Our Team

David Brown holds bachelor’s degrees in music and education and a Master of Education degree in Information Communications Technology and Learning from the University of Aberdeen. As an accomplished pianist and performer, David has conducted numerous musical productions across the province. He is the former Director of Music for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Band and played a significant role within the Canadian Armed Forces and the band’s performances in the United States, France, and Belgium. Recently retired, David had a fulfilling career as a music and adult educator, a Government of Newfoundland and Labrador executive, and Director of Music for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. In addition to his civilian role as Director of Protocol for the Province, David has served as Private Secretary to two Lieutenant Governors of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ann Connors (Co-Vice Chair) has many years of experience in the arts sector as an administrator, curator, consultant, producer, and presenter in the performing arts. Her work in the arts sector is local, national, and international in scope. She is a passionate advocate for fair and equitable work/life conditions and practises for artists.

Ann was the Managing Producer of Terra Bruce Productions, a newly formed performance production company based in St. John’s. She is a member of Arts Consultants Canada, an Associate of the nationally-based consulting company, The Arts Firm, a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Woman Entrepreneurs, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Professional Theatres Newfoundland and Labrador.

She happily lives in downtown St. John’s.

Photo credit: Dave Howells

Ray Penton, Jr. was born in Gander and has spent 40 years working in media and the cultural industries in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ray has produced over 250 television programs, served time as a journalist on CBC Radio, ran a weekly newspaper on the Burin Peninsula, was co-editor of the Newfoundland Herald, and was a host at the launch of OZFM. Ray was also Chair of both the NL Film Producers Association and St. Michael’s Printshop and was a charter member of the Writers Guild of Canada. He has also written and performed numerous radio comedy shows and is a multiple-award winner at the Provincial Drama Festival.

Michelle Keep is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author along with her high school sweetheart. Together, they own and operate Pathforgers Publishing, where they write, publish, and market genre fiction. They live in beautiful and inspiring Bonavista, NL. Michelle is an advocate for worker and artist’s rights, and has formally served as the President of the Canadian Freelance Union and the Board Secretary of the St. John’s Status of Women Council.

Shawn O’Hagan has been a practicing artist for over 40 years, holding a BFA, an MFA, and a B.Ed in Art Education. She has taught in the Visual and Theatre Arts Programs at MUNL Grenfell Campus. She is a multi-media artist and has exhibited extensively provincially and nationally. She lives in Corner Brook, NL and divides her time between her home studio and her cabin in the Bay of Islands. She has been on many boards, committees and juries including ArtsNL, Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Edge Gallery, and The Rooms.

Gina Power is a creative industry veteran whose passion for the entertainment industry has led to a varied career in film, television, digital, publishing covering content creation, sales, marketing, and distribution, both domestic and foreign. Previously, she held a senior management position for more than 25 years with The Walt Disney Company: Disney ABC Home Entertainment and TV Division developing and implementing sales, programming, distribution, and operations strategies across multiple entertainment platforms. Now under the Ho11yrock banner, Gina specializes in cultural trade missions and international film markets, providing co-production and
broadcast sales expertise to domestic and foreign content creators. She has served as jury member for the Canadian Screens Awards, Banff Media Rockie Awards, Toronto 48Hrs Film Festival, and WIFT Showcase Awards. She is a member of Women in Film and Television (WiF-T & WiFT-A), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCTA). Gina serves on Sheridan College PAC for Creative Industries Management Program, volunteers as a wish granter for Make a Wish Foundation, and provides mentorship to emerging filmmakers. Gina is currently completing her Master of Laws degree (LLM) at York University, specializing in Intellectual Property Law.

As an award winning Visual Artist and Internationally recognized Indigenous Artisan you will find Charlene’s work across North America. In 2019 & 2021, she was a winner in Senior Visual Arts Division for Arts and Letters NL. She has also received several Honourable Mentions in various art competitions for her paintings. In 2021, she received an invitation to complete in the prestigious En Plein Air Competition held by McMichael’s Canadian Art Gallery in Ontario.

Although she was born and raised in Ontario, she has been visiting her ancestral homeland since a young age. In  2010, Charlene made the move to Mary’s Harbour, Labrador, a small community that is located in NunatuKavut territory. Her connections to the land are evident in her art providing the subject matter while exploring her cultural connections in many of her pieces.

Charlene started sewing at the age of ten and along the way taught herself embroidery and beading techniques. Also at a young age, she was introduced into the world of art thus fostering her love of being creative. While in her twenties, she became fascinated with natural dye techniques. Art School in the 90’s further developed her drawing and painting skills. While living Labrador, she starting experimenting with local floral and fauna to produce uniquely dyed pieces in silk and cotton.  Today, she paints in oils and acrylic, but also enjoys creating watercolour pieces and exploring printmaking. While connecting to her aboriginal heritage, she fell in love with the natural materials used by the Inuit for hundreds of years and incorporates these materials into many of her award winning fibre art pieces.

She holds memberships with VANL-Carfac, NL Craft Council, and NLArts along with being a registered Indigenous Artist with the Canadian Council of Arts and the Inuit Art Foundation.

Charlene has completed a BA in Psychology from the University of Waterloo, an Art Diploma from Georgian College and a Diploma in Small Business Applications also from Georgian College. She started her own Art Studio in 2018 that included a boutique in a renovated shed on the waterfront. 2020 was a big year for this entrepreneur; she purchased a heritage house in Mary’s Harbour and brought it back to life to incorporate her art studio and boutique and added a café. That year, she was also the recipient of the “Resilient Entrepreneur of the Year” from Ulnooweg. 2020 also seen her business being accepted into the Economusee Network as an Indigenous Craft Studio. The Studio received full membership in this prestigious organization in 2022. Throughout the pandemic, Charlene continued to open her doors and grow her business during very trying times for the Arts & Culture and Tourism Sectors.

