Board of Governors
To join open Board meetings as a guest, please use the registration link included in the agenda. For general inquiries about the Board of Governors, please contact the University Secretary.
Accounting for student success.
Emily Carr University of Art + Design is a public institution governed in accordance with the University Act of British Columbia.
It operates with a bicameral governance system with a duly constituted Board of Governors and Senate both of which include representation from faculty, staff, administration and students.
Board of Governors
The Board of Governors is the senior governing body at Emily Carr and has responsibility for the management, administration and control of property, revenue, business and affairs of the University.
The Board has 15 members including the Chancellor, President + Vice-Chancellor, 2 elected faculty members, 2 elected students, 1 elected employee member, and 8 members appointed by the Government of British Columbia. The Board meets five times a year and further information on the Board, its committees, meeting dates and copies of previous minutes can be found on this page.
Emily Carr University, with its Board of Governors, submits an annual Institutional Accountability Plan + Report and signs a Government Letter of Expectations with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training on an annual basis.
By Virtue of Office
(Appointed August 1, 2021 / Re-Appointed August 1, 2024)
Carleen Thomas is an educator and former council member for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She was appointed Chancellor of Emily Carr University in August, 2021 and re-appointed for a second three year term effective August, 2024. Find out more.
Dr. Kelly holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She earned an MA from Tufts University after beginning her graduate work at Harvard University. She obtained a PhD in art history from the University of British Columbia.
In 2004, she joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at DePaul University in Chicago. She worked in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and in the Honours program until joining Emily Carr as an associate professor in the Faculty of Culture + Community. Dr. Kelly served as assistant dean of the faculty from 2012 to 2015. Find out more.
Appointed Members
(Appointed February 17, 2023)
D.J. Avison, KC is the CEO and Executive Director of the Law Society of British Columbia. He has served in many different roles over the course of his career. This includes 13 years with the Attorney General of Canada, an appointment as Deputy Minister of Justice for the Northwest Territories, a return to British Columbia where he served as Deputy Minister of Education/Advanced Education, Crown Corporations and Health. He was the President of the University Presidents’ Council of BC and its successor organization, The Research Universities Council of BC during a period of extraordinary growth.
Avison was Chief Negotiator for British Columbia with the First Nations Education Jurisdiction Agreements and for the Social Union Framework Agreement.
Avison was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019 (now King’s Counsel), was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of Thompson Rivers University in 2006, received the BC Net Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, the 2010 Leadership Award from Life Sciences in British Columbia and, in 2012 was recognized by the First Nations Education Steering Committee for his contributions to First Nations education.
He has extensive board experience on more than 30 boards including Chair of the Foundation for the Centre of Disease Control, Vice-Chair of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Chair of the Centre for Drug Research and Development, and the BC Oil and Gas Commission.
(Appointed July 31, 2021 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)
Lorcan O’Melinn is the former Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT). Previously, he held executive financial and administrative positions at the Coquitlam School District and Riverview Hospital. In these roles, Lorcan participated in strategic planning and governance initiatives and developed long term budget and financial systems.
Lorcan served on the Board of the Great Northern Way Campus Trust. The Trust was established by the academic shareholders (Emily Carr University, BCIT, UBC, SFU) to manage the lands, assets and income as well as support the academic programs on behalf of the four institutions. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Pacific Community Resources Society. The Society provides quality, accredited social services across British Columbia, including education, employment, housing, substance use, mental health, and youth and family support services.
In addition to his CPA accounting designation, he is a graduate of UBC with a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and a Diploma of Technology (Administrative Management) from BCIT. He took the Executive Leadership Course (Transformational Leadership) from Queen’s University.
(Appointed July 31, 2021 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)
Mary Macaulay is a lawyer and a partner at Mandell Pinder LLP in Vancouver. For more than 20 years she has acted as counsel for Indigenous peoples in Aboriginal and treaty rights related litigation. Throughout her career, Ms. Macaulay has taken part in the practical and academic development of the law on Aboriginal litigation issues, and is the author of the litigation handbook Aboriginal & Treaty Rights Practice (Thomson Reuters, published 2000) and co-author of "Snow Houses Leave No Ruins": Unique Evidence Issues in Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Cases, The Saskatchewan Law Review, 1996. She has acted as both chair and presenter at numerous legal conferences on Aboriginal law issues. Ms. Macaulay is also active in her community, serving as a director of the Western Front (an artist - run centre for contemporary art and new music) and of the Contemporary Art Gallery, and as an honorary council member of the Canadian Society for the Decorative Arts. She holds a Master of Laws focusing on alternative dispute resolution and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.
