This story originally appeared in the Spring 2023 issue of strategy.

You are reading a profile of one of this year’s New Establishment winners, recognizing junior- to mid-level talent in the brand, agency and media sectors that have made big impacts at their organizations. Read about the other members of this year’s class here.

When Emma Ruthnum found herself on the set of a television commercial shortly after graduating from her journalism program, she knew she was destined for a different path. “The energy and creativity were what I had been seeking,” she says of the world of production. Armed with determination, soon she was working on big-budget campaigns with world-class agency teams and directors.

In 2021, she accepted an agency position and learned the ropes as an agency producer under the talents of a strong head of production. A year later, she joined Rethink, struck by its team of supportive leaders.

“I’m proud of the high-stakes projects I’ve navigated,” she says of her work last year, noting a particularly challenging long cross-Canada shoot that hurtled endless obstacles her way. But through collaboration, the team pulled it off. “Like any producer, I thrive on challenge,” says Ruthnum.

Those challenges aren’t limited to set time, and Ruthnum faces them head-on. When she started at Rethink, she saw the opportunity for the direct impact an agency can have on the production industry – and how that affects IBPOC individuals. “Some of the initiatives out there put extra pressure on our already stretched vendors to find and hire IBPOC individuals,” she says. “While this should be top of mind for us all, we wanted to hold ourselves accountable for this hiring by starting a program where we could leverage our large North American network to both call for submissions, and place interested candidates in a variety of roles.”

To drive change, along with the DE&I committee, Ruthnum created the IBPOC internship, an initiative that includes ongoing calls for IBPOC applicants, helping to place candidates in short-term placements and longer, more traditional internships with Rethink’s post and editorial teams.

“The commercial production industry is very small and extremely fast paced. It’s comfortable to hire who you know again and again,” she says. “If we can open a door for underrepresented folks, we can provide networking opportunities through paid internships. The hope is for people to be hired again, and that we’re eventually all going to be working in (and benefiting from) a more diverse and inclusive film and advertising industry.”

While still in its infancy, the IBPOC internship has been receiving support from clients and networks across Canada. “We hope to continue to connect with organizations across North America to see how we can combine our efforts to hire as many underrepresented people as possible,” says Ruthnum.

Ruthnum is also working on a director bid initiative to drive change when it comes to hiring top tier IBPOC and underrepresented directors – of which the industry is plentiful, she says. “As producers, we can make a point to put as many reels in front of our creative teams as possible and we can also push our vendors to submit directors from underrepresented groups,” she says.

Ruthnum wants to continue activating change the best way she knows how – through connection, support and creativity. “I want to do everything I can to create meaningful experiences for people,” she says. “And being at an independent agency, we have the power to create change quickly.”