Andra Sheffer is the Executive Director of three private funds supporting the Canadian television and new media industries: the COGECO Program Development Fund for the development and production of dramatic series and MOW's; the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund which invests in Canadian television programs and their associated digital interactive projects; and the Independent Production Fund which invests in dramatic television and web series. From 1979-89 she was the founding Executive Director of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. She lectures on the business and financing of television and new media and is editor of New Media, New Business : The Producers' Guide (2001), Create a Winning Proposal – The Handbook for New Media Producers (1999) and MAKING IT: The Business of Film and Television Production in Canada (1986 et 1995). Previously, she served as the Managing Director of the Toronto International Film Festival and with the Federal Government as a Certification Officer setting up the original CAVCO office (and Canadian content "point" system) and at the Festivals Bureau promoting Canadian films internationally.