PLATFORM LEADERS

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An emerging producer for film and television  with a background in performance in stage and television.  She is an alumni of the Reelworld Screen Institute's Black Entrepreneurship Program: Producing Stream which culminated with the  launch of a new development and production company named Methuselah Pictures.  She was recently chosen to be a Canadian delegate at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

Audra produced Journey Back to Jackson Park, a short documentary, which was screened at the 2020 Dividing Lines: African American & Native American Symposium at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, the 2019 Toronto Black Film Festival, the 2018 Ontario Black Historical Society’s Emancipation Day Event and the 2018 Ontario Archeology Society’s Symposium.  It currently be seen on two streaming sites:  CBC Gem (Can) and Argo  (US)

Audra is a member of the Alliance of the Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Canadian Actor's Equity Association (CAEA) and the Documentary Screen Institute (DOC).

An award winning educator who has taught archaeology and history at both the elementary and secondary level for thirty-nine years. She is the recipient of the 2013 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History and the 2009 Premier’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Catherine is a contributing author to The Archaeology Education Handbook (Altamira Press, 2000) and Public Participation in Archaeology (The Boydell Press, 2014). Catherine has participated in creating educational programs for the Ontario Black History Society’s dedication of the Thornton and Lucie Blackburn Conference Centre (2016) and the launch Dr. Karolyn Smardz-Frost’s book Steal Away Home (2017). In the summer of 2016 Catherine assisted with the first Black History display at the Ontario Legislature organized by the Ontario Black History Society.

An emerging museum professional with a background in English and History. Tonya is a new graduate of the Master of Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto, and has worked in partnership during her degree with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the Ontario Science Centre. For her Master’s capstone project, Tonya conducted a feasibility study for the development of a digital archive for the Jackson Park Project, and continues to explore strategies for the development of this archive. In addition to the Jackson Park Project, Tonya has also volunteered with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her academic interests include Black history, poetry, digital heritage, community-based heritage, and collection management. 

Shantelle Browning-Morgan has been a teacher with the GECDSB since 2001. She is a sixth-generation Black Canadian and Underground Railroad descendant who is very passionate about Black history. Shantelle is a graduate of the University of Windsor where she obtained an Honours Degree in French Language and Literature, a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Education with a concentration in Curriculum Development. She has been the Secretary of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society for a number of years, is a co-founder of the Black Staff Equity Alliance, and is active in many community organizations and events. In 2011, Shantelle was a recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History for piloting an innovative African Studies course. Additional awards and honours include: the Windsor and District Black Coalition Award, the University of Windsor’s Odyssey Award, Professionally Speaking Magazine’s Exemplary Teacher, and the Sisterhood Award from Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor. Shantelle was featured in CBC’s 2015 edition of Being Black in Canada. In 2020, she was featured on the 1st Black History Month Wall of Fame in Windsor. In addition to teaching, Shantelle has contributed to the development of the GECDSB’s African Canadian Roads to Freedom curriculum support documents, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars K-12 curriculum, OSSTF's Canadian Black Lives Curriculum, TEACH Magazine's lesson plans on Viola Desmond, and Resistance Along the Fluid Frontier: The Detroit River Project International Freedom Curriculum. Shantelle is currently developing educational resources for the Across the River to Freedom documentary series. She is the mother of three children.

Feaven is a university student working towards a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology, and supporting her community through passion projects aimed at spreading film and art that educates and teaches social culture. Feaven works towards cultivating a film community in Ontario as a Creative Director of Canema Film Scene - a film group that aims to feature local film on the little screen - and also a podcast called Kissing Teeth, which aims to educate audiences on the Black feminine experience through four women's stories. Feaven aims to create platforms where people can share their stories, and also tell stories of her own.