Michael A. Levine to Lead The Historica-Dominion Institute

Succeeds Founding President, Andrew Cohen

TORONTO, Nov. 26 /CNW/ -The Board of Directors of The Historica-Dominion Institute is proud to announce the appointment of Michael A. Levine as Executive Vice-Chairman.  Mr. Levine will lead the organization, oversee operations and provide strategic vision.

Mr. Levine is a partner of Goodmans LLP (until December 31, 2010), Chairman of Westwood Creative Artists (Canada's largest literary agency, representing over 400 authors), Director of Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall, and Director of the Institute of Canadian Citizenship.  Mr. Levine is Chairman of Bravo!FACT, Director of the National Screen Institute and Executive Producer of various fiction and non-fiction films and television properties, many of which tell Canadian stories, including:  "The Terry Fox Story", "Republic of Doyle", "Canadians: Biographies of a Nation", and The Heritage Minutes for The CRB Foundation and Historica.

Mr. Levine is succeeding Andrew Cohen who is stepping down as President of The Historica-Dominion Institute to return to writing, teaching and speaking.

Mr. Cohen has been associated with the Institute for two years.  He led the strategic review which brought about the merger between The Dominion Institute and the Historica Foundation and became its founding president on September 1, 2009.

Mr. Cohen helped establish the Institute as the most authoritative voice of history and citizenship in Canada. Under his leadership, the Institute launched three major new programs, commissioned eight public opinion polls, made forays into short film and social media, and published its first book, We Were Freedom: Canadian Stories of the Second World War.

Its two flagship programs - Encounters with Canada, the country's largest youth forum, and The Canadian Encyclopedia, the authority on all things Canadian - continued to grow strongly with record enrolment and a record number of hits.

The Memory Project created the country's largest oral history of the Second World War, interviewing more than 2,000 veterans and putting their memories on a dedicated website.

The Institute also launched Take Two Minutes to Remember, an annual campaign for a collective two minutes of silence across Canada on Remembrance Day. It drew the support of some 34,000 Canadians on the Institute's website and was unanimously endorsed by a resolution of the House of Commons.

The Board of Directors would like to express its appreciation to Mr. Cohen for his work at the Institute and his dedication to its mission. Mr. Cohen may take on assignments for the Institute in writing and speaking on memory, identity and democracy in Canada. A best-selling author and award-winning journalist, Mr. Cohen returns to Ottawa to write his weekly syndicated column and work on a book on the administration of John F. Kennedy.

Please visit www.historica-dominion.ca to learn more about The Historica-Dominion Institute.

For further information:

Media Inquiries:

Chantal Gagnon
The Historica-Dominion Institute
1.866.701.1867 x238 (off.)
416.575.3627 (cell.)
[email protected]