Team ReFrame

Ashley Lamothe is a proud Anishnaabekwe/Metis mother, creativity coach, and maker living in Nogojiwanong, Ontario. Her passion with creativity led to a post secondary education in Health Sciences with a focus on Mental Health. After many years in the non-profit sector, Ashley returned to Nogojiwanong to pursue her passions full time. Ashley is a proud advocate and facilitator for radical creativity, decolonization and co-creating safe spaces. When she isn’t working on strengthening relationships with creativity, you can find her with a coffee in her hand, tiny humans by her side playing with bubbles, glitter and Mother Nature.  

Brooke Erickson is a skilled and experienced fundraiser and community organizer. She worked several years building partnerships and communication expertise in the public sector before moving to work in a leadership position at Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families where she advocates for community support for some of the most marginalized people in our community. Like many of us living in the Peterborough area, Brooke likes nothing better than to go on a long cross-country ski and then settle in for a cozy screening of several documentary films. 

Deborah Berrill is a Professor Emeritus at Trent University where, following twenty years with the Queen’s Faculty of Education, she founded the Trent School of Education and Professional Learning, known for its commitment to social justice and inclusion. Deborah has won multiple higher education teaching awards at the local, provincial and national levels and she was the first recipient of the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario’s Educator of the Year Award. She also worked for over 20 years with a First Nation community on community-based literacy initiatives. Most recently she has been very involved with sponsorship and resettlement of refugees, including with the Trent University WUSC Student Refugee Program. She is continually humbled and inspired by newcomers to Canada.

Jeannine Taylor has a lifetime of experience in marketing, media, and communications, and over 20 years specializing in digital marketing and website development.  She founded the first local online media site Quid Novis in 1996, which is now known as kawarthaNOW.com.  Her awards include Peterborough’s Business Woman of the Year, a Premier’s Award nomination, the Maryam Monsef Peterborough Kawartha Women in Leadership Community Award, and a City of Peterborough Civic Award for chairing the development of Millennium Park.  Jeannine’s combination of technical, communications, marketing and social media skills are put to work daily as Publisher of kawarthaNOW. As a grad of the Arts Administration program at Fleming College, JT is committed to supporting the local arts sector, is a member of Peterborough’s Arts Culture and Heritage Committee and is thrilled to be involved with ReFrame. 

Joaquin Santana is originally from the Dominican Republic and has lived in Peterborough for the last 6 years. Before then, he lived in a few different cities in North America since his early childhood. Joaquin’s professional background and passion is in improving health in marginalized communities, especially for those that suffer gender-based violence, which he has done through a diverse number of employers and volunteer opportunities. Currently, he is a peer support worker for the Trans Peer Outreach program for the Canadian Mental Health Association. His preferred activities are spending time with his family and reading. 

Karan Aquino has celebrated the ReFrame festival since moving to Peterborough in 2008, and is a strong believer in the power of stories to inspire, heal, and strengthen individuals and communities.  Prior to retiring from employment, Karan worked directly for remote First Nations in northern Ontario and Manitoba on their land stewardship initiatives, as well as in partnership with other First Nation and Métis organizations on land, resource and community development projects in positions with the Ontario government, and with a non-profit working towards community forestry with ethnic-minority communities in northern Thailand.  More recently, she has volunteered with Hospice Peterborough in several capacities, and the New Canadian Centre on refugee resettlement.  Karan has an MSc in Development Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a certificate in restorative justice from Simon Fraser University. 

Leslie Menagh is an interdisciplinary artist, craftsperson, community organizer, and entrepreneur. After many years working in the arts administrative and cultural sectors, she now operates Madderhouse Textile Studios where she produces and teaches textile screen printing, has presented a variety of workshops with other professional artists, hosts artists-in-residence, and project coordinates with other organizations and artists to bring innovative public engagement opportunities to the public. Most recently, she has been supporting the creation of a social enterprise, working with a team of sewists who are newcomer women (Newcomer Sewing Crew). Leslie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.  

Melanie Buddle is Principal of Peter Gzowski College at Trent University. She grew up, and now gratefully works and lives, in the traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishnaabeg, adjacent to Haudenosaunee territory and in the territory covered by the Williams Treaty. Melanie holds a PhD in History from the University of Victoria, MA from UNBC, and BA from the University of Guelph. She has worked at Trent since 2003 in various roles, and continues to teach courses in interdisciplinary humanities courses. An early interest in theatre and dance led to involvement in the Peterborough arts community. She loves working and living in a vibrant and arts-focused community and enjoys cycling and nordic skiing with her two young-adult kids and husband Drew.  

Simal Iftikhar has been deeply committed to her work in activism and social justice in the community of Peterborough. Currently completing her Master’s degree at Trent University in Education, her research is focused on supporting refugees resettling into Canada and better understanding the barriers newcomers face in the Canadian education system. Her previous research has also allowed her to support initiatives such as the TALK Now walk in mental health clinic. Simal has also worked in the non-profit sector for almost 5 years, working in children’s mental health and health care programming. These intersectionalities have led to her deep passion for social justice and creating positive changes in the Peterborough community. This is best demonstrated through Simal’s involvement around the homelessness crisis in our community, for which she runs a yearly fundraiser to raise funds and awareness for the YES Shelter for homeless youths and families, where she also sits on the board of directors. Simal uses her privilege and voice to amplify the voices of marginalized individuals.  

Kait Dueck was raised as a student of ecology in the woods northeast of Nogojiwanong, and is deeply connected and committed to this community and place. An alumnus of the Integrated Arts Program at PCVS, Carleton and Trent Universities and Fleming College, their formal education has been focused on gender studies, world religions, the arts through a justice-based lens, political repression and science, and environmental and forestry studies. Kait is an accomplished artistic administrator and volunteer coordinator with over a decade of experience in the field. They also have twenty years’ experience as a professional performance artist, most notably as an actor and musician. Outside of work and school, Kait adores her gorgeous family (both two and four-legged), transformative film and literature, being in the forest, and all manner of bird-nerdery.

Eryn Lidster is a multidisciplinary artist and administrator whose work often originates in explorations of technical and material implications. In various roles, they have supported the production of over 40 performance works in Nogojiwanong since 2016. Lidster holds an Honors Bachelor in Cultural Studies with a Specialisation in Image Sound and Performance from Trent University. In 2018 and 2019 they were awarded the Gregory R. Firth Memorial Prize for their film work, which has screened in Trent University’s Edge Code program, Michigan State University’s Broad Underground Film Series and at the Art Gallery of Peterborough. Lidster is a passionate supporter of local arts organisations, artists and arts workers. 

Michael Goede has been offering bookkeeping and financial control services for ReFrame Film Festival for many years. He is the owner of Geode Business Services with clients in virtual reality software, film and TV production, construction, real estate, hospitality, retail, local non-profits and unions. For the last several years, Michael has enjoyed marrying theory and practice while teaching financial and managerial accounting in the School of Business at Trent University. Michael also coaches U18 Indoor Soccer and has been producing electronic music for 25 years.