Staff
Cynthia Lickers-Sage
Executive Director
cynthia[at]ipaa.ca
Arts Practice(s): Media Arts
Nation(s): Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River
Cynthia Lickers-Sage is a proud recipient of the Governor-General of Canada’s Meritorious Service Cross. Following her graduation at the Ontario College of Art and Design, she Co-Founded The Centre for Aboriginal Media, imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, and is the sole proprietor of Clickers Productions. She has spent the last two decades working in the not-for-profit arts sector as the former Executive Director at the Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts, and the General Manager at Kaha:wi Dance Theatre where she gained valuable skills to take on her current position as the Executive Director at the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance.
Conor McSweeny
Marketing & Communications Coordinator -and-
Project Coordinator, IPAA Tech Bundles (Contract)
conor[at]ipaa.ca
Art Practice(s): Music, Photography
Nation(s): Settler – Irish, Italian, Polish
Conor McSweeny is an arts administrator, musician, and photographer with a passion for connecting people through the arts. After finishing his MA in Popular Music and Culture at the University of Western Ontario, he spent three years at 918 Bathurst Centre as the administration and production manager helping to produce hundreds of events. In 2019, he left 918 Bathurst to become the City Director for pop-up concert company, Sofar Sounds Toronto. When he’s not producing events, you can usually find him behind a camera, or in front of a loud band.
David Wilkinson-Simard
Northern Ontario Regional Program Coordinator (Contract)
dave[at]ipaa.ca
Artistic Practice(s): Theatre, Music, Dance, Traditional Storytelling
Nation(s): Treaty Three Anishinaabe, Obishkokaming First Nation
David belongs to the Kingfisher Clan, originally from Obishkokaang FN and now resides in Thunder Bay, ON, land of the Fort William FN in the Robinson Superior Treaty Territory.
He has been active in the First Nation music and art scene since the age of 12 and mentored under the guidance of the late Dr. Richard Lyons of the Lyons Dance Group. Later founding the Thunder Mountain Singers, the group recorded several international live and studio-recorded albums (1992-2012). Music collaborations include Folk singer Rodney Brown, Fiddle Player Pierre Shreyer, Shyanne Hovorka, Classic Roots, and the Thunder Bay Symphony. The group won numerous accolades including the Indigenous Peoples Choice Music Award, Thunder Bay Arts and Heritage Award; and City of Thunder Bay Citizens Award; and nominations for best album by Native American Music Awards and the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.
David is a proud member of his community and gives back by participating in various committees for performing arts, heritage, cultural and educational boards in Thunder Bay.