TELUS Fund is recognized by the CRTC as a Certified Independent Production Fund. Thanks to the success of TELUS Optik TV with more than 1.1 Million customers in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, TELUS Fund has committed over $25M to more than 100 projects since 2013.
Independent Director, residing in West Vancouver, B.C.
Nini Baird has for more than 25 years shared her expertise with TELUS Corporation. She was founding member, then chair, TELUS New Media and Broadcast Fund Board (1998-2004); founding Chair TELUS Vancouver Community Board (2005-2019); founding chair, TELUS Fund (2013-). In 2014 she was named a TELUS Legend for her contributions to these start-up initiatives.
She is immediate past Chair, Knowledge Network Corporation Board, on which she served for 12 years. She is a former Chair, British Columbia Arts Council, and for 19 years board member of British Columbia Film (now Creative BC). Her BC post-secondary career included senior arts leadership positions at Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr College (now University) of Art and Design and Open Learning Agency/Knowledge Network.
Nini is a member of the Order of Canada. Her awards and recognition include Canada 150 Women (2017) Honorary Doctor of Laws from Simon Fraser University (2015), , recognition as one of Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (2013), and Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership from Canadian Conference of the Arts (2006), and President’s 40th Anniversary Award from Simon Fraser University for her lifetime of devotion to the arts and leadership in the creation of their School for the Contemporary Arts (2005).
Nelson currently serves as on the boards of Providence Health Care, the Providence Residential & Community Care, and the Richmond Hospital Foundation. Previously he has also served as a member the TELUS Vancouver Community Board.
Nelson’s career at TELUS began as a finance trainee. After 35 years of service he was named a TELUS Legend and retired from the position of Senior Vice President Finance – TELUS and CFO – TELUS International. Prior roles at TELUS included Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. Nelson was involved in the conversion of TELUS’ accounting standards and requirements, leading the successful implementation of control processes and providing extensive financial support to mergers and acquisitions. He was also the Executive Sponsor for TELUS’ Finance Management Development Program, which over the course of 10 years developed finance talent and was recognized as a training office for Chartered Accountants in three provinces.
TELUS Representative, residing in Vancouver, BC, and responsible for representing Official Language Minority Community in funding decisions
Michel Belec is Senior Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary of TELUS International. He leads an international team of legal professionals dedicated to value-add strategic support on corporate, commercial and investment transactions. He provides tactical legal advice to TELUS’ international business units seeking to create outstanding customer outcomes in the business market segment.
Michel also oversees best practices for our Corporate Secretariat office and is a trustee of TELUS’ co-managed pension plan and a director on various TELUS pension related boards and committees. Michel is a strong supporter of local charities and regular participant in the delivery of TELUS’ induction and learning programs.
Michel holds a BA from Simon Fraser University and an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School. He is authorized to practice law in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario and completed senior leadership training with INSEAD, the Rotman School of Management and the Schulich School of Business.
“Dr. Mike” is a family doctor known for his work in innovative health messaging to the public. His media lab pioneered “peer to peer healthcare” fusing patients with creators and experts to capture evidence-based stories and then imbed them in the relationships of care. His Whiteboard series on YouTube that has been viewed by over 12 million people.
He has a radio show on CBC’s Fresh Air, was a doctor at the Sochi Olympics, and started a Med School for the Public at the University of Toronto. His work has been profiled in JAMA, BMJ, Walrus, Readers Digest, and on the hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black”. Recent awards include the top 10 innovators in health by the Canadian Medical Association, top 45 Canadians over 45, and the Gold medal in Social media at the Web Health Awards.
In 2014 he was given the first worldwide endowed chair in Patient Engagement (and Childhood Nutrition) at the University of Toronto and awarded the McNeil Medal from the Royal Society of Canada in recognition of outstanding communication of science and medicine to the public.
Board Member (Independent Director, residing in Vancouver, BC)
Nadine Cole is the former SVP & General Manager Western Canada and United States for Cossette Communications, a full-service Integrated Advertising Agency. At the heart of all strategy, creative, business development and operations, Nadine has serviced clients such as McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, TELUS, Sephora, TD Bank, General Mills and Walmart to name a few. With 25 years of experience, she has had the pleasure of partnering with top marketing leaders in some of the most challenging industries, guiding them through critical strategic and marketing decisions that have helped to deliver results.
In addition to her Advertising career, Nadine has served on the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House BC/YK for six years and was a member of the National Cossette Executive Leadership Team and V7 Executive Leadership Team in Vancouver. Currently, she is on the Board of Directors of Picnic Labs in addition to the TELUS Fund Board. Nadine is an Angel Investor in early stage start-ups, and is the creator of ‘Empower’ an annual C-suite event developed to tackle topics challenging senior positioned women in Vancouver. Nadine is also a frequent speaker and panelist discussing the importance of company culture.
Carissa McCart is the Director of TELUS Studios. She leads a national video, design, photography, and digital production team that produces and creatively supports product, service and narrative-based marketing campaigns for TELUS. Carissa and her Studios team are passionate stewards of the TELUS brand and avid storytellers focused on the company’s world-leading social purpose efforts.
Carissa comes from a writing and communications background. Prior to joining TELUS in 2006, she worked in educational marketing for the Knowledge Network and the Open Learning Agency for a decade, inspiring in her a lifelong love of community-supported broadcasting and nurturing new voices in creative storytelling.
Carissa holds a BA from the University of Victoria. She is also on the board of the National Screen Institute, the only national training organization in Western Canada for writers, directors and producers in film, television and digital media.
Elizabeth Friesen delivers the Executive Director responsibilities of the TELUS Fund overseeing finance, administration, operations and program design. Elizabeth is also a certified Project and Change Management Professional who brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience to her consulting engagements.
She has applied a proven set of tools and techniques to the implementation of a renewed medical education curriculum at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, analysis of distributed education alternatives for the Province of Alberta, and the launch of a new channel for Knowledge Network. Elizabeth has also facilitated meetings and built consensus for change at organizations such as Langara College and the Canadian Media Producers Association. Former senior positions include Chief Operating Officer at Telefilm Canada where she led English, French and International Operations and was responsible for a +$100M portfolio of media investments.
What is discoverability?
Explore our range of tools and resources to help define your project’s audience.
