Board of Directors

Johanna Shapira | President

(BA (UVic), MA Anthro (Goldsmiths, University of London), PgDip (Roehampton).  Raised in Vancouver, Johanna has recently returned after 25 years in New York, London and Singapore where she developed her love for music, dance, and art.  She spent 10 years as a Senior Vice President at Ogilvy and Mather New York as a Director of Strategic Planning, and 10 more as Director of Ethnographic Research with Ipsos UK, working in London, Europe and China. Also, in London, Johanna trained as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist at Roehampton University, working with the NHS and in private practice in London and Singapore.  She is currently working as a research consultant and indulging her love of all things Vancouver.  She has been a life-long lover of early music and a supporter of both Early Music New York and Handel House in London. She joined the Board in 2018.

Andrew Szeri | Vice-President

Andrew Szeri is currently a Professor at the University of British Columbia and has served as the Provost and Vice-President Academic for UBC Vancouver from 2017-2022, providing leadership for the university’s academic strategy, budgetary and planning processes, and overseeing UBC’s academic programs and support functions, faculty affairs, the library, enrolment, sustainability and information technology. Prior to this appointment, he served as an academic administrator (dean and vice-provost) at the University of California, Berkeley, where he held a professorial appointment for over 20 years. He completed his Ph.D. in Theoretical & Applied Mechanics at Cornell University (New York) in 1988 and earned the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2019. He joined the EMV Board in 2020.

Fran Watters | Past President

(BA, UBC; LLB, UVic) Fran joined the Board in 2014, and has held a number of positions including Secretary and Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee. She recently retired from UBC where she was Director of Faculty Relations and then the Academic Leadership Coach and Program Director of the University's Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP). She is a retired lawyer who practiced in the area of labour, employment, human rights and administrative law. She now offers her services as a leadership coach and investigator of issues of workplace conflict.  She enjoys skiing, hiking and sang for many years in a gospel choir in North Vancouver, Julie Blue’s Singspiration.

Ron Kruschen | Treasurer

(BA, MBA UBC, ICD.D) Ron has over 45 years of experience in business and government of which the last 30 years was spent in investment counselling, servicing institutional investors such as foundations and pension plans.  He holds a Master of Business Administration from UBC and is the holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation.  Before he retired, he was President and Managing Director of API Asset Performance.  He has served as a Director of the University of Northern British Columbia Management Trust and was the Treasurer of the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre.  He is a music lover and supporter of various music and cultural groups in the lower mainland.  He joined the Board in February 2019.

Colleen Dixon | Secretary

Colleen Dixon is a seasoned Architect and Design Professional and the Civic Sector lead at Stantec responsible for business development, project delivery and leadership of the Studio in Vancouver, BC. Colleen was educated at both the University of British Columbia in the post degree Bachelor of Architecture program (1995) and at the University of Victoria Bachelor of Fine Arts program (1991). The melding of fine arts and architecture was an ideal pursuit as Colleen believes in the importance of culture and the arts as part of designing complete communities.  Her support and appreciation of the arts has her engaged in lifetime learning and participation in activities that add to the richness of our city.   She is currently enrolled as an adult student in the RCM Grade 7 Classical Guitar program and plays in an amateur classical guitar ensemble at the VSO School of Music.

Melody Mason | Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee

(BSc Sociology, Univ London; MSc Development Economics SOAS; MBA Wharton). Melody has worked as a psychiatric social worker in England, consulting economist and senior economist/project manager with the World Bank in Washington DC. Her work as a UN volunteer in El Salvador and the World Bank took her to over 20 countries in LA, Africa, Central Asia and Russia. She also carried out extensive research and evaluation programmes for the Bank. Her board experience includes seven years with a large university in England (Chair of the Finance Committee), a health rights advocacy charity, and BC Civil Liberties Association. She joined the Board in April 2016 and chairs the Nominating & Governance Committee.

