Our Staff

Tim Whalley
Executive Director

Tim holds a Masters in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and has worked for museums, galleries and not-for-profit organizations across Canada. He has worked in a programming capacity at Colborne Lodge and Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum & Arts Centre and his independent curatorial and art projects have been featured at the Toronto Free Gallery, the Drake Hotel, the Market Gallery and Pages Art Window.

Benedict Lopes
Program Director

Benedict comes to Scarborough Arts with a broad and thorough understanding of the arts environment. Holding a degree in Fine Art from McMaster University, his direct employment experience spans the museum, academic, studio, commercial gallery and not-for-profit spheres. Through his work he has demonstrated an unwavering focus, while cultivating an acute attention to detail and technical knowledge. Creativity, organizational discipline and clear communication have propelled Benedict to the understanding that his greatest strength is undoubtedly as a facilitator of the arts in Canada.

Susan Dimitrakopoulos
Office & Membership Coordinator

Susan Dimitrakopoulos has been an office administrator for many years, in corporate and non-profit sectors, including Legal Aid Ontario. Susan has also been a legal secretary in the private bar and also operated her own independent secretarial service. She is an avid photographer with her company, SpudSnaps Photography and exhibits and sells her work locally and online.

Kat Rizza
Program & Outreach Coordinator
Scarborough CARES

Kat oversees the Scarborough CARES digital media after school program. She has studied both philosophy & photojournalism and has ended up living a life that is all digital, all the time. Kat loves working with youth and is always looking for new methods of teaching them about photography, video editing and multimedia techniques. She is passionate about photography, computers & big ideas. She likes to paint, photograph and travel. You will never find her without a camera.

Cindy Rozeboom
Communications Coordinator

Cindy has worked in the arts (theatre, community arts, television & film) for 20 years. During this time she has worked as a fundraiser, artist, administrator and communications specialist, in environments ranging from one-person projects to organizations with annual budgets of $5 million and in the cities of Toronto, New York City, Windsor and Edmonton. Cindy holds a MA degree in Communications (University of Windsor), diplomas in Radio & TV Arts and Digital Media Design and is a Certified Fundraising Executive.

Tamla Matthews-Morgan
Kaleidoscope Program Coordinator

Tamla is a professional dance artist, and Artistic Director who has had a lifelong relationship with Scarborough’s artscape. Her career highlights include representing Canada at the Chinese New Year Festivities in Hong Kong, being a regular guest instructor at York University’s additional qualification dance courses and speaking at the 2011 IABD conference in Los Angeles. In addition to dancing, teaching and making people sweaty, Tamla is passionate about education. She holds a Hons B.Sc with a minor in Environmental and Health Sciences and a Bachelor of Education with an additional qualification in Dance. Tamla believes in the value, power and necessity of the cultural performing arts and insists that art is critical in creating, inspiring and sustaining healthy communities.

Board Members

Daniel Broome – Chair
Daniel Broome is a media, arts and entertainment consultant and educator. Specializing in the Canadian music industry, he is the former VP Operations & Administration for True North Records, Canada’s oldest and one of its’ largest independent record labels. In his thirteen years at True North Records, Daniel was involved in the delivery and release of over 400 titles to the marketplace and has supervised the production of eight Juno award-winning and eighteen Juno nominated albums. He also played an active role in the Finkelstein Management Company where he assisted Canadian Music Industry veteran Bernie Finkelstein in guiding the professional careers of Bruce Cockburn, Stephen Fearing and Blackie & the Rodeo Kings. Now a media and entertainment business consultant, Daniel is also an instructor at private post secondary school, Harris Institute, in Toronto where he is the Director of the Recording Arts Management Program.

Hanifa Kassam – Vice-Chair
Hanifa Kassam, a recent graduate from York University, has been dedicated to working and volunteering in and with residents in Scarborough and Toronto at large. She is one of four daughters of immigrant parents from Dar Es Salam, Tanzania and has lived and worked in Scarborough for 25 years. Currently, she works as the Manager of Fund Development at Agincourt Community Services Association; a non-profit, multi-service agency at the heart of Agincourt addressing needs and empowering children, youth, newcomers, homeless and underserved communities to build a better tomorrow. Hanifa excels at developing partnerships and securing resources to support the ongoing and developing needs of community members in both traditional and innovative ways. She is a Committee Member of the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto’s Governance Committee and is an active member of Ontario Youth Matter, a campaign for developing better youth policies (a network of community organizations calling on the Ontario government to implement a Provincial Youth Policy Framework). She has served on the Birchmount Bluffs Neighbourhood Centre’s Youth Advisory Committee and the 2007 City of Toronto Identify Impact Grant review committee dedicated to funding youth-led initiatives amongst Toronto’s 13 priority neighborhoods.

