Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Linda Wood moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1988 to attend university, first at King’s College in Halifax where she completed the Foundation year program, and then at Acadia University in Wolfville, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in English in 1991. She then attended Guelph University in Ontario, where she received a Masters degree in English literature in 1993, after which she returned to Nova Scotia to attend law school at Dalhousie University, where she graduated with her Juris Doctor degree in 1997.

Linda articled at the law firm of Patterson Palmer Hunt Murphy and was called to practice by the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 1998. From 1999 until 2002 she worked as a researcher and analyst for Lexis Nexis. In 2002 she was hired as the Director of Business & Legal Affairs at the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, the Provincial government agency responsible for film, television and digital media in Nova Scotia (which later became Film Nova Scotia and then Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia). Linda’s duties as Director of Business & Legal Affairs included:

• Responsible for the administration and oversight of the agency’s equity investment, development, training and market programs, front-line client relations, and management and drafting of contracts;
• Represented the agency on multiple industry-related committees and at numerous conferences and meetings, including the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies, the Canadian Media Fund national focus group on policy changes to federal programs, and annually at the Banff World Media Festival, the Strategic Partners Conference, and the Canadian Media Production Association’s Prime Time Conference;
• Chaired the Film Industry Health and Safety Committee, which led to the implementation of new Health and Safety guidelines in Nova Scotia;
• Played a key role in the creation, implementation and management of numerous investment and training programs and policies, including the Feature Film Distribution Assistance Program, the Bridge Award, the First Feature Project, and the Eastlink TV Fund;
• Worked on creating a national set of broadcast rights principles in partnership with private sector funds and on behalf of the Association of Provincial Funding Agencies;
• Led the successful process to have the agency certified as an Independent Production Fund by the CRTC;
• Worked with the President and CEO of the agency in strategic planning and corporate governance.

Linda transferred from Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia to Nova Scotia Business Incorporated in April 2015. She is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society with a broad knowledge of the financial and legal aspects of the creative economy, and a proven track record of working with both public and private sector partners to create new opportunities for increased production and development as well as synergies between different sectors.

Over the course of her career Linda has built strong relationships through her collaborative leadership style with counterparts in the federal and provincial governments, as well as the business community in Nova Scotia, Canada, and internationally, and the various professional unions, guilds and associations. In 2014, she received the Wave Award from Women in Film and Television – Atlantic in recognition of her “selfless offering of creativity, tenacity and vitality to the Atlantic film industry.”

Linda lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia.