Our tEaM
Lora Campbell
Executive Director
Lora Campbell (they/them) is an award-winning producer, writer, director, arts administrator, and advocate dedicated to advancing equity, access, and creative sovereignty for marginalized communities. A disabled, transgender, non-binary cultural leader, Lora brings over two decades of experience creating and supporting spaces for artists historically excluded from mainstream cultural production.
They have worked as a facilitator, mentor, educator, and advisor with numerous arts organizations, supporting projects by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Trans, Disabled, and Deaf artists, among others. Lora has produced more than fifty film and theatre projects across Turtle Island, centering artistic excellence, collaboration, and community accountability across diverse cultural contexts.
A graduate of Memorial University and the Canadian Film Centre, Lora has held senior leadership roles including Artistic Director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto, Lead Creative at Waterford Valley Pictures, Mentorship Program Facilitator at Inside Out Film Festival, and Founder and CEO of Class Act Productions and Organic Water Productions.
Dian Marie Bridge
Artistic Director
Dian Marie Bridge (she/her) is an award-winning writer, director, dramaturge and creative producer who seeks to open spaces, provide platform, enrich community-bridge building. She was previously Associate Artistic Director at Luminato Festival Toronto, Artistic Director intern at Obsidian Theatre, Artist-in-Residence at Necessary Angel Theatre, Founding Artistic Producer of Cric Crac Collective, and 4LargeHeads multi-arts Collective, and a member of Stratford Festival’s Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction.
Dian holds a degree in Theatre Arts and Dramatic Literature from Brock University and was enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s Theatre Arts and Dance program (Twin Cities).Previous work includes Our Place; Vierge; Every Day She Rose (BTW), Beloved: A Celebration of Toni Morrison and Black Women Writers; Guided By Starlight; Golden Hour (Luminato Festival Toronto), The Mountain Top (Persephone Theatre), Made In Congo (Theatre Row United Solo Festival), Aneemah’s Spot (Cric Crac Collective /Motion Live), Geometry; Domesticity; Fuzz; Cotton Comes Home (4LargeHeads Collective)
Keith Trevor Fernandez
AMP Program Manager
Keith Fernandez (he/she) is an interdisciplinary theater director, performer and drag artist. He founded Berlin Musicals in 2018, providing opportunities for emerging performers and produced three full-length musicals. A graduate of Concordia University’s BFA in Performance Creation & Grant MacEwan’s Theatre Arts Program, Keith has directed productions such as Uncomfortable Dinner Party (Montreal, Fringe, 2025) Sinkhole (Infinitheatre, 2025), Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Montreal Fringe, 2024), Sustainable Opulence (2024/2025), and Landings (Montréal Arts Interculturels, 2023). Other directing credits include Would Virginia Woolf Contemplate Suicide if She Were Filipino? (Infinitheatre, 2022) and Songs for a New World (Berlin Musicals, 2019). In Montreal, Keith has worked with organizations like the Segal Centre, Imago Theatre, Infinitheatre, Festival Accès Asie & Montreal Arts Interculturels to name a few. With his drag persona, KAJOL, he merges theatricality and activism, with a focus on sustainability and climate action.
Laurie-Anne Jean-Baptiste
Marketing Manager
Laurie-Anne Jean-Baptiste (she/her) is an experienced marketing professional with a demonstrated history in the telecommunications and IT industry. Her love for performing arts has kept her involved on the Montreal musical theatre scene for many years, as a performer and as a board member (VP Promotion) for The Lyric Theatre. Her studies in Cinema & Communications and Creative Writing only reinforced the creativity she discovered and fostered in her youth. Her career and creative projects have made her an inspired and passionate storyteller.
Shannon Corenthin
Producer
Shannon (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist focused on uplifting the voices of women of color on stage. After earning her BFA in Theater Performance at Chapman University in Southern California, she moved to New York City where she worked for various arts organizations such as The Vineyard Theatre, The Drama League, Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre and Dancewave.
During her tenure at Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre, from 2020 – 2023, Shannon grew from ensemble member to Director of Production and curator of the Expand the Canon project (ETC) (a program aimed at incorporating female identifying playwrights into the theatrical canon).
Gabrielle Cole
Office Coordinator
Gabrielle Cole (she/her) is a writer originally from Southern Ontario and now residing in Montreal. She holds a B.A. in English literature from McGill University and is pursuing an M.A. in Creative Writing at Concordia University. Inspired by her grandfather, a notable Jamaican poet whose work cemented him as a leading voice of West Indian/Caribbean literature, Gabrielle is interested in fresh voices, and stories from elsewhere.
Her experience in customer relations, marketing, and publicity roles have lent themselves to a deftness in communication and administration and building strong relationships with those she works with.
Board of directors
Andréa Springer
President
Andréa is a Public Relations professional with over 20 years experience in corporate communications, media and investor relations, as well as project and event management. She is currently the Programmes & Communications Director at the World Design Organization where she works directly with municipalities to develop strategies that communicate the value and impact of design on quality of life. As one of the newest members to join the Black Theatre Workshop in 2019, she hopes to contribute to the growth and appreciation of the performing arts within the local community.
Danielle Fortas
Treasurer
Ms. Fortas has over 35 years of experience focused on technology implementations at BMO. With an emphasis on enterprise wide initiatives in Finance and Data Analytics, she has held multiple senior IT roles. Her latest management position has been in Back Office Operations where she has enabled process change within business units. Danielle immigrated from France to continue her university studies. She holds a degree in Economics from Paris X and a Bachelor of Commerce (Option MIS) from Concordia. She followed the University of Waterloo Program for BMO Technologists and the Project Management Program from York University. She is a member of the BMO Alliance for Women in Canada and the Black Professional Network. Danielle is passionate about arts, the development of black culture in Montreal and the sustainability of black community institutions within Quebec and Canada.
Carolyn Griffith
Board Member
Carolyn Griffith is the director of finance and operations for a Quebec organization committed to serving the needs of the legal community and has her CPA designation. Carolyn is native Montrealer. Carolyn has over 20 years of progressive experience as a compliance professional within the financial services industry. She is a believer in being proactive rather than reactive. Carolyn is a proud graduate of both Concordia University and McGill University. She brings to the board extensive experience in identifying, evaluating and mitigating risk in a heavily regulated industry. She comes with a proven track record within the compliance function in analysis, implementing and testing controls. Carolyn recently joined the board of directors of the Black Theatre Workshop in 2022. She is delighted to be part of the board and is excited to contribute to the living legacy of the Black Theatre Workshop.
Cheryl-Ann Lilieth
Board Member
Ms. Lilieth began her theatre training with BTW’s inaugural Summer Workshop Program. She went on to major in voice performance at McGill University and is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Ms. Lilieth has performed in both classical and musical theatre works in Canada and the United States, and has previously worked with Opéra de Montreal, The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre Classique de Montréal, and Tapestry Opera. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from McGill University.