Who We Are

The IATSE is the largest union in the entertainment industry, representing behind-the-scenes workers across film, television, live performance, and tradeshow. From cinematographers to costume designers, or riggers to ushers, our members are the people who make sure the show goes on. We ‘get’ the gig lifestyle of arts & entertainment workers, because that’s exclusively who we represent. And we’ve been doing it for well over a century.

Canadian Department

The IATSE’s Canadian Department is spread across the country. They function as a tight team, and each person has a specialty or two. Read on for who does what!

John M. Lewis

International Vice President
Director of Canadian Affairs
John (he/him) operates from the Canadian Office in Toronto.  He leads the Canadian Department, and also serves as one of two Canadian Vice Presidents on the IATSE General Executive Board.

International

Damian Petti

International Vice President
Damian (he/him) is based out of Calgary and works full-time within the Canadian Department assisting all types of local unions.

He is one of two Canadian Vice Presidents on the IATSE General Executive Board and is also the President of IATSE Local 212.

Siobhan Vipond

CLC Delegate
Siobhan (she/her) works fulltime as one of two Executive Vice Presidents at the CLC (Canadian Labour Congress) in Ottawa.  

She is the elected CLC delegate for the IATSE.

International Representatives

Krista Hurdon

International Representative
Krista (she/her) is based out of the Canadian Office in Toronto and the majority of her work is around the IATSE’s Canadian political and communications concerns.

Jason Vergnano

International Representative
Jason (he/him) operates out of Montreal and his work occurs largely with stagecraft locals in District 11 (Eastern Canada).

  He can assist in both English and French.

Jeremy Salter

International Representative
Jeremy (he/him) is based in New Brunswick and he leads the IATSE's efforts in Canada in helping unrepresented workers to join the IATSE. 

He can assist in both English and French.

Monty Montgomerie

International Representative
Monty (he/him) is based out of the Canadian Office in Toronto and he works mainly with film production locals in District 11 (Eastern Canada).

Cindy Jennings

International Representative
Cindy (she/her) operates out of the Canadian Office in Toronto and her work occurs largely with stagecraft locals in District 12 (Western Canada).  

Jiaming Li

International Representative
Ming (she/her) works out of Vancouver and her work involves helping unrepresented workers to join the IATSE, with a focus on animation and gaming.

Will Gladman

International Representative
Will (he/him) is located in Vancouver and he helps unrepresented workers in getting their voices heard by coming together to join the IATSE.

Isabelle Lecompte

International Representative
Isabelle (elle/she/her) based out of Montreal and she works mainly with film production in the province of Quebec.

She can assist in both French and English.

Rajean Hoilett

International Representative
Rajean (he/him) is based out of Toronto and he helps unrepresented workers to form a union in their workplace and join the IATSE.

Nancy Hum-Balbosa

International Representative
Nancy (she/her) is located in Vancouver and she works mainly with film production locals in District 12 (Western Canada).

Canadian Full-Time Staff

Nate Richmond

Operations Manager
Nate (he/him) works out of the Canadian Office in Toronto and is the person working behind the scenes to make sure the department runs smoothly. 

He is also the Chair of the IATSE Pride Committee.

Mackenzie Larochelle

Bilingual
Administrative Assistant
Mack (he/him) is based in the Canadian Office in Toronto and takes care of all of our translations.  

He is completely fluent in both English and French. 

Mitch Cocroft

Administrative Assistant
Mitch (he/him) is our newest Admin Assistant at the Canadian Office in Toronto. He comes from the production office and is always ready to assist with whatever comes up.

Leadership & Structure

The leadership of the IATSE is elected every four years at our International Conventions. Using input from Department Directors, International Representatives, Local leaders and IATSE members, they are the people who chart the course.

https://www.iatse.net/about-ia/leadership

English (Canada)