Board Bios
Erin Mullan | President
Having served on the festival board of directors for three years, and president for two, Erin is ready to continue her commitment to working on the board. She has a deep love for and long history with the VFMF, having attended over 30 festivals as an audience member, volunteer, security team co-ordinator, and board member. For many years she was one of the party queens, the crew who ran the festival volunteer parties.
Recently semi-retired, in her professional life she works in reproductive health education and abortion care. She has a MA in Intercultural Communication and was the longtime host of In the Claddagh Ring, the Celtic music program on CFRO Vancouver Coop Radio. An organic master gardener, Erin believes that helping plants grow is excellent therapy.
Anne Blaine | Vice President
Anne Blaine volunteered as a Committee Coordinator at the first two folk music festivals and was on staff as the Festival Administrator for the next 14 years. She served 5 years on the Steering Committee and the Board of the Folk Alliance International. She has been the Onsite Marketing Coordinator, Vancouver Children’s Festival (4 years), Freelance Manager for multiple events, Exhibit Tours and installations (12 years), Associate Producer, Rogers Santa Claus Parade/Vancouver Canada Day Parade(16 years), Board Member, VFMFS (6 years), Manager Special Events, Metropolis at Metrotown (16 years).
Jeff Finger | Treasurer
Jeff Finger has attended every day of all the Vancouver Folk Music Festivals. His passion for folk music led him to serve on the VFMF Board in very difficult times and to be a festival volunteer and donor. Jeff has worked with other non-profit groups organizing events and doing fundraising.
Over the past 45 years, Jeff has helped to build and manage several successful local and international tech enterprises. This professional work has included the design and manufacturing of hand-held solar lights for distribution by non-profits and NGO’s in Africa and Haiti. He has provided leadership in facility and process design, and set-up of IT infrastructure. Jeff is a seasoned problem-solver and team-builder with time, energy and skills to help the festival thrive.
Melinda Suto | Secretary
The VFMF is a unique act of community building that creates the best musical and cultural event annually. The festival is where people connect, learn about social issues, and have a place to belong, all through the power of music. Melinda’s experience at the first festival was on the transportation committee, where she met performers at the airport and drove them to and from Stanley Park. She became a lifelong volunteer with the festival because of the synergy between the audience and performers. Over her years of volunteering at every VFMF since 1978, Melinda enjoyed a career as an occupational therapist and a university professor. Her specialty was community-based participatory research, focusing on living well with mental health issues. Melinda is engaged in a variety of volunteer community activities.
Tess Kitchen (she/her) | Member at Large
Tess has been on the Board of Directors since 2022, bringing her experiences in strategic planning, technology, financial analysis, and non-profit governance to the table. Tess is a lifelong musician, having played at festivals around Canada, including the Vancouver Folk Music Festival with her band e.s.l. Professionally, she is a senior strategic planning advisor at ICBC. Her educational background consists of a BSc in math and computer science and an MBA specializing in strategic management and sustainability. She’s been on several non-profit boards and has enjoyed volunteering to teach girls coding on an ad hoc basis. Tess and her husband have two kids, and they enjoy camping, swimming, adventures at Jericho and Kits beaches, and of course, music.
Ann McDonell | Member at Large
Ann McDonell has been an avid Vancouver Folk Music festival-goer since 1982 and volunteered at the Festival for many years. She worked in the performing arts sector for three decades with organizations including the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, the Public Dreams Society and the Vancouver Writers Fest, and has been a major gifts fundraiser at Simon Fraser University since 2017. She currently serves as President of Vancouver Moving Theatre and Vancouver Independent Music House.
Ann was appointed to the VFMF board of directors in 2023 and serves on its fundraising committee. She is committed to working with her fellow board members to ensure the festival is financially stable and sustainable for future generations of music lovers.
Amy Newman | Member at Large
Amy Newman has a long and active history with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival spanning several decades. She was the VFMF Board chair from 2012 – 2016, has been a Little Folks Volunteer, Assistant Coordinator, and has programmed the Little Folks Area. She coordinated the Little Folks Committee from 1990-2002. Amy has been a festival performer with Uzume Taiko and Sansho Daiko. She has led numerous Japanese taiko drumming workshops in the Little Folks area for children and families. Amy has been a music teacher, classroom teacher, District Fine Arts Coordinator and now expresses her passion for leadership as a school principal.
