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 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.
Julia Neville
International Representative
Julia (she/her) is located in Vancouver and she works mainly with film production locals in District 12 (Western Canada).
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.
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.
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).
Will Gladman
International Representative
Will (he/him) is located in Vancouver and he helps unrepresented workers in getting their voices heard by coming together and doing the IATSE.
Jaiming 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.
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.
He is also the Chair of the IATSE Pride Committee.
Mackenzie Larochelle
Bilingual
Administrative Assistant
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.
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.
International
Damian Petti
International Vice President
Damian (he/him) works fulltime as the President of IATSE Local 212 in Calgary.
He is one of two Canadian Vice Presidents on the IATSE General Executive Board.
He is one of two Canadian Vice Presidents on the IATSE General Executive Board.
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.
She is the elected CLC delegate for the IATSE.
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.