earp. Michelle began her formal film training at the National Film Board (NFB) working with the Oscar award-winning Studio D, where she directed and produced her first documentary Return Home, following up with the emotionally powerful Pieces of a Dream: A Story of Gambling.  Michelle is also a Board Member of the CMPA and Women in View.

Lady Vanessa Cardona
Award-Winning National Poet, Writer & Founder of Remix the Ritual

My name is Lady Vanessa and prefer to do my bio in first person as it feels unnatural for me to write about myself in third person. I am a Caleña, Colombian and visitor here on Treaty 6 Territory. I am committed to honouring the treaty by learning to understand it, observing the ways in which we are not honouring it at the moment, and listening to the original people of this land on how to protect and take care of this home. I am a multi-disciplinary artist choosing to learn from as many mediums as possible to get my message across. I offer tools for self-healing and community engagement, building and accountability. I am the 2018 ‘Canadian’ Individual Poetry Slam Champion. I am a former youth mentor of Newcomers are Lit. I am playwright, author and performer of the play Three Ladies and co-creator of Whiteface. I am Founder of Sinergia, Fiesta y Resistencia and “Remix the Ritual” – A Hip Hop theatre collective. I am a crew member of “Los FreeRoosters” in Cali, Colombia. I am a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a lover, a niece, an auntie, a woman, a human, a future birth worker, a healer, a mentor, a student, an artist, a poet and a prophet always aiming to channel the message of loVe.

Christine Sokaymoh Frederick
Award-Winning Arts Leader & Executive Director of Dreamspeakers Festival Society

Christine is an urban Aboriginal Cree-Métis residing in Edmonton, Alberta. She is co-founder and the artistic director of Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts and produces the annual Rubaboo Festival and the Executive Director of the Dreamspeakers Film Festival. She is the first Indigenous Associate Artist of the Citadel Theatre, and the first Indigenous board member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. She is former chair of the Edmonton Arts Council and former Vice Chair of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Christine served on the steering, working and selection committee for the ÎNÎW River Lot 11 one of the first Indigenous Public Art Parks in the world. She is the recipient of the 2007 Esquao Award in Arts, and the 2016 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Artistic Leadership. She also sits on the Advisory Committees for the City of Edmonton Indigenous Artist in Residence, and the Creation Fund of the National Arts Centre.

Georgina Lightning
Award-Winning Actress, Director, Producer & Co-Founder of Tribal Alliance Productions

Georgina is a 2021 CSA Best Supporting Actress nominee for her role as Sophia on CBC’s Trickster. A member of the Samson Cree Nation, Georgina is a film director, screenwriter, and actress. She co-founded Tribal Alliance Productions, partnering with executive producer Audrey Martinez, as a means to create opportunities for Native American, First Nations, and other Indigenous filmmakers. In 2008 Lightning directed, wrote, and starred in the award-winning supernatural thriller Older Than America, becoming the first North American Indigenous Woman to direct a major feature film. She based the film on her father’s experience with the Canadian Indian Residential school system and other personal family stories. In 2007 she was featured in Filmmaker Magazine as one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film. In 2010 she was the recipient of the “White House Project- Epic-Award for Emerging Artist”.

Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse
Indigenous Innovator, Storyteller, Wave Maker & Producer

Jodi is Cree and Mohawk from Michel First Nation and the current Executive Director of the Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation. She holds a BA from the Faculty of Native Studies and is completing an MSc with the Faculty of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology at the U of A. She also works with the Edmonton Shift Lab, a social innovation lab on anti-racism which has drawn positive attention from across the country, is the founder of Miyo-Pimatisiwin Productions and also the producer and broadcaster of an award-winning Indigenous radio program called Acimowin. She was instrumental in building strong community engagement as the consultation lead to erect the Wahkotowin Lodge, an Indigenous Legal Lodge at the University of Alberta and the first of its kind for any post-secondary institution in Canada. She is co-producing a series called Love Medicine: interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous wisdom keepers, elders and inspired individuals whose stories remind us that love is indeed the most powerful of all medicines.

Roseanne Supernault
Award-Winning Actress & Advocate

Roseanne is an award-winning actress from East Prairie Metis Settlement in northern Alberta. She was discovered by a Los Angeles casting director at age 13, and has gone on to have a prolific career as a performer. Select screen credits include the Netflix hit series Blackstone, in which her haunting performance garnered several accolades; the lead character in the historical pre-contact epic Maina, for which she received the Best Actress Award at the American Indian Film Festival, and the groundbreaking feature, Rhymes For Young Ghouls by Jeff Barnaby, that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was named TIFF Top 10.