Ontario Creates IDM Fund Futures

Instructors:

Victoria Evans, Digital Vic

As an award winning IDM producer, who was a former entrepreneur and business partner to a successful and growing digital agency, Victoria has been a senior advisor to founders and executives of growing Ontario-based IDM companies for over 15 years. Some of her relevant experiences pertaining to Programming includes: someone who has benefited from accelerator programs designed for IDM business leaders, someone who has designed and led several learning labs for other industry level-up initiatives, and a former post-graduate instructor in the Digital Media Masters program at Centennial College working with industry professionals in a period of their career transition. She is an experienced strategic advisor who has built business cases that have won funding and grants for her clients. In the last 4 years, she has successfully led and secured 14 funding wins for Ontario-based companies.

Wojtek Kawczynski, Wark Studios

Wojtek has worked in the game industry for nearly 15 years. During this time he’s run three studios, founded a consulting company, participated in numerous juries for local funding programs, and has taught courses in college game design programs. Wojtek has experience accessing funding programs both from the studio side, as a successful applicant to many programs, and from the consulting side, where through his company, Wark Studios, he’s helped a number of Ontario-based companies prepare funding applications. He enjoys mentoring new companies and working with founders to help them find funding for their growing ventures.

Jennifer McIlroy, Professor of Professional Studies at Centennial College & President of McIlroy and Company

Jennifer is an award-winning professor of business strategy, entrepreneurship and business mentor, currently leading the Centre of Entrepreneurship at The School of Communication, Media, Arts, and Design at Centennial College. In the business world, she helmed global teams in complex branding and marketing campaigns and gained a reputation for optimizing marketing teams in alignment with overall business goals. An IDM Pitch Training coach since 2016, Jennifer focuses on excavating the individual style of each participant rather than imposing a formulaic, templated methodology. In this way, the participant develops a flexible and responsive acumen around engaging the audience in a shared vision about their product. This leads to more genuine advocacy and support on both sides of the pitching podium.

Danielle Hébert, Ontario Creates

Danielle Hébert has worked with the Industry Initiatives team at Ontario Creates since 2018, specifically delivering the Interactive Digital Media Fund. As a Program Consultant, her role is focussed on the Concept Definition, Production and Futures programs as well as the Industry Development Program. She is a graduate of Brock University (Dramatic Arts) and a public servant since 2008 which includes working on the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games. The cultural media industries are her passion and she is proud to combine that with her public servant experience to support Ontario companies and help them grow.

Mary Sorrenti, CPA, CA and Vice President of Game Pill

As Vice President of Game Pill, Mary oversees finance, business affairs and production, ensuring her teams stay motivated, and client care remains paramount. As a CPA, Mary spent the first half of her career providing business and tax advice to some of Canada’s most successful enterprises before finding her place in the interactive space in 2011. She has over 15 years of experience leading teams and managing projects from concept to final deliverables. Mary has a love for learning and is always looking to get involved. She has earned a producer certificate, sits on Interactive Ontario’s board of directors, and chairs its Advocacy Committee, helping ensure that the IDM industry has a strong voice.

Sasha Boersma, Co-Founder/Producer at Sticky Brain Studios Inc

Sasha Boersma not only manages projects and oversees business at Sticky Brain Studios, she champions the values that make it such a special feature in the Canadian gaming and media landscape. She is passionate about storytelling, equity, and whimsy and she has successfully carved space for a studio where she can combine all three.

Sasha is a participant of Fifth Wave Labs, Canada’s first feminist business accelerator, and has taught postgraduate courses in the business of media for over 10 years at Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre. She is a member of the Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce; Dames Making Games (DMG); and Interactive Ontario.

Jennifer McIlroy, Professor of Professional Studies at Centennial College & President of McIlroy and Company

Jennifer is an award-winning professor of business strategy, entrepreneurship and business mentor, currently leading the Centre of Entrepreneurship at The School of Communication, Media, Arts, and Design at Centennial College. In the business world, she helmed global teams in complex branding and marketing campaigns and gained a reputation for optimizing marketing teams in alignment with overall business goals. An IDM Pitch Training coach since 2016, Jennifer focuses on excavating the individual style of each participant rather than imposing a formulaic, templated methodology. In this way, the participant develops a flexible and responsive acumen around engaging the audience in a shared vision about their product. This leads to more genuine advocacy and support on both sides of the pitching podium.

Ericka Evans, Head of Production, Phantom Compass

Ericka Evans is a Gemini award-winning writer and producer with over 20 years of experience in the television, film and interactive digital media industries. She has been a partner at Phantom Compass Inc. since 2011 and has produced dozens of original games and interactive digital media projects for clients, publishers and other developers. She has launched games on most major PC and Console platforms and has experience self-publishing, as well as working with international publishing and distribution partners, including the award-winning “Rollers of the Realm” (PC, PS4, PSVita) and the anticipated sequel, “Rollers of the Realm: Reunion.”

Astrid Rosemarin, Communications Director, New World Interactive

Astrid is currently the Communications Director at New World Interactive, developers of Insurgency: Sandstorm and Day of Infamy. Before that she was heading up the community team at Evolve PR following a stint as a Senior PR Specialist at the same agency. Over the years she has worked on promoting a number of games, games-adjacent software, and games hardware to both media and consumer audiences of all shapes and sizes.

‍Previously, Astrid spent time at indie studio Hololabs, Execution Labs, an accelerator and investor in independent game studios, Interactive Ontario, and the Independent Production Fund (incl. the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund.)

Emmanuel Evdemon, Entertainment Lawyer, Entertainment Counsel

Emmanuel Evdemon B.A. LL.B. LL.L. is a videogame geek turned entertainment-lawyer-geek with a practice focusing in Video games and Interactive Digital Media. He provides business focused legal advice to individuals, organizations, and businesses in the IDM Sector. Emmanuel prides himself on having navigated the IDM Sector through many evolutions and continue to embrace the challenges technology, data, and digital bring every minute. He started video games with a TI 99/4A, then an NES, and is currently playing Clash Royale, They Bleed Pixels (Switch), and EAGERLY awaiting the next installment of BOTW with his 8yr old!

Victoria Evans, Digital Vic

As an award winning IDM producer, who was a former entrepreneur and business partner to a successful and growing digital agency, Victoria has been a senior advisor to founders and executives of growing Ontario-based IDM companies for over 15 years. Some of her relevant experiences pertaining to Programming includes: someone who has benefited from accelerator programs designed for IDM business leaders, someone who has designed and led several learning labs for other industry level-up initiatives, and a former post-graduate instructor in the Digital Media Masters program at Centennial College working with industry professionals in a period of their career transition. She is an experienced strategic advisor who has built business cases that have won funding and grants for her clients. In the last 4 years, she has successfully led and secured 14 funding wins for Ontario-based companies.

Wojtek Kawczynski, Wark Studios

Wojtek has worked in the game industry for nearly 15 years. During this time he’s run three studios, founded a consulting company, participated in numerous juries for local funding programs, and has taught courses in college game design programs. Wojtek has experience accessing funding programs both from the studio side, as a successful applicant to many programs, and from the consulting side, where through his company, Wark Studios, he’s helped a number of Ontario-based companies prepare funding applications. He enjoys mentoring new companies and working with founders to help them find funding for their growing ventures.