Board of Directors
Rania Hatzioannou
President
Rania Hatzioannou (she/her) is the Executive Director of Cambie Village, the Heart of Vancouver. She has worked for Business Improvement Areas for two decades, and served on several Boards including nine years on the Board of the Collingwood Neighbourhood House. Rania was born in Nicosia, Cyprus and lives in East Vancouver. She studied at SFU and BCIT. In her spare time she teaches tweens Creative Writing, and is a tour guide for retired U.S. schoolteachers visiting Vancouver. She is a dog person, because cats do not like other cats, and she believes that the Vancouver Canucks will win the Stanley Cup in her lifetime. Rania is the recipient of several Photojournalism and Community Volunteering awards, including the Good Neighbour Award and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. If you stand still long enough, she will ask you awkward questions.
Jim Intihar
Treasurer
Jim Intihar (he/him) is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 35 years of experience serving various public and private companies as an audit partner in large public accounting firm. He has a wide variety of experience in various industries in financial and business matters. He recently retired from public accounting to spent more time with his family and to give back to the community. Born and raised in the Greater Vancouver area, he studied at Simon Fraser University. In his spare time, he can be found gardening or building a Lego city with his son.
Angus Wong
Board Member
Angus Hon Chu Wong (he/him) is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over ten years of accounting and finance technology experience. Currently, he is the principal of his consultancy, delivering values-based solutions and strategies to municipal government departments and non-profit organizations. He had a long tenure leading large projects at Vancity Credit Union, a financial co-operative that serves local communities and members. Between his current and previous roles, he brings experience in developing strategies, understanding operations and driving changes.
Angus was born and (mostly) raised in Vancouver, studied at the University of Victoria and briefly worked in Prince George. He fondly remembers his family’s outings at The Improv Centre, enjoying the quick wits of the ensemble and the coziness of the audience participation. In his spare time, he can be found munching at location eateries with his wife, and walking his dog Waffle in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Hassan Pardawalla
Board Member
Hassan Pardawalla (he/him) is somewhat of a traveller, who has lived in over 10 cities in 7 countries since 2001 and has called these lands home since 2020. He is driven by his values of adaptation, curiosity, community, multiculturalism, varied perspectives and humour! You can often find him laughing with people and also giving smiles and hugs.
Over the course of his 20+ year international career, he has enabled businesses across sectors to scale sustainably by nurturing talent, optimizing frameworks, managing risk with a “Murphy’s Law” mindset, and securing and executing multi-million-dollar B2B contracts. His roles have spanned business operations, organizational culture, project management, product deployment, marketing & sales, supply chain and strategy. Alongside his multiple professional achievements, he teaches small business management to MBA candidates, mentors and advises startups, coaches founders/executives, is a board member, and a community connector.
Currently, he is leading a cleantech startup that focuses on destroying forever chemicals from the water ecosystem, helps build inclusive and equitable communities through Space Creators, and offers fractional executive leadership via Parda Sense Solutions.
Hassan is always looking to meet new people, learn new things, make people laugh and leave the world a nicer and happier place for future generations.
Shawn Wuest
Board Member
Shawn Wuest (he/him) studied playwriting and film at university before training at Second City in Toronto and Vancouver TheatreSports League (before it was TIC) in the art of improv.
His career in sales leadership, communications, and branding has benefited immeasurably from his improv training, and he is dedicated to supporting the growth and prosperity of the unbelievable talent found in his Vancouver improv community.
In his free time, Shawn enjoys inventing and combining new recipes that tend to be desserts, comedy that tends to be thought-provoking, and books that tend to feature dragons. He’s also been known to build furniture and board games out of scrap pieces of wood.
Ernest White II
Board Member
Ernest White II is a producer, journalist, and keynote speaker. He is the founder and CEO of Presidio Pictures, executive producer and host of award-winning television travel docu-series ‘FLY BROTHER with Ernest White II’ (PBS), and executive producer and lead writer of awardwinning true crime/history podcast, ‘Deadman’s Curse: Slumach’s Gold’ (Corus/CuriousCast). Floridian by birth and Vancouverite by calling, Ernest’s obsessions include forest bathing, love stories, and the magical real.
Shamir S. Ladhani
Board Member
Shamir S. Ladhani is a seasoned executive, engineer, educator, and strategic advisor with more than 20 years of leadership experience spanning regulated utilities, management consulting, and MBA-level business instruction. Shamir’s board experience includes serving as VicePresident of the Confederation Theatre Society, giving him direct insight into the governance and sustainability needs of arts-based non-profits. The performing arts have been a lifelong passion for Shamir. He has performed in film and on stage with companies including Workshop Theatre, Storybook Theatre and Morpheus Theatre and has received two acting awards. Shamir is honoured to serve on the board of The Improv Centre and looks forward to contributing to the organization’s continued impact in strengthening community, creativity, and connection through the performing arts.
Esma Al-Autman
Board Member
Esma Al-Autman (she/her), is a Vancouver-based marketing consultant and founder of Esma Creative Marketing Inc. Over the last decade, she has worked across the environmental and technical sectors in senior marketing and business development roles, supporting organizations in environmental compliance, remediation, water treatment, software-as-a-service, laboratory services, consulting, and engineering. She recently completed a four-year term on the board of directors and chaired the business development committee for the BC Environment Industry Association (BCEIA), where she helped organize and emcee industry networking events. Raised in an Iraqi family with a strong emphasis on education and hard work, Esma earned her Chemistry degree from the University of British Columbia while continuing to pursue creative outlets alongside her professional career.
Outside of work, Esma has spent the last four years immersed in improv classes and community theatre. She performs weekly at Tightrope Impro Theatre as part of the Maestro™ ensemble community, while also volunteering through tech and front-of-house roles. She is currently developing a Vancouver Fringe show for 2026, and after regularly breaking into improvised songs on stage, her next creative adventure is exploring musical improv. She loves collaborative creative spaces, swimming laps, and cycling to the beach whenever Vancouver weather cooperates.
Tanveer Sohal
Board Member
Tanveer Sohal is a practicing lawyer in British Columbia and Australia, with a background in public health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Health Sciences, a Master of Public Health, and a Juris Doctor. Tanveer has attended several writing programs and conferences and completed a Writer in Residency in Australia and a Writing for Animation program in Vancouver. Tanveer contributed a short story called “A Memorable Birthday” in Emerge 15 published by the Writer’s Studio Anthology. She published a children’s book called Twin Adventures, which has received numerous awards and is included in library systems across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. Her ability to engage and inspire young readers exemplifies her commitment to education through literature.
Zach Ingram
Board Member
Zachary Ingram (he/him) is a lawyer practicing corporate and commercial law with a focus on startups, technology companies, and emerging businesses (but he is not like the other lawyers, he promises.) Born and raised in Vancouver, he studied at Western University before earning his law degree from the University of British Columbia. Through his work, Zach enjoys helping founders navigate growth and build lasting legacies. As a longtime fan of improv and the arts community, Zach is excited to support and give back to the vibrant creative community that makes Vancouver such a special place to live.
Want to get involved and join our board?
The Improv Centre is currently looking for people to join our Board of Directors!
For more information, please read more here: Board of Directors (pdf)