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Jean La Rose is a First Nations citizen from the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak. He was raised in Ottawa where he studied Journalism at Algonquin College and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Social Communication at the University of Ottawa. He later began study for his Masters in Public Administration at L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration Publique.
He was named Chief Executive Officer of APTN in November 2002. The network has moved to a digital, high-definition platform and now employs over 130 people. APTN was one of the host broadcasters for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and carried over 10 hours per day of Olympic events in English, French and in eight Aboriginal languages.
Mr. La Rose sits on the Board of Directors of the National Screen Institute, the Board of Directors of On-Screen Manitoba and the Nisga’a Commercial Group. He was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications in 2011.
Sky Bridges was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in June of 2011 after serving as Director of Marketing at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network beginning in January, 2007. During his time as Director of Marketing he oversaw the expanded presence of APTN throughout our communities through various forms of media. He has been key in the development of Aboriginal Day Live, APTN’s premier celebration of Aboriginal National Solidarity Day. Mr. Bridges is Métis, with a Blackfoot blood line and was born in Winnipeg and raised in Marquette, Manitoba. He is a graduate of Red River College where he completed a Diploma in Business Administration and an Advanced Diploma in International Business.
Mr. Bridges has held diverse positions in the broadcast industry, covering both the private sector with PrideVision TV and the public sector with the CBC. He has also served as Vice-President of Business Development at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and, in this capacity, developed a tremendous insight to the strengths of Aboriginal Peoples across Canada.
Ms. Houle is a member of Manitoba’s Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and speaks Ojibway fluently. She graduated from Red River College with a diploma in Journalism and has nearly 15 years of experience as a television reporter, producer and executive producer.
Ms. Houle worked for CTV/CKY for nearly 10 years prior to first joining APTN in April 2001.In October 2002, Ms. Houle joined the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs as its Communications Advisor. She returned to the APTN National News team in January 2005 in the role of Executive Producer and was appointed in to the position of Director of News and Current Affairs in June 2005. Ms. Houle held this position until her January 2012 appointment to Director of Community Relations.
Monika Ille has built a rich and diverse background during her nearly 20 years in the broadcasting industry. Upon graduating with distinction from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Monika entered the industry working first for the Société Radio-Canada and then, for the National Film Board (NFB). During her employment with the NFB she was instrumental in the development of a new training program for Aboriginal filmmakers. It was this latter experience that initiated her into the world of film production and led her to create her first documentary French Man, Native Son. She has also worked with Quebec Native Women in Montreal and the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa. Monika has been with APTN for the past eight years, serving as the Manager of Programming for the Eastern Region for the majority of her tenure.
Ms. Ille is a member of the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Abenakis Museum. She is also a member of the Comité d’action sur la diversité culturelle of TVA and is an industry adjudicator on the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council – Quebec Regional Panel.
Born and raised in Hazelton, British Columbia, Wayne McKenzie is from the Gitxsan First Nation of Northwest British Columbia. From an early age, Mr. McKenzie knew that he wanted to work in the television industry. He graduated from the Media Resources Program at Capilano College in North Vancouver before moving on to Ryerson University in Toronto where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Television Production in 1986.
Mr. McKenzie has worked in both the private and public sector. Prior to beginning his career at the CBC in the late 1980s, he worked with video production and post-production companies in Vancouver and Toronto. Mr. McKenzie spent 10 years at CBC North television in Yellowknife, where he worked on Aboriginal language and Aboriginal-focused programming: Denendeh, Focus North, Northbeat and Igalaaq.
Mr. McKenzie joined APTN in August of 1999 prior to the network’s September 1st launch. He soon moved into the management ranks and assumed the role of Manager of Operations. His dedication and expertise were recognized and he was promoted to his current position as Director of Operations in 2001.
Mr. McKenzie lives in Winnipeg with his wife Marion and children Katie and Benjamin.