Ravinder Shawe – Vice-Chair
Ravinder Shawe is a lawyer at a mid-sized firm in Toronto, whose practice emphasizes advising on corporate, not-for-profit, and entertainment law matters. A proud Scarborough native with extensive volunteer experience, Ravinder joined SAC hoping to share her experience and love of the arts, and to help the SAC continue to flourish.

Carolyn Kim – Treasurer
Carolyn Kim is a transportation planner at a transportation engineering & planning consulting firm. She has a Bachelor in Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University and is a Provisional Member of OPPI/CIP. Carolyn is a Scarborough native with a strong interest in the arts as well as sustaining and nurturing the culture and heritage that lies within communities. In addition to understanding the framework in which city planning exists, she has experience in asset and facility management, specifically working with local governments and agencies and nonprofit organizations. Her interest with the SAC is in program development, building awareness of SAC programs and services, and building community participation in the arts.

Vidya Patel – Secretary

Sergei Petrov
Sergei Petrov has directed, written and produced feature length documentaries, short dramatic films, music videos, commercials, and theatrical events.  Sergei graduated from Centennial College in Toronto from a Film and Television Production program, while operating his own production company, SVP Films.  His work has won numerous awards at film and television festivals in Canada, USA, Europe and Russia, where he is originally from. Serge has directed and produced for CBC, Ontario Film Review Board, Service Canada, Fashion Television, NFB, Portrait Society of Canada and more.  He has also worked as Media and Public Relations Coordinator for “Russian Hockey Place Inc., organizing events for Hockey Hall of Fame and Hockey Legends Classic tours.  Currently, he holds the position of Team Manager at the marketing department of TD Waterhouse (Insurance Division). Sergei has resided in Scarborough since the day his family immigrated to Canada, 14 years ago, and is dedicated in bringing the best of his knowledge and experience to Scarborough Arts.

Christal Pshyk
Christal Pshyk recently moved to Toronto from Edmonton. She is a fine arts graduate from the University of Alberta and has worked in the arts and not-for-profit sector for over 15 years including the Art Gallery of Alberta as traveling exhibition coordinator; Harcourt House Arts Centre as executive director and the University of Alberta’s Museums and Collections Services as special projects manager. She has served as Public Art Chair for the Edmonton Arts Council and oversaw the development and production of numerous pubic art projects for the City of Edmonton.Christal also worked with many not-for-profit organizations as a fundraising specialist and has produced a variety of special events, programs and policy. She loves to cook and has self-published a cookbook with a dear friend while in University. Her two other favourite loves are her husband David and her St. Bernard, Arthur.

Sathya Thillainathan

Nadine Peazer

Paul Koidis
Paul is an expert development consultant, and marketing and communications strategist and educator. He began his career at Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre, as a marketing and communications strategist, new media program manager and producer for an international lecture series. Paul managed the CFC Media Lab, a division of the Centre and a unique training and production think-tank environment for tomorrow’s new media content developers. Paul is currently developing a social media documentary for Jeffrey Sach’s United Nation’s Millennium Promise organization. He recently directed the North American Launch of The Global Poverty Project with Chris Adams (Executive Producer of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth) and Hugh Evans, and produced the exclusive premiere industry concert for Adam Cohen, son of Leonard Cohen.  Paul is involved with many creative and cultural initiatives including Moses Znaimer’s ideaCity conference, and was involved with Explore Design and the Hot Docs Documentary Festival, Reel Asian Film Festival and others. He is a member of HOMAD, the Heads of Media and Design in Ontario and Scarborough Arts.  Paul recently established a series of innovative scholarship funds in Canada, designed to advance a culture of social justice, green-thinking and innovation and is currently developing a reality TV show, feature film and concert series.

Councillor Gary Crawford, Ex-Officio
Councillor Gary Crawford is the elected the city councillor for Ward 35, Scarborough-Southwest.  He has held key roles on a range of committees at the TDSB including: Negotiations, Ethics and Governance, Facility Services, Audit, Programs, Music Advisory, Human Resources, Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) and the Technology Strategic Planning Committee. He has also been a Director on the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA) and he presently sits on the Board of Trustees for The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.