Chris Guzy | Board Member

(REFIRE Technology Group, Inc., Chief Technology Officer) Chris’s areas of responsibility include product and technology research and development and corporate technology acquisition strategy. Prior to joining REFIRE, he was Chief Technology Officer of Guangdong Nation-Synergy Hydrogen Technology Co., Inc. and Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Ballard Power Systems, Inc. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2006.

Sherrill E. Grace | Board Member

(BA Western, MA and PhD McGill) Sherrill joined the Board in 2016. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (a Past-President of Academy I, Arts and Humanities). She is a UBC University Killam Professor Emerita and a UBC Professor Emerita of English.  Her research and teaching specialization is in Canadian Literature and culture, and she has published extensively in these areas, including on Canadian representations of the two world wars and on Canadian operas and the North.  Her biography of the iconic Canadian writer Timothy Findley, Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley, appeared in the fall of 2020. Classical music has been her life-long passion and, now, in retirement Dr. Grace has more time to devote to listening and studying the music of masters like Bach and Handel.  She joined the EMV Board in 2016 and is an enthusiastic supporter of this extraordinary organization. Her contacts with donors are always a pleasure.

Janet Lea | Board Member

(BA Queens College [CUNY], MA Washington State University, Niagara Leadership Development Program) 

Janet grew up in New York City where her passion for music was nurtured at the High School of Music and Art. After completing degrees in music history and theory and immigrating to Canada, Janet was bitten by the radio bug and was ecstatic when she was offered a position with the CBC Stereo network. She enjoyed a lengthy and stimulating career with CBC as a program and recording producer, as Executive Producer of several Vancouver-based programs, and as Head of Music for CBC English Radio, based in Toronto. After returning to Vancouver, Janet migrated to the world of dance as Ballet BC’s Artistic Administrator and as Program Coordinator for The Banff Centre’s dance program. Janet has also served on the boards of several not-for-profit arts organizations, most recently with City Opera Vancouver where she also co-produced several company productions. 

Vincent Tan | Board Member

(BS Ateneo de Manila University, MBA University of Chicago) Vince joined the Board in November 2015. His working career was largely with Ayala Land, Inc., a listed diversified property developer active in Asia but owned by shareholders worldwide, where his career concluded with service on that company’s Board of Directors until April 2016. His interest in early music dates from the mid-1970s, when he played woodwind instruments including krumhorn and cornamuse with the Old Town Renaissance Consort in Chicago. Aside from music, his other passions include sustainable community development, in which field he received a certificate from Simon Fraser University in 2009, and fine wine (as a member of the International Wine and Food Society and other wine groups in Vancouver).

Graeme Keirstead | Board Member

Graeme Keirstead graduated with a law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1991 and was called to the Bar in 1992. He worked at the Law Society from 1999, responsible for a number of different portfolios, until joining the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia in 2013 as chief legal counsel and Deputy Registrar.

Serena Ko | Board Member

(LLB Université de Montréal, LLM University of Hawaii at Manoa) Serena Ko is a trade commissioner and senior policy advisor at Global Affairs Canada. She holds a bachelors in civil law, as well as a master of law with a specialisation in international law. Prior to joining the federal government, Serena managed public policy initiatives at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a think tank based in Vancouver, focusing on Canada-Asia trade and multilateral forum engagement. Serena's other passion is promoting diverse voices in the Vancouver arts and culture community and currently serves as a director on the Board of Culturebrew.art. She also serves on the Board of the Mavis McMullen Housing Society, a charity providing stable and affordable housing for low-income women of the greater Downtown Eastside. Serena joined the EMV Board in 2021.

José Verstappen | Artistic Director Emeritus

José Verstappen provided inspired leadership to EMV from 1979 to 2013. During those years, José led EMV to become a centre of excellence in the area of historically informed music. Jose continues to be a loyal volunteer for EMV providing much valuable assistance in many areas. What José has given to early music worldwide, to EMV, and to the broader British Columbia community is beyond price. He became Artistic Director Emeritus in August 2013.