A ccessible Media Inc. (AMI), in partnership with the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada, has unveiled the founding board members of the Disability Screen Office (DSO).

Formed earlier this year, the DSO represents the interests of Canadians with disabilities within the domestic screen sector to highlight accessibility issues and ensure meaningful representation in Canadian media. While the organization was initially founded by AMI, it will be spun out into an independent operation, with interim executive director Andrew Morris overseeing the transition.

The founding board members are: Yazmine Laroche, former deputy minister for public service accessibility; Sasha Boersma, co-founder of Sticky Brain Studios; Kenneth J. Fredeen, managing director of Return on Disability Group; and Prasanna Ranganathan, a published writer, social media consultant, professional speaker and documentary producer.

Laroche is “the first person with a visible disability to become a federal deputy minister,” according to a news release. She has served in federal government organizations including Transport Canada, Canadian Heritage, and the Canada Information Office, among others.

In addition to her work at Sticky Brain Studios, Boersma actively promotes equity and inclusion in Canada’s screen sector and formerly served on the Women in Film and Television (WIFT) Toronto board of directors; Fredeen previously worked at Deloitte LLP as its general counsel emeritus and senior partner, Indigenous and Accessibility, in which he led the company’s Reconciliation and Disability initiatives; and Ranganathan was formerly the head of diversity and belonging at Shopify.

Line Gendreau, VP of finance and technology services at AMI, will “remain active with the board until it transitions into a fully independent organization in March 2023,” according to a news release. Morris will “remain as the interim executive director until a permanent executive director is hired in the new year.”

The DSO has also launched its website ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which occurs on Dec. 3.

One of the DSO’s goals is to create the Best Practices Guide for Disability Engagement in the Canadian Film and Television Industry, which the organization said will head into the second phase of national, bilingual research in 2023. The DSO will also participate in the upcoming Canadian Media Producers Association Prime Time conference in Ottawa, which runs from Feb. 1 to 3, 2023.

Laroche said in a statement that “as always, we are actively seeking feedback from both English- and French language communities and will be transparent about our progress.”

Morris added that “the foundation we are building will increase industry accessibility and establish programs to foster meaningful and authentic disability representation across the screen sector.”

Image courtesy of AMI. L-R: Prasanna Ranganathan, Yazmine Laroche, Sasha Boersma, and Kenneth J. Fredeen