Charlene enjoys volunteer work and sits on various boards in the province; the Provincial Committee for Come Home Year 2022, Destination Labrador, Harbourview Manor, and the local Heritage Committee.

Charlene currently lives in Mary’s Harbour with her two Standard Poodles; Wally and Eugenia. She is the mother of two boys and grandmother to three.

Melanie Martin was born in Stephenville, on the province’s west coast, but spent her formative years in Northern Manitoba. She holds a Master of Arts in Newfoundland and Irish history from Memorial University and has contributed to academic journals and websites, anthologies, and educational textbooks on significant events in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history.

Melanie has deep roots in the arts and has been performing since her youth. She was a working musician in bands for nearly twenty years and taught the Music for Young Children Program for nearly a decade. In May 2016, Melanie published her first historical fiction novel, A Splendid Boy, set during the First World War.

In 2010, she joined the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation as an Industry Development officer, delivering the Cultural Economic Development Program which supports professional arts organizations. In 2012, she was tasked with leading the province’s First World War Commemoration file – Honour 100 (2014-2018), a project that has taken her numerous times to the battlefields of Europe and as far east as Gallipoli, Turkey. In 2016, Melanie became the Director of Arts and managed the culture division for the province until 2021 when she was appointed Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. She resides in St. John’s with her husband and their twin girls.

I’ve been with ArtsNL for over 20 years and continue to be motivated by the arts provincially, nationally, and internationally. While there is no singular answer to everyone’s questions, I’m always available to listen and assist anyone trying to navigate ArtsNL’s programs.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Education from the NSCAD University (with a focus on weaving). I also have IT development skills from server/networks to website creation, and experience operating arts businesses. There was a time I thought I would be a textile artist working alone in my studio, but my non-linear journey took me from setting up a loom to weave as an artist, to teaching, to creating backend networks. All these skills came together in 2002, when I started working at ArtsNL.

Through my broad history and curious nature, I sincerely want artists to feel welcome at ArtsNL. I’m here to assist breaking down the language of applications, reviewing and editing descriptions, and advising on budgets. I appreciate that artists, arts groups, and arts organizations do the endlessly difficult work, both physically and mentally, to constantly reimagine what art can be, while creating magic along the way.

I love the transformation of the arts sector, the integral importance of the arts in life, and working one-on-one with artists. It can be a challenging position at times, but it is an honour to work with artists and arts administrators daily.

Charlene Jackson originally hails from Heart’s Delight, NL, and has a background in theatre, visual art, and writing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Joint Honours) and a Bachelor of Education from Memorial University, and a Master of Library and Information Science from Western University.

She enjoys video games, reading, having a love/hate relationship with her personal writing projects, complaining about the price of vinyl records (but buying them anyway), and exploring hiking trails with a camera in tow. She’s usually up for anything falling under the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy.

Charlene lives in the St. John’s Metro area where she happily caters to the many whims of a clowder of cats.

Jamie Felsberg was born and raised in Labrador, where his ancestral and Indigenous roots lie. He lives in Happy Valley-Goose Bay where he enjoys exploring and travelling the lands and waters that surround him and being a part of them as much as they are a part of him.

Jamie is a passionate advocate for the arts and is well known for being very active in his community across a wide variety of roles. He finds the most joy from being onstage as an actor but also enjoys directing and mentoring. Jamie has an extensive background working with local arts organizations such as the Labrador Creative Arts Festival, the Eastern Labrador Arts Alliance, The S.H.I.E.L.D Project, and the Mokami Players community theatre group, to name just a few. One of his most recent accomplishments was as a Co-Chair of the 2023 Labrador Winter Games Opening & Closing Ceremonies. He also co-hosted Eastlink Community TV’s Labrador Winter Games coverage on their evening show, Labrador Games Tonight, and gave live on-air commentary during both nights of the traditional Inuit games.

Aside from the arts, Jamie is also a strong advocate for Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and the environment. He is and has been, active with different organizations, such as the Grand Riverkeeper, Indigenous Climate Action, Labrador Land Protectors, and more. In his spare time, he likes to keep busy as a Ground Search and Rescue Technician and a High School Volleyball Coach.

Jamie comes to ArtsNL from his previous role as the Technical Director of the Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre–central Labrador’s premiere performing arts venue–and has extensive experience working, volunteering, and performing in the entertainment industry.

Jamie is excited to join the ArtsNL team as the Indigenous Outreach Officer so he can help Indigenous artists, and artists broadly, further their artistic works and talents. One of his goals while starting this new role is to help expand artists’ ability to focus on creating their art as opposed to worrying about how to fund it, while additionally working to remove other barriers (e.g., remote location; networking; other societally driven issues) so artists can concentrate more of their time on creating and expanding their abilities. Jamie looks forward to developing and adapting this position in the direction it needs to go so it can best support artists and the arts community within the Region.

Laura Bruijns is a Newfoundlander by choice, having arrived right around the time the JUNOs came to town in 2010. Working at that event gave her an extraordinary opportunity to experience the culture of the arts in this province and those who make it happen. Since then, she has worked for a variety of cultural organizations in the province, supporting and promoting the arts wherever possible.

Laura is very excited to be part of ArtsNL—the team that’s helping the arts and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador thrive.

When not in the office, you can find her and Barney the dog out on the trail or kayaking the seas, taking in every bit of this beautiful province.