Actsafe Safety Association, the arts and entertainment industry’s health and safety association, announced their 2022 Board of Directors at their annual general meeting on Thursday, June 16th. Ted Violini will serve as Chair and Dr. Rosyln Kunin will serve as Vice-Chair for the next two years. The Board will comprise 7 directors.

“Actsafe is pleased to have Ted and Dr. Kunin join our Board of Directors,” said Trina Pollard, CEO of Actsafe Safety Association. “Ted has proven to be such an asset to the organization in his role as Vice-Chair and we are excited for him to bring his leadership and his data-driven insights to the role of Chair. Dr. Kunin’s resume is impressive, and her governance skills and strategic thinking will help guide Actsafe towards further success.”

Ted Violini specializes in people enablement and actively facilitates building people up to perform their best. His philosophy is “people first; if you make people the priority, they will create a great culture which will great a great organization.”

Ted has over 20 years of executive operations and project management experience across diverse industries, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), commercial construction, finance, and technology. Ted has sat on multiple boards in the not-for-profit sector and appreciates the work he has been able to do in the NGO and charity sectors. A highlight of Ted’s career occurred during his role as General Manager at the Dalai Lama Center when he directed the effort of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Vancouver in 2014. Ted is passionate about the science of well-being and has a long experience being involved with workplace health and safety.

Ted Violini is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Theory+Practice, a Vancouver-based SaaS scale-up which enables enterprises in the retail, finance, and insurance sectors to gain a deeper dynamic understanding of their customers, anticipate their needs, and meaningfully serve them.

“Throughout my career, health and safety has been a constant theme, from my early days as a logger and within my many different careers,” said Ted Violini. “To me, health and safety is a vital part of creating a best-in-class workplace. In my time at Actsafe I’ve seen the dedication and passion of all parties in creating this safer workplace and ensuring that safety stays top of mind. As such I am honoured to step into the role as Chair of Actsafe’s Board of Directors.”

Dr. Roslyn Kunin is one of those rare economists who can make the often-difficult subject of economics understandable and even interesting.

She was educated in Quebec and Ontario, finishing her studies with a Ph.D. in economics from the University of British Columbia (UBC). The University of Victoria has granted her the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws. The Institute of Corporate Directors has granted her the ICD.D designation.

She has been awarded the Crystal Ball Award by the Association of Professional Economists, the Woman of Distinction Award by the YWCA, and a Canada 125 medal for service to Canada and is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia.

Dr. Kunin was a director of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and is now on the council of Applied Sciences Technicians and Technologists of BC. She was Chair of the Haida Enterprise Corporation and has served the community in many positions including Chair of WorkSafeBC, Chair of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, Director of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Director of the Canada West Foundation, Governor of the University of British Columbia, Chair of the Vancouver Crisis Centre, member of the National Statistics Council and Vice-President of the YWCA. She has published numerous articles and books.

In her career, Dr. Kunin has worked in the private sector, written a weekly newspaper column, and taught at several Canadian universities including Simon Fraser University and UBC. She served twenty years as Regional Economist for the federal government in B.C. and Yukon and ten years as the Executive Director of the Laurier Institution. She is in private practice as a consulting economist.

“As someone very familiar with British Columbia and unlike many, I am aware of the very major contribution that arts and entertainment make not only to our culture, but also to our economy adding earnings, jobs, and taxes,” said Dr. Kunin. “As a past chair of WorkSafeBC, I never forget how important it is for all of us to return home from work in at least as good condition as when we left. For these reasons, I am absolutely delighted to join the board of Actsafe and the wonderful people here.”

Dr. Roslyn Kunin and Ted Violini assumed their respective roles from Thursday, June 17th for a two-year term. They join Board members Michael van Dijk, Treasurer; Dave Wilson, Performing Arts Worker Representative; Rob Larson, Motion Picture Worker Representative; Tracey Wood, Motion Picture Employer Representative; and Miles Muir, Performing Arts Employer Representative.  

Actsafe Safety Association is a not-for-profit health and safety association supporting British Columbia’s motion pictures, television, live events and performing arts industries. Actsafe strives to achieve healthy and safe workplaces by providing safety training, education, and resources to employers and workers. We serve approximately 66,000 workers and 2,755 employers across British Columbia.