Andrew Cash is the President and CEO of the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA), the voice of Canada’s independent music sector. As a Member of Parliament from 2011 to 2015 Cash championed the music sector while raising awareness of the realities of making a living in Canada as an arts and culture worker. He continued this mission post-Parliament, co-founding the non-profit Urban Worker Project.

As a singer/songwriter, producer and performer Cash spent 25 years touring and recording, first in the post punk band L’Etranger followed by a successful solo career as well as several collaborations including the Cash Brothers, with Peter Cash, Skydiggers and Jason Collett. He has created soundtrack music for television, including as series composer for Dragons Den. Cash has released over a dozen records and his contributions as an artist have earned him a Juno award and three SOCAN awards. His music can be found at https://andrewcash.net.

With more than 20 years' experience in the music industry and international trade, Trisha heads CIMA’s global export service, Music Export Canada, delivering international market and business development initiatives, showcases, and Canada House venue takeovers through strategic partnerships at various conference festivals around the world. Trisha's work has helped to establish the trusted Canada brand at the foremost events across the globe, including SXSW (USA), The Great Escape (UK), Reeperbahn (DE), FIMPRO (MX), and many more. 

To support CIMA members’ business and professional development interests, Trisha develops uniquely targeted custom missions and has led Canadian delegations and their artists to markets in Japan, Chile and Portugal, as well as bringing inbound delegations from Australia, France and Eastern Europe to Canada. Trisha is leveraging her vast experience in developing Canada's largest music export office along with extensive international networks to work closely with Canada's music industry to develop and implement business continuity strategies in our present and shifting landscape.

Based in Montreal, Jenia has over 15 years of experience working in the music industry. Before joining the CIMA team in 2013 she worked as a music journalist & publicist. As the Communications & Export Programming Officer, Jenia works on CIMA's global export service to help create international showcasing and business opportunities for Canadian companies and their artists. She helps to organize and run events on site both internationally and nationally and handles all programming related marketing. She also oversees CIMA’s social media platforms and all the organizations outgoing communications.

Raised in the East Coast, Sam Rayner has been in the music scene for over ten years as an artist and industry professional. He moved to Toronto in pursuit of more experience and later began working for True North Records, concentrating in Digital Assets and A&R.  Sam joined the CIMA & MusicOntario team in 2016 as Membership Services Coordinator where he oversees day-to-day membership relations. Sam also serves as FACTOR’s Regional Educational Coordinator  (REC).

As a former political staffer, Elise joined CIMA with a strong background in policy development, communications, and great insight into government relations. After 5 years in the political world, she decided to take the dive into an industry that has always been close to her heart: the Canadian independent music industry. As Senior Policy Advisor, Elise studies the ins-and-outs of policies that are important to CIMA's members, advocating on their behalf with key policy makers while keeping them informed every step of the way.

After a 14-year career in the healthcare sector, Kaiesha embarked on a new journey into the music industry. Juggling her music industry studies at Durham with her career, Kaiesha was primed for the madness of the music biz. With her love for music and dedication to community, Kaiesha aspires to empower young artists to take their place in the Canadian Music industry and beyond. Her main goal is to establish an artist management/artist services organization to support young Afro-Canadian artists in getting their music to the world. Now, as the full-time Administrative Coordinator/Assistant to the President at CIMA, Kaiesha oversees the day to day run of CIMA’s office, handling a variety of administrative duties to support both the President in his duties, and the organization’s work in providing professional development, export, and advocacy for Canada’s independent music sector.