The Banff Centre Foundation

Gavin R. Berger is the Director of Advancement for BerkleeNYC. He is responsible for securing the funding for the Berklee School of Music’s campus expansion in New York located at the famous Power Station recording studio. With more than 20 years of successful experience as a top marketer, fundraiser, executive, and producer in the entertainment and real estate industries. Gavin has successfully held senior leadership positions at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Meadowlands Xanadu, Consumer Reports Foundations as well as developed his own commercial real estate projects and consulted to prestigious venues and businesses. Some of his clients have included: Bowery Presents, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Arlington Cultural Center (“Artisphere”), the Walton Arts Center, the Berman Foundation and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Gavin serves as a Board Member for other diverse organizations including Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) and the extraordinary Rubin Museum.

Gavin attended Columbia University in the area of Urban Economics and Redevelopment and received a B.S. from the University of Vermont in International Marketing and Management. 

David Gagnon joined Power Sustainable in 2019 as Head of Business Development and Partnerships to oversee and develop long-term client partnerships. He brings extensive international experience from prior positions as Managing Partner of Vela Investors, a Singapore-based advisory firm, and as a Managing Director at BlackRock where he led the Product Development and Transition Management businesses in Asia Pacific, structuring asset reallocations and implementing new investment strategies for institutional clients. David holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from McGill University.

Susie Kololian, (nee: Bentley) born in Vancouver, lives in Toronto, graduated from Queens University’78 (B.A.) and Ryerson University’81 (B.A.A.I.D.). Following a successful career in design, with her own interior design firm, Susie, alongside her business partner, Sue Kidd, now coordinates and leads contemporary art tours nationally and internationally under the banner of Variant Path.

Over the years, Susie has held many volunteer and campaign leadership roles including trustee positions with the North York General Hospital Foundation and the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) Foundation. She is very
active as an Advisory Council Member of the Mosaic Institute, founded by her husband Vahan Kololian (TerraNova Partners LP) in 2007.

Susie has been an active member of Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts (TFVA) for many years. This organization is a member-based independent non-profit organization founded in 1998 offering education to its members and awarding artist prizes and project prizes annually.

Susie joined the Foundation Board of Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada, as a Director in 2018. Recently she was appointed Chair of the newly established, Development Committee (2019). Banff Centre is a global leader in arts, culture, and creativity, focusing on the development and promotion of creative work in the arts, sciences, business, leadership and the environment.

Vahan and Susie are proud parents of their two children, Christopher Kololian (RBC, London, UK - married to Morgan) and Tanya Kololian (AvisonYoung, Toronto). Susie is passionate about the arts, development
of education for youth and the advancement of peaceful solutions to issues facing communities globally.

Chris Lorway is the President and CEO of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity effective April 10th, 2023. Chris brings senior leadership experience across a broad range of artistic disciplines in both Canadian and international contexts. Well-positioned to strengthen Banff Centre’s position as Canada’s creative leader in arts, leadership, and convening, Chris has a proven record as a global influencer in arts and culture.

Chris is a Canadian citizen, born and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and comes to Banff Centre from his recent position as both Executive and Artistic Director at Stanford Live in California. His artistic and community programs drew from the breadth and depth of Stanford University to connect performances to significant issues, ideas, and discoveries of our time, through seasons featuring over 200 performances and events across four venues.

With a dedicated history in the arts world that began with the Lincoln Centre Festival Team, Chris also brings a marketing lens to his role as President and CEO. Prior to Stanford Live, he was Director of Programming and Marketing at The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, where his focus was on developing a cohesive brand identity for the institution.

Chris has hands-on experience in live theatre and music production through his previous role as the Artistic Director of the Luminato Festival, where he commissioned or co-commissioned nearly 50 new works from Canadian and International artists.

As a former consultant in the United States with AMS Planning and Research and AEA Consulting, Chris gained detailed insight into the governance and operations of major cultural organizations, including Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West Kowloon Cultural District and San Francisco Opera.

A lifelong career in community engagement has been Sandy Martin’s passion. For over 3 decades Sandy’s skills have enhanced local, national and international not for profit organizations. She takes particular pride in serving as the first National President of Canadian Hadassah Wizo (CHW) from Calgary in its 100-year history, an organization whose mandate is to enhance the lives of women and children along with the advancement and advocation of healthcare innovations in Israel and Canada.

Sandy has held the position as chair of the Hadassah WIZO Foundation of Canada as well as director of the SOMAR Family Foundation.

Nationally, Sandy served on the Board and Executive of The Mother’s Matter Center. The program's hallmark is based upon the mentorship of immigrant and indigenous women and their families through literacy platforms.

Locally Sandy’s impact has been felt as a board member of Alberta Global Forum, a think tank that was first established at the University of Calgary. Timely information and knowledge generated calculated research positions leading to positive change.
As well, Sandy has shared her talents as Co-chair of the Canadian Cancer Society Gala and served on the Board of West Island College.

Sandy’s expertise has benefited the Calgary United Jewish Appeal serving as the first female to chair the Campaign. Her focus is the importance of securing endowed gifts.

Sandy’s outlook regarding the arts is its immense value to the human condition and its ability to transform our minds through its meditative qualities. She is delighted to serve on the Banff Center Foundation Board to contribute as an ambassador and informed voice cultivating a new audience of supporters. 

Mr. McMillan was appointed as Executive Vice President and CFO March 2020. Prior to joining Toromont he served as SVP & CFO for Parkland Fuel Corporation. Mr. McMillan has more than 25 years of finance and operations experience in public and private industry senior management roles including telecommunications, farm equipment manufacturing and distribution, clothing and technology based Professional Services consulting. Mr. McMillan holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Chemistry from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Calgary. Mr. McMillan is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and a member of the Foundation Board for the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Aly Khan Musani, CPA, CA is an accomplished finance executive with over 20 years of leadership experience. Currently, Mr. Musani is the Chief Financial Officer of Symend, a Calgary-based technology software company, with a mission to transform digital customer engagement through behavioural science. Over the past five years, Mr. Musani has led the growth and transformation of the finance function at Symend and has been instrumental in the Company raising over $100 million in venture capital financing.

Mr. Musani has managed financial forecasting and reporting, insurance, risk, treasury and capital projects for companies with over $1 billion in assets, and over $500 million in revenue in the oil and gas and technology sectors. He has led global teams with operations in 13 countries and has directed the creation and execution of full financial reporting cycles. Mr. Musani has the proven ability to create and streamline business processes that result in the most efficient, accurate and cost-effective method to operate and grow a business.

Mr. Musani holds both Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant designations and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary.

Jill Price has a strong record of accomplishment in executive leadership and of working with boards. Her expertise is in fundraising, government relations, governance and fund management oversight. Her clients include both large and small organizations in alternative energy, hospitals, and investment firms and not for profits. She is the former Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a think tank that focuses on supporting Canada’s relations with Asia. In addition to managing the organization, she was the lead on the endowment oversight. Prior to this position, Jill was the Director of Philanthropy for BC Children’s Hospital where she had a marked impact on revenue development. Prior to this JIll worked in private investment firms as a financial analyst after graduating with a B.Comm from UBC. Jill is very active in the Vancouver community and has served on a number of not for profit boards, most recently as the Chair of Arts Umbrella, the largest not for profit arts education program for children and youth in Canada. As Chair, she oversaw the largest rise in fundraising and government support in the organization's history. She continues to serve as past chair and on the organization's foundation board. She and her husband Hartland have homes in Vancouver and Quebec, and their two daughters have careers in Canada’s creative industry.