Beth Janson

With a career spanning over two decades in the film, television, and cultural sectors in the US and Canada, Beth Janson has consistently driven innovation and development in the industry. A seasoned executive who has served as COO of the Toronto International Film Festival and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, she now brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her own strategic consultancy, Penn Road Advisors.

A champion of inclusivity, Beth was the founding director of the Rent the Runway Foundation’s Project Entrepreneur program, a groundbreaking initiative launched in partnership with UBS, offering women the tools, training, and networks needed to build scalable and economically impactful companies.

Beginning in 2002, she worked for more than a decade to build the Tribeca Film Institute. Under her leadership, TFI became an important resource and support for filmmakers through programs such as Tribeca All Access (Bloomberg Philanthropies), the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, and the IWC Filmmaker Award. TFI’s work in the emerging sector of multi-platform, XR and VR storytelling was trailblazing and included launching the TFI New Media Fund, the first fund in the US for new media projects; TFI Interactive; and Tribeca Hacks.

Beth’s career journey has always had storytelling at its centre, whether as Programming Director of the Newport International Film Festival or through roles at the Public Theater (George C. Wolfe, Producer) and HBO Documentary Films under Sheila Nevins. Her contributions were recognized with an Emmy nomination in 2017 for her work as Co-Executive Producer on “Meet the Patels,” and in 2020, she received the Crystal Award for Outstanding Achievement in Business from Women in Film & TV Toronto.

Beth is a proud alumna of York University, where she earned her BFA Honors. In 2015, she was one of two non-profit leaders in the US to receive a Ford Foundation fellowship to attend the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School. Her commitment to transformative leadership and impactful contributions continues to shape the industry landscape.