board of director candidates
Nate Nate Nainers
As a client and event coordinator for Fresh Air Cinema BC 2021, I have worked with municipalities such as North Vancouver and New Westminster, as well as crown corporations, credit unions, business bureaus, corporations, non-profits, charities, faith centres, and prominent families.
During 2017-2018, I was the co-producer and production manager for Parade of Lost Souls where I was responsible for the coordination of marketing, press, production, acts and their contracts and payment, security, food trucks, and having a working relationship with Vancouver and Britannia Centre.
Website
Instagram: @nate_nate_nainers
Arusha Bruns
I am seeking to join SAD Mag’s Board of Directors because I believe artist-run publications are essential to a resilient cultural ecosystem. Independent platforms like SAD do more than publish—they shape discourse, create legitimacy for emerging voices, and sustain creative communities. I want to contribute to that structural work.
As an emerging, self-directed artist working across photography, music, and visual storytelling, I navigate the realities that many contributors face: financial precarity, evolving platforms, and shifting cultural value. That lived experience informs how I think about sustainability and long-term growth.
I served as Visual Arts Editor for Yolk Literary Journal, collaborating within an editorial team to balance vision, deadlines, and contributor relationships. I have also volunteered with Kickdrum and the Nelson & District Arts Council, and worked as a volunteer photographer with Yellow Door in Montreal. These roles grounded me in governance realities, community accountability, and the operational labour behind independent arts organizations.
Having lived and worked in Montreal, the Kootenays, and now Vancouver, I bring cross-community perspective and a commitment to thoughtful, strategic stewardship. I am ready to contribute critical thinking, reliability, and long-term vision to help ensure SAD remains artist-centered while building structural resilience for the future.
Website
Instagram: @aru_gu_la
Ihomehe Agbebaku
I’m interested in joining SAD Mag’s Board because I care about independent arts publishing in Vancouver and the ecosystems that sustain it. I currently serve as Editor-in-Chief of PRISM international, where I work closely with writers, editors, printers, and other collaborators. That role has given me hands-on experience with budgeting, production timelines, vendor coordination, and the practical work that keeps a magazine alive.
What draws me to SAD is its energy. It feels genuinely rooted in the local arts community, playful but intentional. I admire how it creates space for artists who may not always see themselves reflected in more traditional publishing structures. My own work moves across writing, film, performance, and community-based creative spaces, and I’ve come to see how interconnected those scenes are. The same artists often move between mediums, and the health of one space shapes the others.
I would bring publication leadership experience, a working knowledge of print and digital workflows, and a collaborative approach to governance. I’m particularly interested in conversations around sustainability and visibility, and how small arts organizations can remain nimble while building long-term stability.
I’m excited about the opportunity to support a publication that contributes meaningfully to Vancouver’s creative culture.
Nada Alsaka
I first came across SAD Mag about a year or two ago while exploring local publications, and was immediately drawn to how SAD centres emerging creatives and gives them a platform to experiment and be seen. Since then, I’ve followed SAD closely and had the opportunity to collaborate on the recent Taste Issue as a photographer for Brittany Tiplady’s article, a Taste for Succulence. As an aspiring photographer and filmmaker, that experience was incredibly affirming. Being trusted with creative freedom and encouraged to execute my vision reinforced how vital SAD is as a supportive and artist-led publication. It’s a community I want to continue investing in.
I bring to the table experience in visual storytelling, production, and digital communications, alongside a strong understanding of emerging creative communities in Vancouver. I’m used to managing projects and contributing to both creative and organizational goals.
I would love to continue to support SAD’s mission of amplifying diverse voices and being a community-driven space for creatives!
Website
Instagram: @nadasarchive
Skylar Martin
I believe that art and culture in these stressful times to be both a mirror and a source of reprieve. In the era of AI, making art is an act of resistance and perseverance. As a poet and English major, art and literature is what sets my heart on fire. Community helps art to thrive and I would love to be an active contributor to the community SAD invites into their space. I am passionate and self driven with experience coordinating funded events during my undergrad. An example of this would be coordinating a talk with Gloria Steinem hosted by the University of Calgary. My job was working with the ushers and ensuring that everyone was placed where they needed to be and understood their duties. Additionally, I have experience in project management with a brain cognition lab. This job involved, ensuring that deliverables were met, the project reclaimed on schedule, and consistent communication with the team lead. Lastly, I am a self published poet and have an understanding of the grant writing experience from the creative side.
I first experienced the SAD community from one of the collage nights and have since attended the previous two magazine launch events.
Dani Raso-Amer
The Vancouver creative scene has played such an integral role in who I am. Having grown up in underground music circles, art collectives, and being immersed in social justice and writing in the city has been the biggest influence on how I approach my work and writing now. As a teenager, I was involved in LGBTQIA+ and Two-Spirit youth activism, as well as community art and music initiatives, and being able to return and give thanks to these communities through SAD magazine as an adult would be so special to me. It is the community in Vancouver that has propelled me into pursuing journalism and storytelling, as the stories of creatives and makers are so essential to the way I perceive and navigate the world. In my professional career, I have worked as the Editor-in-Chief of the Women and Gender Studies undergraduate journal at the University of Toronto, where I recently graduated from. In this work, I was immersed in the publication and editing process, and although I worked closely with academic papers, I edited prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction. I myself am a writer and poet, with my work being mostly non-fiction and reflexive essays. As a part of the Board of Directors of SAD, I would bring in my editorial background and knowledge of Vancouver community spaces, aiming to prioritize Vancouver voices, social justice, and celebrate the importance of local art and creative culture.
Instagram: @_daniraso