Formerly the APTN Manager of Sales, Ms. Powell was promoted to the position of Director of Sales and Business Development effective October 1, 2008. Before beginning her employment at APTN in 2006, Ms. Powell worked in sales, client management and corporate negotiation at The Media Co. where she led national accounts and negotiated advertising campaigns across Canada and in the United States. Ms. Powell is of Cree ancestry, born and raised in Toronto. She has a degree in Anthropology from York University and training from the School of Media Professional Development.
Ms. Pugliese joins APTN as the Director of News and Current Affairs in July 2012 with more than 15 years of experience in the broadcast and communications industries. She has years of experience investigating and reporting controversial and hard-hitting stories which have garnered national attention. Her stories have won Native American Journalism Awards and she was also nominated for a Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Gold Ribbon Award.
With recent experience as a producer/host at ichannel, Ms. Pugliese credits the launch of her journalism career to APTN, where she first worked as an Ottawa reporter/correspondent from 2000 to 2006. In addition to her experience at APTN and ichannel, she has also worked with the Assembly of First Nations, Vision TV, and the CBC.
Experienced in navigating social media, Ms. Pugliese will work closely with the News and Current Affairs team to engage with and reach a wider audience in Canada. Ms. Pugliese is a proud member of the Algonquin First Nation of Pikwàkanagàn. She grew up on her peoples’ traditional (and unceded) territory which is, today, known as Ottawa.
Lisa Squire is a young leader in the community and as a newly appointed director at APTN her focus is people and innovation. She is a proud member of Alberta’s Saddle Lake Cree Nation with family rooted in Goodfish Lake, Alberta. Raised in Edmonton, she graduated with distinction from the University Of Alberta’s School of Business. Since graduating she has performed various marketing and communication roles within private and public sectors including: Petro Canada Retail Operations, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival and CBC Research.
Ms. Squire started with APTN in June 2007 as the Manager of Research. During that time she led the development of in-house marketing research at APTN, with a focus on innovation and understanding the needs of the audience. She has successfully built essential marketing research tools that assist the network in making key strategic decisions and obtaining valuable information on the target audiences. Ms. Squire feels extremely fortunate to have gained valuable insight into the beautiful mosaic that Aboriginal Peoples in Canada create. She joined the senior management team as Acting Director of Marketing in July 2011, being appointed to Director of Marketing in March 2012. Ms. Squire is excited to build upon APTN's showcase of Aboriginal Peoples and their stories.
Born in Vancouver, Mr. Stott has been a human resources leader and business partner for more than 20 years in the US and Canada. Mr. Stott’s professional career includes human resource leadership roles with private companies such as Maple Leaf Foods; the North West Company; the Dufresne Group and not-for-profits such as Main Street Project. These positions have allowed Mr. Stott to live and travel across the country and across the north.
Mr. Stott sits on the Board of Directors for Age and Opportunity, a position which he has held since 2008. He has a diploma in Human Resources from Douglas College in BC and Human Resources legislation from University of Winnipeg. He also holds the designation of Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with the Human Resources Association of Manitoba.
Mr. Stott is well known within the human resources community as a leader with strong business acumen. He is an experienced mentor who focuses on building high performance and values based teams. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Stott joined a delegation of 12 Canadian human resource leaders who travelled to Israel to meet with government and business leaders and review best practices.
Mr. Stott lives in Winnipeg with his wife and three daughters.
Born in Winnipeg and raised in rural Manitoba, Lea Todd is a proud Métis woman who first began her broadcasting career working in the traffic department of a local CTV affiliate. Seizing the opportunity to help a new network expand, she left her post at CTV in December 1999 and took on the challenge of maintaining the programming schedule as the Scheduling Manager with APTN. Since then, she has played an integral role in the evolution of the network, especially where programming is concerned.
Ms. Todd is a powerful contributor to APTN, and her commitment to excellence was recognized when she was appointed to the position of Director of Creative Services and Scheduling, overseeing the department as it takes on APTN’s future challenges.
