We are delighted to announce the appointment of new interim board chair Betsy Chaly. Betsy has been on the Art Starts board of directors since 2013 and will be replacing Martin Gangnier as chair. As long-standing members of the board, we would like to thank them for their contribution to the organization.

Betsy Chaly is a bilingual marketing and communications professional with 20 years of experience in a variety of industries and sectors, including media, arts, telecom, government, and education. She is currently President of Tableau, a communications consultancy. Previously, she was Vice President of Communications & Marketing at Indspire.

She earned her MBA in International Business from the University of New Brunswick and also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Geography and a Bachelor of Science in Biology, both from Queen’s University.

Betsy is thrilled to take on her new role as interim chair and begin to fulfill her vision for the organization.

“After serving on the Art Starts board of directors for 5 years, I am thrilled to continue with the organization as an interim chair. I am happy to take on this role and offer my expertise in fulfilling the organization’s vision of community building through the arts. With this new leadership role I am looking forward to working with both experienced board members and new comers, and harnessing their individual strengths. I’d also like to thank Martin for his time and commitment as the previous board of directors chair. His passion for the Toronto charity is admired and appreciated by all,” says Betsy.

We would also like to thank Martin Gangnier for his 6 years on the board of directors and the positive impact he has had on Art Starts.

Martin is Vice-President of Licensing at Re:Sound, the Canadian organization that advocates for music creators, educates music users, licenses broadcasters/businesses, and distributes royalties to creators – all to help build a thriving and sustainable music industry in Canada.

“I am honoured to have served as chair of the board of directors at Art Starts and am very proud of the many significant milestones we achieved during that time. My tenure at Art Starts has been incredibly meaningful – having witnessed countless truly inspiring contributions made to Toronto communities and the arts culture overall. Art Starts has gone through a tremendous amount of change over the course of my three terms and I believe the organization is now stronger than it has ever been. I look forward to watching Art Starts continue to grow under the leadership of its new board chair, Betsy Chaly. I congratulate her and wish her all the best,” says Martin.

Here at Art Starts, we’re thankful to have such knowledgeable and passionate people on our team. Betsy will be joining current Art Starts board members: Steve Greenidge, Safwan Javed, Valerie Tan, Dorena Tu, Sonja Torbica, Jackie Tavares, Caroline Yang, and Cindy Ball. We would like to give Betsy a warm welcome in her new role and wish Martin well on his future endeavours.