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FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
FAI Board of Directors 2025 Election + Call for Candidates
October 15, 2024
resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
Every year, Folk Alliance International members nominate and elect board members who represent folk music industry leadership and help shape the future of our organization.
The upcoming annual election opens November 8, 2024 and closes on November 23, 2024. There are five open seats in this election for three-year terms commencing February 2025.
Learn About Your Candidates
Here are the current 7 candidates on the ballot, recommended by the FAI Nominations Committee and approved by FAI’s Board following an open call for expressions of interest, in alphabetical order by last name:
- Abby Altman
- Mary Bragg
- Laia Canals*
- Iona Fyfe*
- Jimmy Rhine
- Clayton Shelvin
- Tina Wroblewski*
*Incumbent
View our current board members and bylaws here.
To nominate yourself for a board seat you must be a member of FAI and fill out this nomination form with ten letters of support from FAI members. The deadline is November 1, 2024.
Learn more about each candidate below. (Sorted in alphabetical order by last name. This section will be periodically updated with more information.)
2025 Slate
Abby Altman
Club Manager
Passim
Cambridge, MA, USA
"With my decade of experience at Passim, I will be a valuable resource for representing and engaging venues to encourage their participation in FAI. As an attendee of the conference for several years, I'm excited to contribute to FAI's growth."
Abby started working at non-profit arts organization Passim shortly after moving to the Boston area in 2013. She is now the manager for Club Passim, a 110-seat year-round listening room in Cambridge, MA. As the Club Manager, she supervises and trains the club staff, manages and engineers many shows in the club, coordinates the campfire. and Down Home Up Here festivals, and is an extra pair of hands wherever they’re needed. She also administers many of Passim’s grant programs, including the Iguana Music Fund, Gecko Fund, Brian O'Donovan Legacy Fund, and Passim Emergency Artist Relief (PEAR) Fund. With no formal sound education, she learned audio engineering on the job and takes pride in now passing that training on to new staff members. She has played violin for several years, though she much prefers being at the sound board to being on the stage. She’s the only person to have two Passim tattoos.
Mary Bragg
Artist, Producer
Mary Bragg
Nashville, TN, USA
"In the last eleven years that I’ve been going to Folk Alliance, I've seen the magic that exists within the organization change people’s lives, nurture careers, & build community faster than imaginable. As it continues to grow, I’d be honored to serve"
"Americana Queen" (Vice/Noisey) Mary Bragg has been heralded by Rolling Stone and NPR for her “gorgeously crafted and executed songs.” Nashville-based and originally from the small town of Swainsboro, Georgia, the singer-songwriter-engineer-producer has produced albums for Grace Pettis, The Accidentals, Helena Hallberg, Stephanie Sammons, Natalie Price, and Jackson Emmer, among others, in addition to her own recent albums. Praised by World Café for her “refined, sumptuously melancholy take on Southern storytelling,” Bragg tours extensively with her band, and also serves as an adjunct Assistant Professor of songwriting at the Berklee College of Music.
Laia Canals
INCUMBENT
Director
Tempi - Roots Music Denmark
Nordic Folk Alliance
Copenhagen, Denmark
"With over 25 years of experience in roots music, leading Nordic Folk Alliance — FAI’s only international chapter — and a passion for building networks across the globe, I am deeply committed to strengthening the international side of Folk Alliance International. Known as an unstoppable networker, I will advocate for building bridges across borders, connecting people and ensuring our organization remains relevant and impactful to global communities."
Laia Canals is a dynamic leader and connector, committed to strengthening global networks within the folk and roots music industry. Currently, she serves as the Director of the National Organization for Roots Music in Denmark and as Chairperson of Nordic Folk Alliance — FAI’s only international chapter — where she excels in enabling the collaboration between Europe and North America. Over the last two years she served on the Folk Alliance International Board of Directors, where she crafted international brand strategy as the Chair of the Global Expansion Committee and Nominations Committee. Additionally, Laia is a member of the Strategic Committee of the European Folk Network and a Keychange advisor for EU.
