TORONTO — ACTRA Toronto announced yesterday it has hired Jenn Paul (above) in the newly created role of industry relations specialist: anti-Black racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Paul comes to ACTRA Toronto with a variety of industry experience, including producing, distributing and marketing ACTRA productions. She is a producer of Sharon Lewis’s CSA-nominated Brown Girl Begins, and also a producer of four short films and a commercial under her production shingle Token Creative, which has two anthology series in development, including one on mental health.
Most recently, Paul was an integrated producer with Livewire Communications. Previously, she was with Bell Media for three years as a unit manager and on the pre-selection committee for BravoFact. While with Bell Media, she co-founded and directed the company’s largest diversity and inclusion employee resource group, the Diversity & Inclusion Think Tank. She has been a digital media supervisor with Strada Films and Thunderbird Entertainment (Kim’s Convenience) and a marketing and distribution manager for Union Pictures (Big Muddy).
She is a Canadian filmmaker of Indian and Ugandan heritage who studied film production at York University. She is an alumnus of WIFT’s Convergent Media Program and the CMPA Telefilm Marketing Mentorship.
In this new role, Paul will participate in the development of ACTRA Toronto’s anti-Black racism work plan and support the objectives of its active diversity and inclusion committee to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in screened entertainment, says the press release announcing her hiring. ACTRA’s longstanding efforts to see all of Canada represented on screen began with the work of Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell in the 1980s and the important contributions of the late Sandi Ross in the 1990s, says the release.
“The anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that exists in our industry is complex and will require strategic solutions and a sustained effort from all areas of the industry. The creation of this role is a clear indication of ACTRA Toronto’s commitment to the fight for equity, and I look forward to working together with our industry partners to bring our goals to fruition,” says Paul.
ACTRA Toronto president Theresa Tova adds: “Our ACTRA Toronto diversity advocates and chairs have worked for years on initiatives to make our industry more inclusive. We are now at a pivotal point where Jenn Paul, a dedicated industry relations staff person supporting our volunteers and working with our industry partners, will focus our efforts and move us towards the systemic change we all want to see. Diversity is our strength.”
ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 27,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada.
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