(Appointed July 17, 2018)
Esther Rausenberg is a photo-based artist who has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, and Croatia and is a recipient of Canada Council and BC Arts Council grants. Esther is Co-artistic Director of Creative Cultural Collaborations Society and Founding Member and Executive Director of the Eastside Culture Crawl Society. Esther has volunteered on many boards and committees including: the CULTCH Capital Campaign; and, Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grants. Esther has twice been appointed to the City of Vancouvers' Arts and Culture Policy Council and was the Co-vice Chair. She currently is a Trustee on the Vancouver Art Gallery Board. She holds a MA from University of British Columbia and a BA (Communications) from Simon Fraser University.
(Appointed July 17, 2018)
Keith Reynolds is a semi-retired policy analyst and researcher working as a private consultant primarily in the area of privatization, governance and access to information. He has previously worked for all three levels of government, two public sector unions (the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Federation of Post Secondary Educators) and as a full-time consultant. He is on the Board of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association and was the first Freedom of Information and Privacy coordinator for an Ontario Board of Education. He has previously served on the executive of the national Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and as Treasurer/Vice Chair of the BC Office of the CCPA. He is a research associate and has published with the Columbia Institute and the BC CCPA. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from Queens University and a Bachelors in Political Science from the University of Regina.
(Appointed July 31, 2023 / Re-Appointed July 31, 2024)
Sung Van is the Principal of Latitude Agency, a Vancouver boutique branding, communications and design firm serving public and private sector clients in British Columbia and South Korea for over 25 years. Latitude's clients include local companies and organizations such as BC Hydro and BC Children's Hospital, and international corporations such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Hyundai Group and Lotte Hotels.
Sung also actively gives back to the community through Latitude's "Latitude Gives" program, offering pro bono branding and communications services to charities such as the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation, Coast Mental Health Foundation, and BC Women's Hospital. He further contributes to his community by serving in volunteer and governance roles, including as President of the Canada Korea Business Association, and as a member of the Pacific Advisory Council for Rogers Television OMNI Channel. He is also a past member of the Board of Governors at Vancouver Community College. Sung graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and from BCIT in Marketing Management.
(Appointed December 1, 2023)
Natasha Tony, CEO of Vancouver-based Elevate Inclusion Strategies, is a sought-after labour relations specialist, consultant, leadership coach, trainer, and speaker. In 2022, Natasha was recognized as a Black leader in Vancouver by the Vancouver Economic Commission.
Natasha is committed to applying an intersectional, human rights, and reconciliation lens to all that she does. Her deep experience in mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution supports leaders in helping them navigate the stages toward sustainable inclusion.
Natasha works with corporations, businesses, crown corporations, all levels of government, labour unions, and social justice organizations. Her work requires a deep understanding of organizational structure, strategic initiatives, inclusive leadership, and human resources.
Prior to establishing Elevate Inclusion Strategies, Natasha worked for 15 years as an Extras Casting Director in the British Columbia film industry. Following that, she worked as a Labour Relations Specialist, also in the film industry. During this time, Natasha gained a reputation for working collaboratively with unions and Hollywood studios on complex workplace issues.
Natasha also championed and developed the renowned Inclusive Leadership and Inclusive Workplace Training Program for the film industry delivered across Canada and the US. She was recognized for her training by Women in Film + TV Vancouver with a Spotlight Award.
In collaboration with Creative Pathways (Creative BC), Natasha was honoured to contribute to the Creative Equity Roadmap for the recruitment-focused Creative Pathways website. Creative Pathways aims to increase equity and improve diversity in the British Columbia motion picture workforce.
One of Natasha’s priorities has always been to give back to the community she lives and works in. She is currently a board member of Black Women Film! Canada and an Appointed Bencher with the Law Society of British Columbia.
Faculty Members
(Elected November 26, 2020 / Re-Elected November 26, 2023)
Lindsay McIntyre is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist of Inuit and settler descent. She has an MFA in Film Production from Concordia University and a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Alberta. Her multiple award-wining short documentaries, experimental films and expanded cinema performances are often process-based and for some she also makes her own 16mm film with handmade silver gelatin emulsion. Working in 16mm film using experimental and handmade techniques, her short films circle themes of portraiture, place, form and personal histories. She was named the 2021 Women in the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award winner, the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton recipient for Excellence in Media Arts by the Canada Council (2013), was honoured with the REVEAL Indigenous Art Award (Hnatyshyn Foundation, 2017) and her personal documentary Her Silent Life won Best Experimental Film at imagineNATIVE (2012). She has been a member of the Double Negative Collective, EMO Collective, artist-run film labs, and an international consortium of emulsioneers. Recent projects include an animated documentary for INUA at Qaumajuq, Ajjigiingiluktaaqtugut: We Are All Different (2021) which earned a special mention as one of 2021 VIFF’s Best Shorts and was nominated for Best Animation at the American Indian Film Festival, a Telus Optik Local documentary Final Roll-Out: The Story of Film (2018) and a monumental projection-mapping installation on the Vancouver Art Gallery, If These Walls (2019).
She is an Associate Professor of Film + Screen Arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design on unceded Coast Salish territories and she teaches film anywhere else that people will listen.