Our Mandate

The Centre for Faith and the Media is an independent, non-profit organization to inform, advise and help media and the general public achieve a stronger understanding of spiritual history, practices and values in Canadian society.

The Centre provides non-partisan resources to journalists and the public to enable a more accurate and fair portrayal of faith in our midst. It conducts research, creates guides and other reference works, and operates an online site to enable broad access to information.

The Centre is based in Calgary but has a national board of directors from academia, media and business. Its initial financing was provided by Canadian Heritage, Department of Multiculturalism.  Ongoing funding has come from the Alberta government, and Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, as well as foundations and donations.

Our Team

2009 Board of Directors for the Centre for Faith and the Media

Jocelyn is the Director of Public Affairs at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. She is also founder and president of Segue Consulting International, assisting clients in transitioning ideas, projects and objectives. Her career has involved both private enterprise and political office at the municipal and provincial level. From 1993 to 2001, Burgener served as an Alberta MLA representing the riding of Calgary Currie. Before that, she served as a trustee with the Calgary Separate School Board.

Jocelyn has served on the board since 2002.

Al Duerr – Member, Board of Directors

Al Duerr is an independent consultant working on a variety of international technology and oil industry related projects. He was the Chief Executive Officer for Emergo Projects International of Calgary, a part of the Emergo Group based in Geneva, Switzerland. Before that, Duerr was the 34th Mayor of Calgary for 12 years. Duerr holds an MBA (Honours) from the University of Calgary and a BA (Honours) in urban geography and regional urban development from the University of Saskatchewan. He is a former district manager of an Alberta-based land development company and the former president of an environmental technology company specializing in wastewater treatment in the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia.

Al has served on the board since 2002.

John Stokoe – Treasurer and Member, Board of Directors

John Stokoe is Business and Finance Officer with Rocky Mountain College in Calgary, a position he has held since 1992. A Certified General Accountant, he has served on a variety of volunteer boards of directors. Prior to joining Rocky Mountain College, he was Business Administrator with Mountain View Bible College; Administrator with Vancouver Youth for Christ; Executive Director of Calgary Youth for Christ.

John has served on the board since 2002.

Ron Csillag – Board Member

Ron Csillag is a freelance journalist specializing in religion and spiritual issues. He is the Canadian correspondent for Religion News Service (RNS) in Washington, D.C., which supplies stories about religion to over 200 secular news outlets in North America. His work has appeared in The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Other, regular clients include the Toronto Star, the National Post, the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) and several religious publications, including the Anglican Journal, the Canadian Jewish News, Faith Today and the Catholic Register.

Ron has served on the board since 2004.

Dr. Jamal Badawi – Board Member

Dr. Badawi is the Director of the Islamic Information Foundation, Halifax and he is also
Professor of Management at St. Mary University (Halifax). He has been cross-appointed to the Religious Studies department of St. Mary University, and as a Muslim scholar and speaker, he travels throughout North America providing informative lectures on Islam.
He is also a board member of CAIR-CAN (Council on American-Islamic Relations, Canada) which is an agency which interacts with the media to provide information, commentary, contacts, and context to news stories involving the Muslim community.

Dr. Badawi has served on the board since 2004.

Richelle Wiseman – Ex-officio Board Member

Richelle Wiseman is the Executive Director of the Centre for Faith and the Media. She has an MA in Communications/Journalism from Wheaton Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois, a BA in English Literature from Nyack College, NY, and an MA in English Literature (ABT) from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON. She has over twenty years experience as a journalist and communications consultant and was one of a handful of individuals who started VISION TV: Canada's Faith Network, a national specialty television channel serving Canada's diverse faith communities.

Richelle joined the Centre staff in February 2003, and became the Executive Director in September 2003. She serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.