Board of Directors
The Drive Foundation is proud to present its global board, made up of seasoned music industry and mental health professionals from around the world. Together they work to advance the Drive Foundation’s vision to support mental health through music, arts and holistic recovery.
Sandy Graham – Chair
Quoted as having one of the most diversified and interesting careers in the Canadian music industry, Sandy Graham is known as a trailblazer, who relishes in using her decade long career to uphold integrity and maintain a moral compass in a business that is known to have challenges on that level.
Various accolades in her career include being one of the first female Music Directors in Canadian radio, being the first female a major label hired in the Quebec market (RCA), a celebrated choreographer both in film and stage, a nightclub owner, an event producer, manager, strategist and consultant, the Drive Foundation is the perfect initiative for this driven and focused professional to help create awareness and exposure to a growing concern for mental health and addiction.
Currently an owner of two legendary music magazines, Cashbox Canada and Record World International, an on-air Host and Program Director of Cashbox Radio, and the founder and CEO of Entertainment Music Group (EMG CANADA), Sandy sees and experiences the daily challenges of working in a business that has one of the highest stress levels imaginable.
“Having been personally affected by loved ones suffering from alcoholism, mental health challenges along with my own personal anxiety, the Drive Foundation is such a wonderful opportunity for me to spread the word in my personal and professional world to shed light on this fast growing affliction on so many levels. The Drive Foundation, unlike so many other organizations, has a platform to address these issues while providing support and solutions. It is time to shake the stigma attached to these traits and issues that I feel most creative people (and others) suffer in silence. Together we can change that, moving forward to healthier happier lives through healing and support. I am honoured and humbled to join the Advisory Board of the Drive Foundation.”
Sandy Graham
Kayleigh Lebak
Kayleigh Lebak is a graphic designer and illustrator with nearly two decades’ experience. American by birth and international by choice, she and her trusty laptop have circled the globe, working with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to independent upstarts. She first cut her teeth working with non-profit organizations and to this day has a special love for working with charities and festivals. Together with her partner Boyan Pinter, she is one of the forces behind SPIKE – Bulgarian Music Showcase, Bulgaria’s first showcase festival and music conference, and its precursor SIMC – Sofia International Music Showcase.
The Drive Foundation is the perfect partner for this designer to use her skills and connections in service of the greater good.
“I am excited to join the Drive Foundation as a part of the Board of Directors and put my skills and passion to work using the power of design to share the Drive Foundation’s powerful message about the importance of speaking openly about mental health and addiction and supporting each other on our journeys.”
Kayleigh Lebak
Michael Loveless
Michael has 30 years of management experience in the entertainment, IT, and hospitality industries. Michael is the owner of Vancouver-based Process Flow Consulting. Mr. Loveless leads a team of IT professionals that provides digital business solutions to a broad range of industries for small to medium businesses around the world.
“I think it would be hard to find a person on the planet that has not been touched in some way by the pain and suffering of mental illness and addiction and I am by no means an exception to that rule. When Steve Brown (London based award-winning record producer) and I began working with Michelle Titian’s music career, we immediately became inspired by her mission to help people suffering from what she had overcome. Subsequently, the three of us decided to establish Drive Foundation to amplify Michelle’s personal mission and build a network of like-minded people who can come together to fill the gaps in our current overloaded mental health care system. We felt that it would be effective to use music and the arts as a vehicle to reach the masses and create a conduit between the people suffering with mental illness and addiction with the providers of mental health care and addiction services. With the Drive Foundation, I found a vehicle to action my desire to help others.”
Michael Loveless
Malin Östh
Malin started her first band in Stockholm when she was 18 years old, a rock band called Yield’s. At the same time, she toured with the jazz pianist Allan Johansson (Povel Ramel’s conductor).
Malin moved to Skåne in southern Sweden and the Rock group “The Four Roses” took Malin in as a singer in 1992. They played together for 4 years and released one 12 tracks album “The Four Roses”.
She started working as environment and quality manager at Kristianstads Boktryckeriet in 1994 and stayed there for 6 years. Her first business company was started in 2001 where the main occupation was a rehab center for horses. On the farm she also held seminars and courses.
In 2012 the band Bara Jonson and Free was formed together with the amazing Jonas Tancred. BjF has since released three full length albums, of which two are vinyl LPs. Bara Jonson and Free is now an international touring duo with their own music genre, Crockpop, and was nominated as best emerging artist in Toronto during Indie Week 2019. They were selected as INES talent 2020 and 2021.
