Meet the Staff

Below are our full-time and casual staff.

Additionally, we have a dedicated bookkeeper (thank you, Prairie Sky Bookkeeping!); a casual-time research assistant who helps with populating our Events Calendar and things such as video editing; and a rotation of approximately 30 Music Mentors who are scheduled for appointments as booking requests arrive.

We enlist the services of lawyer Kurt Dahl of Coal Harbour Law for our Legal Services program and Mintz & Wallace for our annual audit.

We greatly appreciate the help of these folks, as well as our Board and volunteers. 

Lorena Kelly

Lorena Kelly

Executive Director
Office: Regina
lorenakelly(at)saskmusic.org

Lorena has worked in various roles at SaskMusic, and loves helping to promote the awesome music of our province and helping members navigate this often-confusing industry. She's had experience in a variety of things, from programming lineups and coordinating large-scale conferences and events, to running juries, licensing initiatives, advertising and advocacy campaigns, economic studies and more, in addition to participating on numerous boards and committees. Most recently she had been overseeing our association communications, marketing initiatives and office operations. Lorena took over as Interim Executive Director in October 2022 and moved into the permanent role in June 2023.

Prior to SaskMusic, she studied classical piano, then keyboards at Professional Musicians’ College. She has toured across Canada, the U.S. and internationally, backing up numerous artists in genres such as country, folk, and pop, as a freelance keyboard player/vocalist in addition to releasing her own albums; and has also worked in advertising, layout and web design.

Kaelen Klypak

Kaelen Klypak

Export & Program Manager
Office: Saskatoon/remote
kaelen(at)saskmusic.org

Kaelen received his Arts and Entertainment Management Diploma from Capilano University in North Vancouver, and now resides in Saskatoon. He has been actively involved in the Canadian music industry for the past 22 years as an artist manager, consultant, touring drummer, musician, production manager, promoter, and publisher. He is currently an active drummer and has performed at notable festivals such as Sled Island, BIG Winter Classic, The Great Escape, C/O POP, SaskTel Jazz Festival, and Taste of Chaos. He has a new solo synth-based project called June Thrasher. Kaelen is also a jury member for various music organizations, and contributes on numerous cultural boards including being co-director of the Derek Bachman Foundation.

Ben Valiaho

Ben Valiaho

Education & Program Manager
Office: Regina
ben(at)saskmusic.org

Ben grew up working within the Regina music community and is excited to keep developing his skills and supporting Saskatchewan artists in his position at SaskMusic. Ben first got his start working in the industry as producer and volunteer host at 91.3FM CJTR Regina Community Radio over fifteen years ago, and still hosts two radio shows at Regina Community Radio today. Ben was also involved on the Community Radio Board of Directors for eight years (2013 to 2020) in various capacities including President and was honoured to receive the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2020 from the station. His commitment to music continued within the halls of the University of Regina where he enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Studies Masters Program with a focus on live performance. While attending the university, Ben was also Research Assistant at the Interactive Media & Performances Labs, teaching workshops and hosting community hours for those who wanted to learn how to make electronic music, scratch records, or record. Ben has been a turntablist for over fifteen years and hosts DJ nights in Regina, some video game Twitch streaming, old skool Games Workshop fan, as well as DJing a number of events in and around Regina as part of the duo 2Beats.

Oghenerukevwe

Oghenerukevwe "Rooky" Jegede-Ikpen

Community Engagement Coordinator
Office: Saskatoon/remote
rooky(at)saskmusic.org

Born Oghenerukevwe Jegede-Ikpen, Rooky is a multi-talented Nigerian-born artiste, songwriter, producer and creative executive based in Saskatchewan. Before moving to Canada in 2019 for studies, as an on air personality he has had over 3 years in radio/TV presenting and content curation. He has also worked with numerous brands such as Guinness, Smirnoff, Globacom and MTN Nigeria as a brand influencer.

Aside from creating and performing music, Rooky enjoys curating shows/concerts and aiding in community projects focused on building, promoting, advocating and diversifying the music industry. He is the Saskatchewan provincial representative for ADVANCE (Canada's Black music business collective), and has participated as a juror for numerous organizations.

He holds multiple University degrees from Nigeria and Canada respectively. Rooky is very passionate about discovering, making and listening to music and creating visual imagery; he sees them as a medium of expression and a way for people to connect with one another regardless of background or race.

Roxie Riffel

Roxie Riffel

Administrative Assistant (Joined August 2023)
Office: Regina
roxie(at)saskmusic.org

Roxie has always had a love of the arts. She quickly discovered a passion for helping support artists and the arts community in the province through her multi-disciplinary work as a program coordinator and arts administrator at the Creative City Centre in Regina. During her tenure at Creative City Centre, Roxie was responsible for developing and implementing various music programs such as the Behind The Songs songwriter in the round monthly concerts, the Empty Room video series, the SMMART (Social Media Marketing for Artists) training program, the Community Kitchen Party Concert series and the Outside the Spotlight podcast. She also aided in the programming of spoken word and visual art events as well as marketing and communications. Roxie is excited to continue developing her skills and supporting Saskatchewan artists through her new role at SaskMusic. In addition to her work as an arts administrator, Roxie is a singer-songwriter, performer, recording artist (performing under the name Roxie Lenton) and an advocate for mental health.

Darwin Roy

Darwin Roy

Indigenous Music Coordinator
Office: Remote
darwin(at)saskmusic.org

Darwin Roy completed a project-specific contract with us in March 2021 and kindly agreed to continue with us on a casual basis, assisting with various programs as needed.

Darwin Roy was raised by his grandparents in Northern Saskatchewan where they lived a hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering lifestyle. Darwin is a proud speaker of the Cree language who has made a career working in public relations for the resource industry, the education sector, and for First Nations. He has a Graduate degree in Educational Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. Darwin has been very active in the Indigenous music scene throughout his career. Darwin has a passion for music and feeds that passion with his involvement with his personal singing ventures or with the group he has played with for most of his life - “Just The Boyz” or “JTB”. In 2005 JTB was nominated for Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Country Album. He has been a part of the Voices of the North Show, a showcase of Indigenous talent during the Prince Albert Winter Festival, since 1998. Darwin continues to play music for the people locally in Saskatoon or somewhere down that long highway.