Staff Biographies

Calgarian Shelley Ambrose worked as a reporter for the Globe and Mail and the Windsor Star before serving for more than a decade as a producer for CBC Radio’s Morningside and later for The Pamela Wallin show. After three years in public affairs at the Canadian Consulate in New York, organizing media and events and building the Canadian brand, Ambrose returned to Canada in 2006. She has produced hundreds of events, including forums, lectures, festivals, book tours, arctic tours, royal visits, and Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday celebrations in Toronto and New York.

John Macfarlane was editor of Toronto Life from 1992 to 2007. Previously, he has been managing director of news at CTV (1991-92); publisher and editor-in-chief of the Financial Times (1987-90); publisher of Saturday Night magazine (1980-87); editor of Weekend (1976-80); and executive editor of Maclean’s (1975-76). He was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta, Calgary, and is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management. He is a member of the advisory board of St. Joseph Communications, which owns Toronto Life. In 2007, he received the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement from the National Magazine Awards Foundation.


Jared Bland
Managing Editor

Before joining the The Walrus in 2007, Jared Bland studied twentieth-century poetry and poetic theory at the University of Toronto's graduate department of English. He is also a member of the International Visitors Committee in association with the International Festival of Authors. Jared Bland blogs about books, authors, and Sherlock Holmes at The Shelf.

Jeremy Keehn studied history, English, and philosophy at the University of Alberta and has a master's in journalism from the University of British Columbia. He worked as a researcher, reporter, and producer at CBC-TV in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver and as an editorial assistant at The Tyee in Vancouver before joining The Walrus in 2004.

Daniel Baird studied philosophy at University of California, Los Angeles, Princeton University, and University of California, Berkeley. Born in Los Angeles, Baird lived and worked in New York City from 1989, where he was a founder of The Brooklyn Rail, a magazine for which he worked as an art editor, feature writer, and monthly columnist. Since moving to Toronto in 2000, he has written on the arts for numerous Canadian publications, including Canadian Art and Border Crossings. He has been an editor at The Walrus since 2005, and remains a regular contributor on topics as diverse as contemporary art and history, political theory, and religion.

Amy Macfarlane worked with Vancouver’s marginalized Downtown Eastside community for several years before returning to her native Toronto to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In addition to practicing at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Amy has worked on a variety of research projects with colleagues at the University of Toronto. After brief stints at Saturday Night and Quill & Quire, she joined The Walrus in February 2006.

Brian Morgan studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design and Emily Carr University (then Institute) of Art and Design. After a long stint as a bookseller in Vancouver, Brian worked as first a graphic designer and then an editorial designer, briefly for Saturday Night (2001), and later for The Walrus (2003-2005). With a number of talented collaborators, including Antonio De Luca and Jas Riyait, he has worked for C Magazine, Dose, and Globe Investor. Before he rejoined The Walrus in 2008 Brian was the deputy art director for Maclean's.

Bree Seeley has been a facilitator of photography for 12 years. She has served as picture editor in the UK at the Sunday Telegraph Magazine and in Canada at Saturday Night, Maclean’s, and Shift, and was editorial director at New York photo agency Morisot Inc. and at legendary agency Magnum Photos UK. Seeley teaches photojournalism at Wilfred Laurier University, and has been involved in the development of 10 photographic books, including the 2005 Infinity Award-winning Lodz Ghetto Album: Photographs by Henryk Ross. She has been the commissioning photo editor on 20 works that received Gold awards from the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, and on 12 that won Gold at the National Magazine Awards.

Paul Kim studied at the University of Manitoba School of Art, where he majored in Graphic Design. Before joining The Walrus in 2005, he worked as a freelance illustrator and served as art director and designer for Canadian Dimension.

Dionne Beckford received an untraditional start in Marketing & Sales while working for OnStar through her undergraduate studies at University of Toronto. Leaving OnStar in early 2007, she fell in love with advertising while working in the Corporate Sales Division of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Having worked with clients such as Sears Canada, People’s Jewellers, General Motors of Canada Ltd., and Sterling Shoes, she joined The Walrus in early 2008.

Chris Ellis
Director of Circulation and Marketing

Chris Ellis has a Masters degree in Publishing from Simon Fraser University, and an Honours degree in History and General Economics from Wilfrid Laurier.