Christina Price | Member at Large
Christina has been volunteering at the Folk Festival for nearly 20 years, and has served as the Coordinator of the Info Booth Committee since 2014. She has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector, including fundraising, event planning, volunteer management, DEI, and operations. Christina is the former Festival Manager of the Vancouver Fringe Festival, and has volunteered at pretty much everything that starts with “Vancouver” and ends with “Festival”. She currently works as a major gifts fundraiser at an environmental charity. When not working or volunteering, she can be found reading, making music, or out in nature with her family.
Alison Klein | Member at Large
Alison has been a volunteer for the Folk Fest since 2014, where they have been in the lantern committee. Outside of the Folk Fest, Alison has experience as a self advocate in the disability community through many arts organizations and festivals. They have a radio show and podcast on CFRO Co-op Radio 100.5 FM about arts and culture in the disability community, called The Self Advocate. Alison has volunteered for the Fringe Festival, Writer’s Festival, Vancouver Pride, and PuSh Festival, all with accessibility. They currently work with neurodiverse LGBTQ+ people, connecting them to the wider queer community. Lastly, Alison has a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a double focus in Cultural Studies and Work, Organization, and Leadership. When not working as a self advocate, Alison likes to knit, watch TV and movies, and goes bowling.
Ann Rowan | Member at Large
Ann believes that the Vancouver Folk Music Festival brings together all the elements that makes Vancouver such a special place – the Salish Sea with the mountains and the islands as backdrop, and people visiting with friends, eating and drinking and grooving to great music – hopefully with some sun. For more than 30 years she has enjoyed attending the Festival and last year, she became more involved as a volunteer with the Environment Committee which involved minimizing the waste destined for the landfill. As a Board Member, she has an opportunity to bring more of her knowledge and skills to the table.
Ann has worked with others to advance how incorporating nature into decision-making will benefit the planet and ourselves. Her background in financial management, economic analysis and sustainability have been important in her leadership roles in Greenpeace Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation and useful in advancing collaboration and public engagement at Metro Vancouver. Being a Board Member of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is a new opportunity to apply these skills to contribute to ensuring that the beautiful and motivating music and camaraderie that characterize the Festival continues to inspire and revitalize.
NOU DADOUN | Member at Large
Nou Dadoun has been heavily involved in the Vancouver Arts Community since his arrival in Vancouver in 1979 to attend graduate school at UBC. He has volunteered, written and done public presentations for a variety of Arts Organizations including Coastal Jazz & Blues, Early Music Vancouver, Vancouver Independent Music Society, Chan Centre Concert Series, Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival and others. Nou first volunteered for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1980 (the 3rd festival) as a transportation driver and for a number of years through the 1990s worked the record tent at the Festival as co-owner of Black Swan Records. He was on the board of directors for the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society for almost 30 years including 12 as president. Since 1986 he has hosted a weekly Jazz radio show (The A-Trane) on Vancouver Cooperative Radio featuring local and international artists and promoting local arts events.
After completing his graduate work in Computer Science, he taught at UBC and Langara College and then worked in a number of tech areas including VoIP, close-range photogrammetry, communications protocol development, hardware and security camera firmware with a recurring computer security theme. Nou currently works on a product security/cybersecurity team for the multi-national enterprise software company SAP.
Fiona Simons | Member at Large
Fiona is a climate policy specialist with deep expertise in public policy, stakeholder, and community engagement. She is currently a Senior Manager with Deloitte’s Sustainability and Climate practice, where she focuses on climate mitigation, decarbonization, and clean energy deployment for public sector clients. Prior to her current role, she served as Director of Policy to Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
Fiona has experience serving on the board of a federal political party’s provincial arm, as well as on the board of a large student-led women’s organization during her time at the University of British Columbia. As a born and raised Vancouverite, she has been attending the Folk Music Festival since she was a baby and is committed to ensuring the festival remains a staple for many years to come.
YEE CHAN | Special Advisor
Yee has been volunteering at the Festival for the past five years and joined the board in 2020. A passionate community supporter and a strong believer in giving back, Yee regularly volunteers at numerous arts and cultural festivals to better our community. Yee is an exemplary immigrant success story as she was a pre-teen when she came to Canada and benefited from our excellent education system. In turn, she has contributed toward the expansion of the Canadian technology sector. Music has always been an integral part of her life. She hopes to bring her experience and enthusiasm to the festival, and contribute towards its continued success.