Team & Board of Directors
The VIMFF Team
A big thank you to our amazing team whose efforts in putting on this festival to promote mountain film & culture in our region are appreciated.
Festival Director, Programming, Sponsorship:
ALAN FORMANEK
Director of Programming, Jury Coordinator:
TOM WRIGHT
Festival Manager:
JANI ANDERSEN
Marketing Manager, Ticketing Manager:
CONNOR McCRACKEN
Partnerships Account Manager:
JOJO DAS
PR Manager:
HELEN YAGI
Tour Manager:
DYLAN MORGAN
Web Programmer / Designer:
LINDSAY MCGHEE
Graphic Designer:
IVETA LEKESOVA
Programming Assistant:
KIRAN BASRA
Community Partners Coordinator, Accounts Payable/Receivable:
MAYA MRAZIK
Guest Services Coordinator:
CYNTHIA CHOW
Volunteer Coordinator:
PAVLA BRESKA
Grant Coordinator:
LYDIA HOL
The VIMFF 2022-2023 Board of Directors
The VIMFF gratefully acknowledges the dedication of the Board of Directors. These individuals are leaders in the professional and outdoor community. They are a dedicated group who are passionate advocates of the vision for the VIMFF and work hard to achieve it's strategic goals.
MANRICO SCREMIN
Position: Board Chair
Profession: Information Services Consultant
Year Joined the Board: 2015
Manrico is an avid hiker, skier, and climber starting over 60 years ago on Mt. Seymour. He is a former President of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC and has held several executive positions with the Alpine Club of Canada at national and local Vancouver levels. Manrico is a highly experienced independent business consultant. He helps organizations plan for and implement large scale information systems. Manrico’s resume along with descriptions, photos, and videos of over 60 multi-day trips can be viewed on his company website: www.pensiamo.com
DAN FINE
Position: Vice Chair
Profession: Account Executive – Strategic Expansion
Year Joined the Board: 2020
Dan Fine is one of the early Internet veterans has founded multiple successful businesses using well-developed strategic plans. He founded fine.com, the first company to be named a “dot com” in 1994 without angel or venture capital funding. Dan guided the company thru an IPO on NASDAQ and to an acquisition by Aris Corporation in 1999. He continued as VP of Global Marketing at Aris before co-founding Bot, Inc. where, as the CEO, Dan raised a seed round. In September 2002, Dan co-founded In2Gr8 Corporation with a mission to become the leading Microsoft Business Solutions company. The company raised $22 million from four Venture Capitalists and merged the company with EYT, formerly Ernst & Young Technologies.
Dan then launched Fine Solutions. The company is focused on delivering Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM. He grew it to $12.25m in revenue with 50 employees and 550 clients. The company achieved 9 out of 10 years in a row on Inc.’s Fastest Growing Companies. Only 21 other companies in the USA have accomplished this recognition. He was also on the Dean’s council at Washington State University and serves as an advisor to the Provost of the University of Washington. In addition, Dan was on the Board of Director’s of Who’s Calling and Tamarac. Both were sold for over $60 million.
Dan has received several awards for his solid business planning, including Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Small Business Person of the Year Award by SBA. Dan graduated from Washington State University with a BA in English, and lives in Vancouver, BC. He is married and has two girls.
MARCOS BORGES
Position: Treasurer
Profession: Business Development Manager / Entrepreneur
Year Joined the Board: 2019
Marcos is a Business Development Manager and Entrepreneur with a passion for the outdoors. After 15 years working on a company he founded and managed in Brazil, he decided to move with his family to Canada in 2017 to explore new experiences. Before joining the VIMFF Board of Directors, he was an avid enthusiast of the festival and the mountains of British Columbia. Having extensive experience background in both mountaineering and rock climbing in the Andes, Alps and Himalayan Mountain ranges, Marcos hopes to contribute to VIMFF so it keeps inspiring more people to enjoy the outdoors.
VIERA VEIDNER
Position: Secretary
Profession: Senior environmental specialist
Year Joined the Board: 2015
Viera brings to VIMFF’s Board of Directors more than 20 years of experience as environmental advisor. She is a practitioner and advocate of sustainable living and has been instrumental in creating sustainable strategies and initiatives in private and public sector. Her love for the natural word and enthusiasm for outdoor activities and adventures aligns with the VIMFF mission to celebrate and embrace mountain film and culture, outdoor sports and environmental initiatives. She has been a dedicated volunteer since VIMFF’s inception and has not missed a festival to date.