2017 Malin started her jazz band “Malin Östh Band” where they play a mix of jazz, swing, evergreens and Swedish folksongs
2021 Malin and Jonas from Bara Jonson and Free, started the music festival ‘Lilla By Festivalen’ in their home village of Rinkaby, Sweden. Already in 2022 it had grown into a hybrid festival; somewhere between festival and showcase. 2023 they are also adding ‘Music Days’ showcase to their list as well as their own augmented reality app for vinyl enhancement, developed by BjFGO!
“I am honored and excited to join the Drive Foundation as an Ambassador having had the experience of living in a threatening and abusive relationship as a result of serious drug problems, which most likely was the driving force behind his violent behavior. It’s hard to express in words just how much this opportunity to help and support others who are in that similar situation means to me. Sharing the Drive Foundation’s powerful message about the importance of discussing this subject about mental health will add another level of meaning for me as a person.”
Malin Östh
Boyan Pinter
Boyan Pinter has been working in Music for 22 years. He was formally trained as guitarist and composer in Houston, Texas. Jumping from being a stage performer to a production coordinator, Boyan wanted to get involved on a deeper level with the programming and organization of large-scale events, which led him to work with the Lotus World Music And Arts Festival in Bloomington, IN. He also obtained an MA in Arts Administration from Indiana University, Bloomington. In the early 2010s Boyan was called to work as an event production specialist in Bulgaria where he worked with some of the biggest names in music including Aerosmith, Mark Knopfler, Nigel Kennedy, Hans Zimmer, Cirque Du Soleil, Iron Maiden, Roger Waters, Queen + Adam Lambert, etc.
Boyan is a regular attendee and speaker at music conferences where he talks, among other things, about the grueling behind the scenes schedule that production crew members face on a daily basis. He currently books international shows for venues in Bulgaria and the wider Eastern European region and is the founder of SPIKE – Bulgarian Music Showcase: a platform for networking, education, and showcasing young artists and songwriters. He has also earned a place in the crew of the Green Futures Field at Glastonbury Festival, the largest and most prestigious event in Europe.
“It is a real privilege for me to be joining the Drive Foundation to sit as a Board Member. Mental Health is truly the proverbial elephant in the room that we never properly address when dealing with the stresses of the industry. I see many examples of the impact it has on both seasoned and developing music professionals across the industry. I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences and use my network to raise awareness of these issues. I look forward to developing workshops and programs that help our people recognize triggering situations and help them cope and recover from the inherent mental imbalance that our work brings about.”
Boyan Pinter
Jonas Tancred
Tancred started his music career in the early 80’s as singer/guitarist/songwriter in a hard rock band, ‘Power Rain’ (later ‘Ironside’).
He spent his off time (from music) working in sales for some advertising companies, as Account Manager for a CAD-consulting company (AEC), as a consultant at Volvo Cars and finally as CEO and Senior business recruiter for his own recruitment company P2B.
2007 he accidentally stumbled into the online virtual world of Second Life and live streaming music over the internet which led to him being signed to a New York record company. This came to play a major part of the 2011 HBO documentary ‘When Strangers Click’ featuring him and his Second Life alter ego, Bara Jonson, being nominated for an Emmy-award. The same year he released his first album ‘Lost in America Somewhere’.
In 2012 the band Bara Jonson and Free was formed together with the amazing Malin Östh. BjF has since released three full length albums, of which two are vinyl LPs. Bara Jonson and Free is now an international touring duo with their own music genre, Crockpop, and was nominated as best emerging artist in Toronto during Indie Week 2019. They were selected as INES talent 2020 and 2021.
2021 they started the music festival ‘Lilla By Festivalen’ in their home village of Rinkaby, Sweden. Already in 2022 it had grown into a hybrid festival; somewhere between festival and showcase. 2023 they are also adding ‘Music Days’ showcase to their list as well as their own augmented reality app for vinyl enhancement, developed by BjFGO!
“Being in a business that makes you feel like you are on top of the world, and then in the next second, bring you down to the lowest low… and then right back on top again. Where long tedious travels turn into quick paced moments with expectations to perform with excellence under very hard pressure; this creates the perfect growing ground for anxiety, substance and alcohol abuse and mental issues. I am honored to be an Ambassador of Drive Foundation working towards salvation and solutions in mental health.”
Jonas Tancred