Organizing Committee
Keith Serry
Co-chair and Community Relations Coordinator
administration@cjam.info
Keith is a communicator, student-at-law, music industry autodidact and the most obnoxious Ottawa Senators fan in the 514. He's also sort of a serial "founder" In addition to co-founding CJAM, he also helped the Canadian Music Creators Coalition and his own, eponymous communications consulting business. Also, this one time, he totally found a $20 just sitting there on his porch. True story.
Olivier Plessis
Co-chair and Sponsorship Coordinator
administration@cjam.info
Olivier is a Vancouver transplant who came to Montreal for Mordecai Richler, but stayed for the poutine. A McGill law graduate, his goal is to support the Montreal arts scene...and maybe convince a few artists that lawyers can make beautiful things too.
Owen Ripley
Secretary and Webmaster
secretaire@cjam.info
Owen is a student-at-law, who moonlights from time to time as a Graphic Designer and Desktop Publisher. His true passion though? Organizing. That's why these CJAM folk keep him around: he keeps them organized, on the straight and narrow and ensures they are legit.
David Schaffer
Research Coordinator
recherche@cjam.info
David obtained a B.A. in Political Science at Concordia in 2004 before an attempted escape to India which was foiled because he forgot how much he disliked school and was subsequently lured back to Montreal by the siren call of the McGill Faculty of Law. David had a bunch of jobs (most too embarrassing to mention here) before CJAM taught him the joys of work without remuneration. In his spare time Dave enjoys losing football bets, caulking, and teaching his baby daughter to dance to songs with age-inappropriate lyrics. He also recently did some voice-acting in a radio play and is considering a career change.
Emilie Christiansen
Research Coordinator
recherche@cjam.info
Emilie graduated from Concordia's Communications Studies program and has worked in an audio/video commercial post-production studio for the past 6 years. During this period, she has also done some audio work on independant film/video. She has also been a long time volunteer with Concordia's student radio station CJLO where she can indulge in her musical obsessions. Emilie is now studying law at Université de Montréal.
Judy Tokgoz
Volunteer Coordinator
questions@cjam.info
At the age of 16 Judy started her first zine. With no previous experience in publishing, a list of record labels to call and a very outspoken friend she put together a cut and paste 65 page bi-monthly music zine that would change her life. That path led her to create the zine booth/punk rock history tent for the Vans Warped Tour that would take her on a 4 summer journey which ended in a decision to become a lawyer. She is currently on that journey.
“I don’t wanna change the world, I don’t want the world to change me” – Ozzy
Teri Vlassopoulos
Treasurer
finance@cjam.info
Teri is a Chartered Accountant by day and a fiction writer by night. In university she edited the Accounting Society newsletter and photocopied her own zines; now she writes accounting polices and is working on a novel. She is striving to put a different spin on "creative accounting" by working with CJAM.
Jennifer Besner
Workshop Coordinator
ateliers@cjam.info
Jennifer graduated from McGill’s faculty of law in 2009. Before law school, she worked as a youth leader, waitress, newspaper intern, and canoe museum guide, though not all at once. Prior to her involvement with CJAM, her brushes with arts included a stint as “the maid” in the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s 2001 production of Jesus Christ Superstar. She loves karaoke and is also mildly obsessed with thrift shopping.
Patrick Murdoch
Sponsorship Coordinator
murdoch@cjam.info
Patrick is on sabbatical for the year from his job as a corporate lawyer in New York City. When he’s not trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for CJAM, Patrick also spends his time volunteering at the Immigrant Worker’s Center and writing articles for a house and techno music website called the Guerilla Campaign.
