New leadership and disability representation will strengthen the organization as it builds on an exciting future ahead
CALGARY – The membership of the National accessArts Centre (NaAC) has elected a new slate of members to its Board of Directors. Subsequently, the Board of Directors has appointed Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu, previously the Founding President and CEO of the NaAC to return to the helm as its President and CEO, effective July 2, 2024. Effective January 6, 2025, the NaAC will be welcoming back Karly Mortimer from her maternity leave and serving as co-CEO.
“These changes will help us as an organization focus on the goals at hand: to ensure continuity of our incredible programs, to support our hard-working NaAC team, and to help build the infrastructure required to sustain the NaAC’s vision for generations to come. As a community volunteer, and as a mother to a NaAC artist, I am honoured to step into the role of chairing the Board of Directors, and I look forward to working with JS and the NaAC team to support them in any way that I – and my Board colleagues – can.” – Laura-Jeanne Stollery, Chair, NaAC Board of Directors
“For the first time in NaAC history, more than half of our newly-elected Board members will be representing the disability community, providing our organization with the perspectives of lived experience and ensuring that we remain committed to the one community we have been founded to support – artists living with disabilities. I look forward to working with our new Board of Directors, and building on our strong foundation as Canada’s leader in the disability arts movement.” – Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu, President and CEO-designate
The organization wishes to thank Raewyn Reid who has served as Interim President and CEO during this transition, and extends its gratitude to the outgoing members of the Board of Directors.
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For more information, please contact:
Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu
President and CEO-designate
403.404.3174
js.ryu@accessarts.ca
Biographical Information
Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu is the President and CEO-designate of the National accessArts Centre (NaAC), returning to the organization that he led as its founding President and CEO from 2020 to 2023 (and serving as the CEO of one of its preceding organizations, the Indefinite Arts Centre, from 2017 to 2020). During his initial tenure, he led the merger of three disability arts companies in 2020 to create the country’s first multidisciplinary disability arts organization. Under his leadership, the Centre more than doubled in size, opened the Won Lee Community Arts Hub in Toronto, and finalized a multimillion-dollar partnership with the City of Calgary that will begin the development of North America’s first accessible arts learning campus.
Laura-Jeanne Stollery is the Chair of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. She is a sought-after practitioner in conflict resolution, mediation, and negotiation, and is the proud parent of a participating NaAC artist – Riley McNeil.
Hyon Chu Lee is the Vice-Chair of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. She is a Canadian entrepreneur and the wife of the late Canadian sculptor Won Lee. In 2022, she and her family made the largest gift to the NaAC in the organization’s history, totalling almost $2M in 2022, including the gifting of the Won Lee Community Arts Hub space in Toronto.
Kathy Austin is a Member-at-Large of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. She is a celebrated NaAC artist and a member of the NaAC Professional Dance Ensemble. Her works have been featured internationally, including most recently at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference and at Tangente Danse in Montreal.
Jody Roll is a Member-at-Large of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. She is a celebrated NaAC artist and a previous participant in the Jane Cameron Leadership Initiative, now putting her newly-trained skills to use as an incoming board member of the NaAC.
Marc Workman is a Member-at-Large of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. He is the CEO of the World Blind Union, the global organization representing the estimated 253 million persons worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. He is an experience non-profit executive and disability advocate, having held senior roles with the Government of Alberta and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Dr. Stephanie Chipeur is a Member-at-Large of the National accessArts Centre Board of Directors. She holds the Azrieli Accelerator Professorship in Law & Disability Policy, and cross-appointed to the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Policy.
