Frédéric Brisson is the Executive Director of Éditions David, a francophone publishing house based in Ottawa, since 2021. He previously headed the Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) and taught on the postgraduate publishing programme at Université de Sherbrooke, where he completed a PhD in French studies. He is also secretary-treasurer of the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL).

Hoda Elatawi has created award-winning content in Canada and internationally for almost 3 decades. Her passion for education, science, history, social issues, and children’s programming has united her with creatives from around the world, allowing her to work on a diverse range of projects. Her current film, So You Want to Be a Muslim? is currently on CBC GEM and the Documentary Channel. She is in post production on I Love Being Me (a youth doc series), a scripted comedy, The Arranged Marriage, and a democracy series, Timmyland, for SRC. She is developing a new social/cultural feature doc for TVO and a pre-school animated series for CBC.

Rachel Weldon is a music curator, creative producer, and founder and director of non-profit presenter organization Debaser and its signature festival Pique. Since founding Debaser in 2013, Rachel has led the development of the organization from its origins as a volunteer-run DIY collective into a leading festival and event producer recognized for presenting diverse underground and independent artists in thoughtfully-curated and care-oriented event experiences. Rachel was a 2024 Keychange Innovator, and a 2025 Creative Producer in Residence at the National Arts Centre. Before working full-time at Debaser, Rachel was a programmer at artist-run centre SAW, and has worked various roles in artist and festival management, project management, and industry and export development over the past 12 years.