Iona Fyfe
INCUMBENT
Director
Traditional Music and Song Association (Scotland)
Glasgow, Scotland
"Joining the board in 2021 came at a time of transition for the organisation. In a potential second term, I hope to work on International Development committee. Being the sole UK-based incumbent, I hope to explore and grasp opportunities to further develop FAI internationally, particularly in all nations the UK."
Iona Fyfe is one of Scotland’s leading folksingers, but prides herself in being a passionate communicator and activist. In 2022, Iona was awarded ‘The Equality Award’ from the Scottish Trades Union Congress in recognition of her work raising awareness and campaigning against sexual harassment and misconduct in the music industry. Over the pandemic, Iona lent her voice to several causes and campaigns including musicians against Brexit, income support for self-employed freelancers during the pandemic, the misuse of NDA’s in the music industry, cultural spending and ‘fix streaming’, which supported Kevin Brennan’s Private Members Bill which sought to address the inequity of streaming royalties.
Jimmy Rhine
Owner, Manager
Five Head Entertainment
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
"As a manager, I'm intimately involved in all aspects of an artist's career, experiencing both the highs & lows. If elected, I hope to use this first-hand experience to advocate on artist's behalf as FAI works to advocate & grow in the coming years."
Jimmy has been following his passion for the music business since advocating for musician pals in high school, eventually rolling into work at venues, promoting concerts and DJing at his college radio station. After finishing school, Jimmy founded Five Head Entertainment and worked in tour management for four years before deciding to move full time into artist management. With almost two decades in the business, artists that Jimmy has worked with have seen Grammy noms, sellouts at marquee venues (like Red Rocks & the Ryman), major syncs and successful worldwide touring, all while fostering creativity and balance in their lives.
Clayton Shelvin
Managing Director
Freight & Salvage
San Francisco, CA, USA
"I am committed to expanding what folk music can and should be throughout the world. As an FAI Board member, I want to further the inclusion of artists of color and their unique stories while increasing financial capacity for the organization."
Clayton Shelvin is a performing arts administrator and fundraising professional with over 10 years of experience in driving organizational change in the non-profit sector. Clayton’s work is rooted in equity, community partnership, and social justice. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Freight & Salvage, a 60-year-old music organization in Berkeley, CA. Prior, he was the Director of Programming and Talent Buyer at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. He has worked for various theatre and dance companies as a fundraiser, and served on regional and national boards. He started his fundraising consulting business in 2020, and works with clients to reimagine arts fundraising. Clayton hails from New Orleans, LA and is a proud Ragin Cajun graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s performing arts program. His career has been deeply influenced by the local musicians and artists that he encountered throughout Louisiana. He currently resides in San Francisco.
Tina Wroblewski
INCUMBENT
Export Development Program
Folk Canada
Toronto, ON, Canada
"As an active member of the Awards, Programming, and Global Expansion committees, I bring a unique international perspective, focusing on expanding folk’s diversity globally. As the only Latine representative on the board, and one of the few Canadians, I believe there’s still vital work to be done in international development and inclusion."
Tina Wroblewski, Colombian-born, Toronto-based Producer and Cultural Promoter, is the International Coordinator at the International Indigenous Music Summit (IIMS) The Export Development Program Coordinator (EDP) Folk Music Canada (FMC) Presenter and Audience Engagement Coordinator for Tkaronto Music Festival, responsible for connecting partners and the Outgoing work around Folk music Canada Conference, IIMS and other international projects. She founded “Proyecto Prizmacolor”, a project in Medellín that works to transform educational spaces through the promotion of art and culture. She has served as a jury for awards, including the JUNO Awards, as well as a consultant, curator, and artist liaison for a variety of festivals and conferences.One of the leaders of Eagle Meets the Condor, a Pan-American project with IIMS, Fluvial Conference, and partners in North and South America, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Folk Alliance International.
