Board of Directors :: Folk Music Ontario

Folk Music Ontario’s Board of Directors is a dedicated and enthusiastic group of ten volunteers, elected democratically by the membership via advanced balloting during the fall and at the annual conference in October. Directors serve a three-year term. The Executive Committee is elected by the directors, and each position on the Executive Committee is held for one year.

2022/2023 Executive Committee

President

Cécile Doo-Kingué, term ends 2024

Award-winning artist Cécile Doo-Kingué is considered one of Canada’s finest guitarists and singer-songwriters. First generation from Cameroon, the NYC-born Montrealer has released four albums to critical acclaim, received 8 Maple Blues Awards nominations and has extensively toured domestically and internationally, including most major folk, blues and jazz festivals in Canada, earning a reputation for blistering live sets, strong social commentary and guitar prowess. She has opened for, shared a stage and/or recorded with Montreal Jubilation Choir, Canned Heat, Angelique Kidjo, Ruthie Foster to name but a few.

In 2008, Cecile and Gern Vlchek co-created Chick Pickin’ Mondays, offering a safespace and equitable gig for women and genderqueer artists. Cécile has since expanded the concept to curate and present private showcases at music conferences including FMO and FAI.

Vice-President

Cassidy Houston, term ends 2023

Since her first FMO Conference with the Developing Artists Program in 2018, Cassidy has known that the FMO community was a place she could call home. An emerging singer-songwriter from Northern Ontario with a University background in Health Promotion, Cassidy is empowered to be a voice for youth and help shape the future for a thriving folk music community.

Secretary

James Keelaghan, term ends 2024

Current Artistic Director of the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival and the Stewart Park Festival as well as a touring and recording singer-songwriter. I have JUNO Awards and Nominations and ditto for the CFMA’s. I have made my living in the music industry as my sole source of support for 35 years regularly touring Canada, The United States, Australia, Nw Zealand and Europe. I served on the board of FMO for a number of years, but had to resign 3 years ago for personal reasons. I am more steady now in my personal life and would like to get get involved with FMO again, especially at this time. I believe my perspectives as a presenter, a performer, a fan and a journalist allow me to see the industry from a unique vantage point.

Treasurer

Umair Jaffar, term ends 2024

Umair Jaffar is the Executive Director of Small World Music, one of Toronto’s pioneering and most significant presenters of culturally-diverse music. Since arriving in Toronto in 2014, he has worked in curatorial and management roles at cultural institutions including the Aga Khan Museum and Harbourfront Centre. Prior to immigrating, he was the CEO & Artistic Director for IPAC (Institute for Preservation of Art and Culture), a Pakistan-based non-profit social enterprise that focused on developing sustainable solutions for preserving and promoting indigenous, folk and traditional performing arts. Umair also serves as a board member for several non-profit art organizations including CAPACOA, North York Arts and MusiConnect Asia. He has an MBA from University of Adelaide, Australia and a MSc Cultural Anthropology from University of Oxford, UK.

2022/23 Directors

Chris Greencorn, term ends 2024
Chris Greencorn is an arts administrator and academic based in Kingston, Ontario. He has been actively involved in the Canadian folk music industry practically all his life. Chris grew up at the centre of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, Nova Scotia, moving through the ranks from volunteer to staff to executive – most recently as Artistic Director (2019 and 2020 event years). In that capacity, he booked the festival’s first ever gender-balanced line-up. He was a board member for Home Routes/Chemins Chez Nous from 2018-21 and juries for industry organizations in several jurisdictions. Chris holds a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Toronto and is now a PhD student in history at Queen’s University, where he is studying the archival collections of Canadian women folklore collectors. He also runs a small artist & events services company called Seachange Music.

Jo Proulx, term ends 2024
Radio producer Jo Proulx (French/Abenaki) created the weekly French-speaking radio show ICI INDIE on 105.1 FM that exclusively plays music by Indigenous artists. The idea of this show came after realizing that Indigenous musicians are often automatically boxed into the traditional Indigenous flute-and-drum genre. Indigenous musicians have always been part of the mainstream music industry, including Folk music, but are often not acknowledged. ICI INDIE spins all genres (Folk, Americana, Country, Dance, Punk, Rock, Hip Hop) to break that stereotype. In April 2022, Jo has founded Aki Media, a radio promotion and tracking company that promotes Indigenous artists beyond genres. Current artist roaster includes several Folk artists: Digging Roots, Amanda Rheaume, Julian Taylor, and Morgan Toney.

Candace Shaw, term ends 2024

Candace Shaw is a Feminist, Cultural Producer, and Activist who has been a fixture on the Canadian music scene for almost thirty years. She was the long-time Artistic Director for the Peterborough Folk Festival, Chair of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival, and Booker for the Music City Summer Series in The Distillery District, Toronto, amongst other roles. She is a thoughtful, engaging, and provocative commentator and advocate for women, the arts, and arts workers’ rights, and in 2019 was a candidate in the Federal election. Candace is the founder of Secret Frequency.ca, a not-for-profit advocacy and education organization working with under-represented people in the Canadian music industry.

Sherry Sinclaire, term ends 2024

Sherry Sinclaire has been working in the Canadian music and entertainment industry for over 25 years, with more than a decade focusing on digital content. For the past five years she has been operating and running her own company, Sinclaire Creative Solutions, which offers business strategy, label management and marketing solutions, as well as, digital content delivery and rights management. Sherry manages award winning singer songwriter, Canadian folk music gem, Catherine MacLellan.Previously working at companies like Bell Media, TELUS, Virgin Records, MCA/Universal Concerts (now Live Nation) and TicketMaster has allowed her to develop relationships throughout the recording, concert, radio, press, television, film, and telecom industries. Sherry’s skills in partner management, marketing, promotions, event management, digital content and business strategy; gives her the rare advantage of understanding how the industry works with content partners, product development, legal, and government regulatory bodies. Sherry is passionate about helping independent and developing artists who often benefit from her previous work with global acts such as Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Janet Jackson and top television brands like HBO Canada, CTV, TSN, Space and Much.

Tara Williamson, term ends 2024

Tara Williamson is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and was raised in Gaabishkigamaag (Swan Lake, Manitoba). She is a singer/songwriter with 2 EPs and 1 full length album under her belt that have garnered acclaim across Turtle Island, including an Indigenous Music Award nomination for Best Pop Album in 2017. Her newest album, Enough, was released in June of 2021. Tara also holds degrees in social work, law, and Indigenous governance, is a Senior Researcher at the Indigenous Law Research Unit at the University of Victoria and a Research Fellow with the Yellowhead Institute.

FMO Committees

Folk Music Ontario’s Board members serve on a variety of committees, some of which also include FMO members, staff members and consultants. Click here to see a list of the various FMO committees and working groups, and the people who sit on them.

Supporting the growth and development of folk music in Ontario since 1986

Board of Directors