STEPHEN L. ARMSTRONG
Position: Director
Profession: Territory Manager, Canada West, Arc’teryx Equipment
Year Joined the Board: 2023
Stephen L. Armstrong is a seasoned marketing and sales professional with over a decade of industry experience. He has a proven track record of success in developing and executing community-driven brand strategies for top brands such as Nike Canada, Arc’teryx, Saje Natural Wellness, Macy’s, and Nutrl Vodka Soda. His passion for film started at a young age, with his father working as a cinematographer at the CBC. Combined with his passion for skiing & skateboarding, he quickly found a home photographing athletes in the outdoors and working within the outdoor industry.
In his current role as the Territory Manager for Western Canada, Arc’teryx Equipment, Stephen has taken the lead in driving forward a new vision for wholesale operations within the outdoor retail landscape in Canada. By implementing new methods of retail programming, he has successfully maintained local connection whilst driving forward omnichannel growth. His passion for the outdoors is reflected in his work, where he excels in developing compelling brand narratives, driving forward community engagement, and connecting with local partners. When not in the office, Stephen can be found exploring the great outdoors, be it running along the seawall, skiing with friends, or adventuring in the mountains. As a new member of the board, Stephen is excited to work with the greater VIMFF community to support the growth of the outdoor film industry.
ISABEL BUDKE
Position: Director
Profession: Certified Leadership Coach and Trainer
Year Joined the Board: 2022
Isabel has been exploring wild places and high peaks on foot and on skis for three decades. She’s been part of Lions Bay SAR for seventeen years, including as director and training officer. In addition to mountaineering and back-country skiing, Isabel loves trail running, Nordic skiing, biking and yoga.
As a certified leadership coach (PCC, CPCC), Isabel is passionate about helping leaders and teams grow through challenge and change and navigate their career paths. Her programs integrate movement and embodiment in nature, fostering clarity, confidence and well-being (www.IsabelBudke.com).
With graduate degrees in Education and Resource Management, Isabel brings extensive professional expertise in the outdoor, sustainability, health and education sectors. As a director, senior advisor and consultant, she has collaborated with diverse leaders and organizations across cultures including treaty negotiations; indigenous and sustainable community planning; program design and transformation; leadership and organizational development; conflict resolution, teaching, coaching and facilitation.
TARYN EYTON
Position: Director
Profession: Adventure travel writer
Year Joined the Board: 2022
Taryn Eyton is a Squamish-based hiking and adventure travel writer and Leave No Trace Master Educator. She is the founder of the hiking website HappiestOutdoors.ca and the author of Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia: The Essential Guide to Overnight Hiking Trails (Greystone Books, 2021). Taryn is also the President of the Friends of Garibaldi Park Society, a member of the Board of Directors of Leave No Trace Canada, and a Fellow of the Canadian Geographic Society.
ANDREW KARLOWSKY
Position: Director
Profession: Sourcing Manager
Year Joined the Board: 2020
Andrew’s passion for climbing has taken him around the world. He is focused on growing the climbing community as an ACMG course examiner, fostering the next generation of climbing instructors and coaches. Professionally, Andrew has worked in managing, developing and sourcing equipment for the outdoor industry for over a decade, ensuring outdoor enthusiast are using the best gear on their adventures.
RICHARD WALTON
Position: Director
Profession: Corporate director and retired CPA. Former District of NV Mayor.
Year Joined the Board: 2022
Richard Walton served North Vancouver District as mayor from 2005 until 2018. A lifelong resident of the North Shore, he has lived adjacent to and experienced the quiet green spaces on the flanks of Vancouver’s Hollyburn, Grouse, and Fromme mountains most of his life. Currently he serves as director on a number of Boards, including the BC Land Title and Survey Authority, E-Comm 911, the Fraser Basin Council and the North Shore Community Foundation. For 16 years as a councillor and mayor he provided strong support to the Vancouver International Film Foundation in its formative years. He has travelled extensively and worked for seven years in Europe as a tour guide. Currently a member of the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors, he earned a BA from UBC, an MA from SFU, and was awarded an FCA by the Canadian Institute of Professional Accountants for lifetime service. He raised four children on the North Shore and he and his wife continue to reside here, where they and their black lab walk the forest trails daily.
