Who We Are

Raymonde Lavoie is the Chair of the Board of FRIENDS. She lives in Montréal, where she has lead creative and strategic teams for multinational and local agencies, and was co-owner of two agencies. She has taught Strategic and Creative Techniques at the University of Montréal. She sits on the Managing Committee of IWF Montréal and on the Board of Drug-Free Kids Canada.

Brenda Baker is a writer, performer, and creativity coach from Saskatoon, who holds a BFA in visual art and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. She has worked as an arts journalist for CBC Radio Saskatchewan and served on the boards of Access Copyright and the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. Since 2005 Brenda has been the Founding Director of Kids of Note, Saskatoon’s hit choirs for children of all abilities.

Ani Hotoyan-Joly is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA) and has the ICD.D designation from Institute of Corporate Directors.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of Women’s College Hospital, a member of the Executive Board of Armenian Relief Society of Canada, and she is the Vice Chair of the Community Services Sector Audit Committee for the Province of Ontario. As a member of the board for FRIENDS, she chairs the Audit Committee.

Scot Keith is the founder and President/CEO of One Twenty Three West (123w), an idea and design collective based in Vancouver and Toronto. which won Canada’s Small Agency of the Year award in 2020. Scot has helped lead campaigns that have won or been nominated for over 500 awards, including Hockey Canada’s “Relax, it’s just a Game” which was featured on Oprah. He has spoken all over the world, including the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.

Ethan Rabidoux is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and communicator. A former military man and politician, Ethan earned his BA (Honours) from Queen’s University and his MA in Journalism from Western University. In 2005, students at Queen’s elected him President and C.E.O. of the Alma Mater Society. He won the Dalton Camp Award in 2010, which began his long association with FRIENDS. He lives with his beloved wife and two wonderful sons in rural Southwestern Ontario.

Isabelle Reinhardt is in private practice as a substitute lawyer in the fields of commercial law, IP/IT, procurement, and commercial litigation for renowned corporate entities. She has served on the board of the Association des diplômés en droit de l’Université de Montréal. Ms Reinhardt completed a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages at McGill University and earned her law degree at Université de Montréal. She is a member of the Quebec Bar Association and an accredited mediator in civil and commercial matters.

Raj Shoan is a policy consultant and lawyer with broad experience in communications law and regulatory affairs. Prior to managing his own consulting firm, he was appointed to the CRTC as its Ontario Commissioner. He also served previously as Director of Regulatory Affairs for CBC/Radio-Canada and Astral Media Radio Inc.

Gregory Taylor is an associate professor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Communication, Media, and Film, where his teaching and research focuses on the politics and economics of the Canadian broadcasting and wireless industries. His first book, Shut Off: the Canadian Digital Television Transition (McGill-Queen’s, 2013), was short listed for the 2014 Donner Prize for Best Public Policy Book by a Canadian. Gregory received his PhD from McGill University in 2010.

Jim Thompson is an independent communications and government relations consultant based in Ottawa. He worked on Parliament Hill for ten years before establishing his firm. Jim provided consulting services to FRIENDS for a number of years before joining the Board.