Speakers

We are excited to present this gifted group of speakers at CREATE 2023.

Plenary Speakers

Christine Swanson
Faith Filmworks

Christine Swanson profile photo

Biography

A visionary storyteller from Detroit, multiple award-winning director Christine Swanson earned her MFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the nation’s top-ranked graduate film programs. Recognized early as a talented filmmaker, Christine was selected by NYU faculty as the Willard T.C. Johnson Fellow... Read More

Sessions

Jonathan Roumie profile photo

Biography

Jonathan Roumie will be joining the attendees of the CREATE conference via Zoom from 12-12:30 PM on Saturday January 28th. Actor, director, producer and voice-over artist, Jonathan Roumie is best known for his award-winning role as ‘Jesus’ in the groundbreaking series, THE CHOSEN, a drama about the life of Jesus... Read More

Sessions

Mary McCampbell
Lee University

Mary McCampbell profile photo

Biography

Dr. Mary McCampbell is an associate professor of humanities at Lee University where she regularly teaches courses on contemporary fiction, film, popular culture, and modernism. A native Tennessean, she completed her doctorate at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK); her research focused on the relationship between contemporary fiction, late capitalist culture... Read More

Sessions

Michael Swanson
Faith Filmworks

Michael Swanson profile photo

Biography

Emmy Award winner Michael Swanson is a Hollywood studio executive, film producer and theatre producer. He is also a visionary entrepreneur and President & CEO of the Los Angeles entertainment company, Faith Filmworks. As a senior vice president at Universal Studio Group, Michael is the studio executive responsible for the... Read More

Sessions

Workshop Speakers

Amelia Lee profile photo

Biography

From an early age, Amelia has had the privilege of training and studying various dance genres throughout Canada and the United States. Her first “real job” was when she was cast in the live theatre production of The King and I at the age of 11. Other theatre and live... Read More

Sessions

Darryl Augustine
Director of Photography

Darryl Augustine profile photo

Biography

Darryl is a director of photography living in Squamish, BC, with a lot of work in documentary and teaching series formats. Since moving out west from Toronto where he started his career in film in the camera department, he has shot for a variety of environmental groups, the Alpha Film... Read More

Sessions

Jan Kiesser
Cinematographer

Jan Kiesser profile photo

Biography

Jan Kiesser has been an award winning freelance cinematographer with over thirty years experience in motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Jan Kiesser grew up in Los Angeles, California where he attended UCLA. His motion picture career started there as an animation cameraman and progressed... Read More

Sessions

Josh Richardson
Cinematographer

Josh Richardson profile photo

Biography

As a talented storyteller with over 10 years experience in the film industry, he has a diverse range of experience in creating content, including co-founding cmyk Productions, where he worked with labels such as 604 Records to produce and direct over 30 music videos, which received multiple awards, and as... Read More

Sessions

Luke Nielsen
Cariboo Road Christian Fellowship/Shoalsville Music Publishing

Luke Nielsen profile photo

Biography

Luke Nielsen is the Worship Minister at Cariboo Road Christian Fellowship (Burnaby,BC) along with writing songs as a staff writer for Shoalsville Music Publishing out of Nashville, TN. Luke is a passionate worshipper who longs to see people connect with the kindness and faithfulness of God through the peace and... Read More

Sessions

Marguerite Bouchard
Epiphany Neighborhood Art Studios

Marguerite Bouchard profile photo

Biography

Marguerite Bouchard is a worshiper, artist, intercessor, wife, mother of four, and now art business owner. She has also been a women's ministry leader, a prayer ministry team member, a prophecy school TA, a home-educator, kids ministry teacher, and prophetic painter. She is passionate about portraying the visual messages God... Read More

Sessions

Rochelle Watt profile photo

Biography

Rochelle believes poetry speaks louder than words: that poetry makes us feel, with an impact greater than other forms of communication. She is a poet and spoken word artist from Toronto, Canada, who enjoys experiencing beauty in art, music, dance, theatre, and nature. She recently self-published her first collection of... Read More

Sessions

Panelists

Andrew Nemr profile photo

Biography

Mentored by Gregory Hines, Andrew Nemr is an international artist, teacher and speaker. His work has spanned the music, dance, theatre, and visual arts worlds, exploring art as a vehicle for storytelling and community building. Described as “A masterly tapper” by the New York Times, Andrew has played with Grammy... Read More

Sessions

Chris Bernstorf profile photo

Biography

See Chris' 152:42: The Film, in the Short Films. If Matthew Dickman and Pablo Neruda conceived a child while crowdsurfing at a punk show and then raised the newborn in one of those bio tubes from a sci-fi movie, amalgamating the pseudo-amniotic-fluid from church, Chipotle, and pop culture, then you’d... Read More

Sessions

Crista Lof profile photo

Biography

Crista Lof is an artist, art instructor, church planter, wife and mom to two grown-ups. She teaches art to kiddos from 2 to 19 and takes huge inspiration from their whimsy and freedom. Her own practice attempts to harness that whimsy into drawings.   Read More

Sessions

Julie Lowe profile photo

Biography

Since her American debut with the Seattle Symphony at 17 as winner of the Seattle Young Artists competition, Julie Lowe has performed in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Spain and the United States and has recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and West German... Read More

Sessions

Randall Flinn
Ad Deum Dance Company

Randall Flinn profile photo

Biography

Randall Flinn is the founder and artistic director of Ad Deum Dance Company, a professional contemporary/modern dance company established in 1991 in Houston, Texas. He has served as a guest dance educator and choreographer for Cirque Du Soleil, Hong Kong Ballet, Guangzhou Modern Dance Company, Houston Ballet Academy, Alvin Ailey... Read More

Sessions

Sarah Lynn Galasso profile photo

Biography

Sarah Galasso began her career in 2000, as the first-ever, full-time animator at Fisher-Price, Inc. After six years with the company, Sarah launched August Productions. Sarah's student films screened at a variety of venues including the Brooklyn Museum of Art. For her professional contributions, Sarah has received the Champion Performer... Read More

Sessions

Artists

Biography

Audrey Boy is an artist and illustrator who lives and works on the territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations in what is now called Vancouver. Having grown up in a remote Christian community on the North West coast of Vancouver Island, her work addresses the beauty of the... Read More

Sessions

Biography

Cece Cheung has lived and worked in Vancouver since 2011. During the pandemic and its accompanying change and challenges, she began painting as a creative outlet and a means of finding something light, joyful and healing to focus her energy on. Her work explores the dialogue between colour, movement, brushstrokes... Read More

Biography

Emily is a watercolor and gouache artist based in Vancouver, BC. Her art journey started as a young child who loved to draw. Painting is an avenue for her to enjoy quiet moments. Emily’s inspiration comes from ordinary moments in life - the walks in her neighbourhood, time spent in... Read More

Sessions

Biography

Galacia Tan is a graphic designer who loves to come up with imaginative drawings in her spare time. In doing so, she hopes to inspire those around her to be creative in their own way Read More

Biography

Joyce Wong trusts a loving, gracious God who creates and redeems, who brings healing and hope to and out of our brokenness and longing. She is thankful to be able to co-create with Him through various arts like poetry and songwriting, floral arranging, relief printmaking, and through everyday living. Some... Read More

Sessions

Patty Bowman Kingsley profile photo

Biography

Patty is a cross-disciplinary painter with proven experience in transformational arts practice, including studio, collaborative, and live experiences. Serving within diverse sectors, she uses creativity as her primary medium, employing inspired solutions to creative challenges, while facilitating growth within individuals and communities alike. Kingsley believes creativity and connection transform culture... Read More

Sessions