Overview

Interactive Ontario’s AI Committee is committed to closely monitoring industry trends related to AI and fostering important conversations regarding its use within the creative tech sector.

Committee Co-Chairs

Zina Rahman

Zina Rahman

CEO & Co-Founder, Transitional Forms

Zina Rahman is the CEO and Co-founder of Transitional Forms, a Toronto-based entertainment innovation studio at the forefront of blending artificial intelligence with storytelling to redefine how we experience games, films, and television. An award-winning producer, creative technologist, and strategist, Zina has over 15 years of experience in new media development, emergent technology, and innovation management.

Guided by Zina’s leadership, Transitional Forms has garnered recognition for its groundbreaking projects that push the boundaries of interactive storytelling, earning accolades such as GDC 2024 Best in Play, a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Video Game, and Silver at the inaugural Collision Awards. Before founding Transitional Forms, Zina held key roles at Behaviour Interactive, Playboy, and Secret Location (acquired by Entertainment One), where she led initiatives in VR, XR, and interactive media, driving innovation in immersive entertainment. In addition to her work at Transitional Forms, Zina is committed to supporting the IDM sector. She serves on Interactive Ontario’s Indie Superboost (ISB) committee and has been a jury member for the Toronto Arts Council. A frequent speaker at industry events, Zina shares her insights on Creative AI, diversity and inclusion, and the future of the Creative Technology sector.

Rob Elsworthy

Rob Elsworthy

He/Him

Game Director, Resistr Interactive

Rob Elsworthy is a highly accomplished professional in the media industry, with an impressive career spanning two decades. With over 15 years of experience in the Games industry, he has worked on a variety of acclaimed projects, including Metal Gear Solid, Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto, and Red Dead Redemption, bringing his expertise as an Animator, VFX Artist, Director and Game Designer. With a mission to promote diversity and social awareness in the gaming industry, Rob founded his own videogame company, Resistr Interactive. Additionally, he currently serves as the Program Director for Video Game Design and Animation at Toronto Film School.

Beyond his professional work, Rob’s dedication to inspiring the next generation of game creators is evident in his role as a speaker, panelist, and advisory board member for various workshops and events, including Tedx, Interactive Ontario, CODEX and the Black Youth Design Initiative. Through his involvement, he seeks to empower aspiring game creators to pursue their dreams and drive positive change in the industry.

Committee Members

Lucie Lalumière

She/Her

President & CEO, Interactive Ontario

Lucie’s passion for the techno-creative video game and interactive digital media industry started over 25 years ago, when she worked on groundbreaking multimedia projects at Bell. Later on, she led innovative and award-winning teams producing games and interactive content in various strategic roles. Her executive positions include GM French Market at MediaLinx Sympatico, Executive Director New Media at Radio-Canada, VP & GM Interactive at Corus Entertainment, COO & GM at supersonic MINDS, and Founder & Principal at Lalumiere Media.

Lucie is a staunch advocate for the video game, immersive (XR), and interactive digital media sector. She is dedicated to helping the industry grow and compete on the global stage, and to creating leading-edge techno-creative careers in Ontario and Canada. Lucie serves on the board of directors of the Canadian Interactive Alliance / L’Alliance Interactive Canadienne (CIAIC) and is a member of several advisory committees, including the Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) advisory board.

Lucie is the winner of the inaugural WIFT-T Digital Trailblazer Crystal Award (2015). She has a B.Sc. in Management Information Systems from Université de Sherbrooke, an MBA from McGill University completed at New York University (Interactive Telecommunications Program), and an Award of Achievement in Digital Analytics from the University of British Columbia and the Digital Analytics Association.

Jeffrey Elliott

Jeffrey Elliott

He/Him

CEO, Tablerock Media

Jeffrey Elliott has over thirty years of strategic and creative experience in broadcasting, production, and digital media – and always at the forefront of emerging technologies in broadcasting and new-media and is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TableRock Media. Jeffrey was also the founder and CEO of GlassBOX Television. Glassbox Television became one of Canada’s leading multiplatform media companies. One of GlassBOX channels; Bite TV, the world’s first Interactive and multiplatform television channel, was awarded an International Emmy for Interactive Broadcasting and won the best in Cross Platform Broadcasting at the DIGIS (Canadian New Media Awards).

Glassbox Television was purchased in 2012 by Blue Ant Media. In 2015 Jeffrey received the Digital Media Trailblazing Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Jeffrey lives in the country with his family and tries to find as much time for his passions of photography and flying, having been a pilot for thirty years.

Max Rothschild

Max Rothschild

He/Him

Partner, Stohn Hay Cafazzo Heim Finlay LLP

Max practises in the areas of entertainment, music, digital media and intellectual property law. He assists with transactional matters, intellectual property enforcement, and by providing strategic and general copyright law advice. Max works with a wide range of clients, including emerging and established artists and performers, music publishers and record labels, copyright collectives, and other entities in the creative industries. With experience both as in-house counsel and in private practice, Max brings a practical and business-oriented perspective to legal matters.

Ramona Pringle

Ramona Pringle

She/Her

Professor, TMU RTA School of Media; Director, The Creative Innovation Studio

Ramona Pringle is an Associate Professor in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University and Director of The Creative School’s Innovation Studio, a creative network comprised of multiple incubators, including the Transmedia Zone, Design Fabrication Zone, and Fashion Zone, as well as the Global Campus Studio, a unique digital studio devoted to fostering international co-productions through the use of contemporary collaboration tools.

She is the 2021 recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. As a writer, producer, researcher and journalist, Ramona’s work examines the evolving relationship between humans and technology. She was the executive producer of “Communities Create,” writer and director of the interactive documentary “Avatar Secrets, the interactive producer of PBS Frontline’s “Digital Nation.” Ramona was editor in chief of “Rdigitalife,” has edited and guest edited several “IEEE” publications, and has been a technology columnist for CBC, tackling current affairs and the impact of technology and social media on all aspects of people’s lives, from work to relationships. Ramona’s projects have been featured at festivals and conferences including i-docs, Power to the Pixel, TFI Interactive, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Hot Docs, SXSW, NXNE, Social Media Week, TEDx, and in publications including the New York Times, Mashable, Cult of Mac and the Huffington Post. She is a member of the City of Toronto Film, Television and Digital Media Board, board member with Media Smarts, Interactive Ontario, and SIRT (the Screen Industries research and Training Centre). Ramona has a Master’s Degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Sean Skelton

Sean Skelton

MTS Software Development Engineer, AMD

Sean Skelton is a programmer with over 20 years of game development experience with a focus on graphics and performance. Sean has always been interested in the challenge of pushing real time rendering techniques to deliver stunning visuals. He has been at AMD Markham since 2009 where he is currently researching future rendering techniques. Previously Sean worked in game development where he has contributed to over 10 shipping titles.