Bravo niagara!

Our Team

Christine Mori - Co-Founder & Artistic Director

Alexis Spieldenner - Co-Founder & Executive Director

Céline Peterson - Production & Programming Associate

Teresa Lasiuk - Membership Associate

Board of Directors

Stéphanie Filippi is an experienced arts and culture administrator and community leader with over 25 years of combined expertise in sales and marketing, special events management, and fundraising/sponsorship across the non-profit and corporate sectors. She is deeply committed to supporting the performing arts in rural communities and expanding access to enriching cultural experiences, particularly for youth and minority communities.

Fluent in both French and English, and with strong roots in both French and Canadian cultures, Stéphanie serves as a cultural bridge and advocate. She actively fosters growth, collaboration, and inclusion through her work, and is a passionate promoter of the French language and culture in Ontario and beyond.

In January 2016, Stéphanie relocated to the Niagara Peninsula to take on the role of Audience Development Coordinator (Bilingual) at the newly opened, municipally owned FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines. After three successful seasons focused on building and engaging audiences, she transitioned to Venture Niagara, a Community Futures Development Corporation, as Research and Communications Coordinator, where she developed and launched the Vivre à Niagara Francophone visibility campaign and a bilingual online directory of Francophone community services in the region.

In 2019, Stéphanie joined the Creative Management team at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake—one of the world’s finest theatre companies—as the inaugural Company Manager. Over three seasons, she supported the day-to-day needs of the acting ensemble, musicians, directors, coaches, and artistic staff. Her portfolio included managing ensemble and public programming events, comp ticket allocations, the annual general and specific auditions process, and coordinating professional development initiatives through the Slaight Family Academy, including the Directors Project and the annual Artists Intensive.

Prior to relocating to Niagara, Stéphanie spent 14 years at Prologue to the Performing Arts, where she served as Outreach and Touring Sales Manager. There, she worked closely with professional artists and companies to bring live arts programming to young and family audiences in partnership with schools and community presenters across more than 100 Ontario municipalities each year.

Stéphanie is currently Project Manager at Canadian Parents for French – Ontario, a national network of volunteer parents and advocates dedicated to the promotion and creation of French second-language learning opportunities for youth across Canada.

Her work is grounded in community growth, capacity building, and inclusive programming. In addition to her work in arts and culture, she has also held roles in Canada’s tourism sector and communications industry, including with Corus Entertainment.

Darren is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and has practised accounting for more than 20 years.  He has helped clients while working at large multi-national accounting firms and is now operating a small accounting firm in St. Catharines.  His focus and passion has always been to help small-medium sized business.  After obtaining his CPA designation Darren continued his academic journey completing a two year in-depth tax course offered by the Institute of CPA’s.  He has been on many boards, serving as a Treasurer, in the Niagara and Hamilton Region as volunteering is a value that he holds strongly.  Darren grew up in Niagara attending Parliament Oak as a child and he now resides with his wife and two children in St. Davids.  

In Canada, Carol has been a board member of the Canadian Stage Company, the Canadian Arts Magazine Foundation, The Power Plant and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). She is also a founding member of the Art Gallery of York University. She also served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and was co-chair of the Committee of Acquisition of Contemporary Art. At the LA MOCA, she was a primary sponsor of Canadian artist's "Rodney Graham:A Little Thought" organized by the AGO of Toronto and curated by Jessica Bradley, Cornelia Butler and Grant Arnold.

In New York City, she was invited by Art Director and chief curator Melissa Chiu, to join the Asian Society, established by David Rockefeller and presently sits on the Asian Society Contemporary Art Council and the Contemporary Art Acquisition Committee. She has contributed art works and sponsored many contemporary Asian art shows and books including the art book on leading Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao, whose exhibition opened in September, 2012.
Carol is a member of the Photography Committee and Photography Council of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Contributions include exhibitions by Canadian artists Jeff Wall, Scott McFarland and the Cindy Sherman exhibition, now travelling to San Francisco, Minneapolis and Dallas. In 2011, she became a founding member of MOMA’s Modern Women's Fund Committee.
She is a member of the Tate Modern North American Contemporary Art Acquisition Committee; in Vietnam, she is a director of the Vietnam Foundation Board for the Arts whose mission is to promote contemporary art.

