Our Team

Sage Paul is an urban Denesuliné woman based in Toronto and a member of English River First Nation. Her ethos centres family, sovereignty and resistance for balance. Sage is the Executive & Artistic Director of Indigenous Fashion Arts, which she also co-founded. She has been instrumental in establishing and leading projects for Indigenous artists working in fashion, craft and textiles through several projects with Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto, Inland, Ikea Canada, the International Fashion Showcase during London Fashion Week, Setsuné…

Amye Annett-Werner is a member of the Cayuga Nation, Wolf Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Ontario. Amye is a graduate of Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology’s Film and Television Production Program. She has worked in production for the Indspire Awards / Red Cloud Studios and Big Soul Productions. Amye worked as the Guest Services + Programming Coordinator for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Secretariat for the Indspire Awards. Over the last…

Kristy Inglese is Moose Cree from Moose Factory First Nation. She has worked with Indigenous Fashion Arts (IFWTO at the time) since 2020 as the Festival Assistant and then as Industry Coordinator. She is now the Industry Manager for Indigenous Fashion Arts. Kristy enjoys working in events and festival settings and hopes to one day start her own event planning company. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book (or five) and has been told to slow down…

Daniel is a communications professional with more than 12 years’ experience in public relations management. A trained actor and a long-time lover of culture, Daniel brings an appreciation for the arts, a diverse range of experience, and a love of the original to all his work in public relations. Daniel has a wealth of diverse experience that he brings to all his public relations work. He has a keen sense for what makes a good story and brings an energetic,…

Ryan MacKenzie is a brand & corporate partnerships professional based in Toronto, Ontario. From his sports background, Ryan continues to bring all the aspects of athletics to his partnership’s role, stickhandling and managing a wide portfolio of partnerships day to day, ensuring defined success for each and every one. As a part of the A&C team, Ryan has been developing, managing and executing on the Indigenous Fashion Arts sponsorship strategy since early 2022, and continues to ensure that all components…

Savanna Chiblow is a 2Spirit Anishinaabe from Mississaugi First Nation with settler roots on her father’s side. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Journalism degree from Humber College and has close to ten years of experience working as a digital communications storyteller and community builder. Savanna is currently the Social Media and Digital Communications Manager at the Indigenous Screen Office and casually works on digital and web contracts. She currently sits on the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto board of…

Robin is thrilled to return as Marketing Coordinator for Indigenous Fashion Arts after fulfilling the role for the 2022 Festival. She was also the Runway Set Designer for the 2020 Festival. Robin’s extensive award-winning career as a set and costume designer for theatre, dance, and film has fostered her enthusiasm for creative collaboration and storytelling. She looks forward to this opportunity to be part of the IFA team once again.

Nicole is an experienced administrator, focused on operational efficiencies, strategy & project management fused with change management techniques to ensure a people-centric approach towards organizational effectiveness. She also loves giving back to her community and has volunteered extensively in understanding social issues and hopefully making an impact.

Candace Scott-Moore (Wilde) [Anishinaabe – Ojibwe Potawatomi] is a graduate from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and The Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity. Her Festival Producer and Project Manager roles have contributed to many successful events. With over 20 years of industry experience, selected career highlights include: Producer of Tkaronto Music Festival, imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival Awards, Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards; Associate Producer & Head Talent Coordinator of the Indspire Awards, Artistic Associate at Planet IndigenUs,…

Christina is of European and Mi’kmaq ancestry and currently lives in Kettle & Stony Point First Nation. For the past decade she has helped a range of businesses, from small start-ups to mid-sized corporations, achieve growth through financing and advisory services in her roles at BDC and RBC. She is passionate about offering her time to various non-profits that service the entrepreneurship and arts community. Since leaving the commercial finance sector, she has enjoyed serving as a Pow Wow Pitch…

Jason Ryle is a producer, curator, story editor, and independent arts consultant based in Toronto. He is Anishinaabe from Lake St. Martin, Manitoba. From July 2010 to June 2020, Jason was the Executive Director of imagineNATIVE, an Indigenous-run organization mandated to support Indigenous filmmakers and media artists. In this capacity, Jason oversaw all operational and artistic activities of the annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the world’s largest showcase of Indigenous screen content. He also oversaw the organization’s year-round…

Jean Marshall is of Anishinaabe/English descent, based in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a band member of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. An award-winning artist, Jean’s art practice is using Anishnaabeg traditional art forms and is inspired by the land and water. Marshall works with beads, fabric, porcupine quills and leather. She is also the founder of the Anemki Art Collective (2015-2020). Jean has curated several exhibitions including Their Breath in Beads at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2019), the Northwestern Ontario…

Riley Kucheran is an Indigenous fashion researcher who supports a global community of Indigenous makers who are leading design resurgence. His experience in fashion retail, entrepreneurship, and Indigenous theory means he sees fashion as a powerful tool for decolonization: Land-based Indigenous design relies on community relations to collectively make clothing in respectful and reciprocal ways. He is a member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Pic River First Nation) and an Assistant Professor of Design Leadership in Fashion at The Creative School.

Ken Montour (Bear Clan) is a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and is currently the Director of Sponsorship & Corporate Partnerships for Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) & previously led the CCAB Membership Department for 5 years starting in 2016. Ken completed an e-Business Diploma from Mohawk College and then went on to receive his BA in Communication Studies from Brock University. Previously Ken worked at the Chiefs of Ontario for 4 years while…

An award-winning social entrepreneur, Jenn Harper is the founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC. Cheekbone Beauty is a digitally native direct to consumer brand that is helping Indigenous youth see themselves in a beauty brand while using the concept of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) in the brands ethos and in developing products. Creating a new segment in the beauty industry – Sustainable Socially Conscious Beauty. Jennifer Harper has been making a name for herself in the beauty industry…

Mandee McDonald (Maskîkow) is a hide tanner, workshop facilitator, and a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, where her work focuses on Indigenous governance and land-based learning. She is a co-founder and the Hide Camp Director for Dene Nahjo, an Indigenous arts and innovation collective that fosters Indigenous leadership skills and values through community-based programming. She is also one of the founding Steering Committee members and a Facilitator for Supporting Well-Being, a training…