Meet the Team
Michelle Weswaldi – Executive Director
Canadian born, Michelle displayed a love of the stage and performance at the age of six. She was one of the first Canadians to compete, and win, in beauty pageants in the United States, gaining such titles as ‘Little Miss New York Model’ and ‘Little Miss North American Model.’ She paved the way for Canadians in the American market of children’s pageantry. As an actress, model and dancer she appeared in countless magazines, over 40 commercials, 4 of which were aired nationally, numerous TV Series and has performed at several charitable events.
Now in her 30s, Michelle has taken her passion for film/television/fashion and pageantry to another level. She has worked as a Talent Agent for a principal film/modeling agency, a Pageant coach and is now the Executive Director for the Miss Teen Canada – World Pageant and recently added “Full time Mom” to her list of career paths.
Notable title wins include: ‘Miss World Canada 1996′, ‘Miss Intercontinental Canada 2000′, ‘Miss Earth Canada 2001′.
Shawn Cuffie – Choreographer
Shawn Cuffie has been active in the Entertainment industry from the age of 16. Since then he has appeared in Commercials, Movies, Videos, TV Shows, Live Shows and has toured many cities in Canada and the United States with professional recording artists.
By 18, Shawn skills had developed in training models & talent through dedication in attending many conventions, workshops and seminars in L.A and New York. Since then, he has perfected his trade – justifiably one of the most sought after professionals – called to work with hundreds of talent throughout Canada and the U.S.A. There is a number of talent after having worked with Shawn, had been placed with large international agencies. Among these selected, the work spectrum includes appearances in spectacular commercials and the gracing runways of the world – including work on Cover Girl Campaigns, Nike Advertisements, L’Oreal Commercials, prominent magazine covers, fashion channels around the world, not to mention designer campaigns and recording contracts.
Some of Shawn’s direct efforts include large scale Model/ Talent Competitions in the U.S.A (IMTA) having won 20+ awards over a decade, Corporate Shows for Pepsi, TD Bank, Price Waterhouse Coopers, The Toronto Raptors, Concerts for Kiss 92.5, and hundreds of Fashion Shows.
Because of his keen business sense, will and drive to succeed, by 21 Shawn decided that he was ready for the professional side of the industry. Having started with his first dance rehearsals in his sisters’ basement over 10 years ago – he struggled. With the help of friends and family, he was offered rehearsal spaces in church basements, shared lofts, then finally community centers.
Currently Shawn operates his entertainment enterprises in his High Park area studio and offices. With 10 years of passion and dedication, he shines in the Toronto and International Entertainment Industry.
Mr. Cuffie has also aligned himself with great friends in the industry such as record companies, international management companies, international models and the list goes on. These are the movers and shakers who manage large international recording artists and models and acts around the world.
‘As a young entertainer and entrepreneur, it is my dream and priority to help put Toronto on the map on an international level with regards to our Entertainment Industry.’ Says Shawn.
Shawn’s ultimate goal is to create a legitimate avenue to guide talent through their struggle in the industry with the help of the decision makers themselves.
Rob Campbell -Social Media Director
Rob Campbell, CEO of Lenzr.com, is one of Toronto’s leading freelance web marketers. He brings over three years’ experience building social marketing buzz for Canadian companies and Canadian film and TV properties. Campbell also holds workshops for companies to educate and train them on the ins and outs of Social Marketing.
Campbell brings valuable expertise to The Miss Teen Canada-World’s social marketing. He is creating an army of Finalist bloggers – an integral part of the MTC-W’s marketing strategy. Social media has become a valuable marketing tool, making blogging a requirement and 10% of each contestant’s final score. ”The next Miss Teen Canada-World should be the most skilled communicator; may the best blogger win!”
Alison Stephens, Depict
“Depict PR builds great brands and challenge everyday conventions to create marketing and PR that works.”
Alison Stephens has combined her love for entertaining, news, lifestyle and culture into an established career with a proven track record as an independent public relations and event consultant. She graduated from the Humber College Public Relations Program with honours and has since used her creative talents to cultivate millions of dollars worth of publicity for her clients. Prior to starting Depict PR, Alison worked at a boutique PR agency where she managed fashion & lifestyle accounts including: Starbucks, Ellesse, RK, Fidelity Denim, Over The Rainbow and Greentea Design. Throughout her career, Alison has has collaborated and worked on countless PR strategies and events with top tier companies including: Twentieth Century Fox, Alliance Atlantis, Warner Brothers, Nike, Calvin Klein, Extreme Fitness, Rimmel London, FASHION Magazine, Nintendo, French Connection, Bench and CIBC to name a few.
Alison is a strong believer in corporate philanthropy and has dedicated the focus of many of her clients PR programs to giving back to the community. She has worked with a number of not-for-profit organizations including Rethink Breast Cancer, Windfall Clothing Service, Colon Cancer Canada and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Association.
Since April 2007, Alison has worked independently as the lead public relations advisor for Extreme Fitness. Taking a suburban brand into an urban marketplace, Alison has focused on increasing the strength of the Extreme Fitness brand through high-impact customer events, a strong media relations campaign and setting-up unique co-branding and sponsorship opportunities.
Chris Fry – Sponsorship Sales Manager and Events Coordinator
Born and raised in a pageant-centric household in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Chris Fry grew up surrounded by the industry and was instilled with a passion for pageantry at a young age by his mother, Isabelle. Bringing more experience to the MTC-W Inc. team than might meet the eye, Chris has served as Assistant Director, producer, and host of the Miss Teen Newfoundland & Labrador Pageant for the past eight years, has acted as a production consultant for numerous other pageants in Canada, and has also been involved with MTC-W Inc. since 2009 in the capacity of head chaperone. He is excited to apply his pageant expertise toward the position of Sponsorship Sales Manager and Events Coordinator with Miss Teen Canada-World.
Chris is currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario, pursuing a Joint Honours degree in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Ottawa.