Rochelle Ivri is a Canadian citizenship judge and paralegal professor with the McKiel School of Business at Mohawk College. She is a paralegal and immigration consultant licensed with the Law Society of Ontario and the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC). Rochelle has served two terms on the Niagara on the Lake Public Library Board and is also a former member of the Discipline, Appeal, and Review Committee of the ICCRC and spent 8 years on the Council of the College of Midwives of Ontario. Before teaching, Rochelle worked at the Federal Courts and the Immigration and Refugee Board, and coordinated a restorative justice diversion program for the Ministry of the Attorney General. Rochelle received an undergraduate degree in criminology (minor in forensic anthropology) form the University of Windsor and a postgraduate certificate in alternative dispute resolution from York University. Rochelle enjoys spending time with her family and is passionate about the Charter and human rights law.

Christine Mori, an accomplished pianist and Toronto native, began her early musical studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Mozarteum, Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood before moving to New York City to attend The Juilliard School. Upon her graduation from Juilliard, Christine went on to spend thirty years as the pianist with the Florida Orchestra, where she performed with the likes of Henry Mancini, Isaac Stern, Victor Borge, Nigel Kennedy, Robert McDuffie, and Bobby McFerrin to name a few. Christine returned to Canada and shortly after founded Bravo Niagara! in 2014 with her daughter Alexis.

As Director of Strategic Relations at Meyer Sound, Jerry serves as the critical link between end users, architects, AV consultants, acousticians and sound designers and Meyer Sound’s audio and acoustic divisions. He has global responsibility and continues to work with the most technologically innovative and creative companies in the world developing unique and bespoke sound and acoustic solutions to improve and enhance the employee and customer experience. Jerry manages the direct relationships with several top Fortune 500 companies including Apple, Google, Facebook and Bloomberg. Jerry studied Jazz at Humber College in Toronto and holds a degree in Music Engineering from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, with focus on jazz performance and digital audio engineering. He is a pop, rock and jazz musician, composer and recording engineer. Jerry has worked in the advanced sound and acoustics fields since 1987 and has been with Meyer Sound since 2006.

Alexis Spieldenner is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and lifelong love of music, Alexis founded Bravo Niagara! in 2014 with her mother Christine Mori, who serves as Artistic Director. A not-for-profit organization led by “two women dreamers” (Toronto Star), Bravo Niagara! presents and produces transformative concert experiences and multidisciplinary programming featuring today’s leading artists from across Canada and around the world.

Dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices through the arts, Alexis produces the annual Voices of Freedom Festival. She is currently Co-Creator and Producer of Bravo Niagara!’s newly commissioned ballet Kimiko’s Pearl, inspired by her family’s story and the Japanese Canadian internment experience during WWII. She is the recipient of Ontario’s 2016 Lincoln M. Alexander Award, presented by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, for her leadership in eliminating racial discrimination and promoting positive social change.

Alexis is a graduate of the DeVos Institute Global Arts Management Fellowship in Washington, D.C (2022-2024) led by Michael Kaiser and Brett Egan. She currently serves on the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Board of Directors and Ontario Creates Music Industry Advisory Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Comparative Studies from Duke University, where she graduated with high distinction.

Doug is the Senior Vice President of Sales at Sotheby’s International Realty in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He brings many years of local knowledge and business experience to his clients. Doug has always been very active in the Niagara community as founder of the Kiely House Inn (now known as the Charles Hotel as part of Niagara’s Finest Hotels), former President of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, and a retailer in the Heritage District.