Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

* Joined the college in 2004, helping to build the PR diploma and degree programs
* Currently Program Coordinator within the four-year Bachelor of PR / Bachelor of Communications Management 
* Provide curriculum leadership within the faculty team including leadership of program revisions to ensure industry currency as well as PEQAB Ministry renewals 
* Teaching specialties include strategic communication planning, professional writing, issues management and ethics, corporate social responsibility, and media and influencer relations 
* Lead program capstone course and student PR agency, recruiting and working closely with real clients from industry (Agency has supported 25 real clients to date) 
* Consistently achieve 90%+ scores on Student Appraisals of Teaching 
* Recipient of Conestoga College Employee Innovation Award 
* Nominated by students for the Aubrey Hagar Distinguished Teaching Award 

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: I believe in people and their potential. I believe that a great teacher brings students to the learning, not the learning to students. I am unconventional in my approach. I push boundaries by continually experimenting in my course design and delivery and I push students to achieve more than they imagined they were capable of. I believe that we never stop learning – especially those of us who are given the privilege to teach.

Professor & Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Communications Management (formerly Public Relations)

Communicating Impact

Professional writing and public relations consulting focused on helping clients tell their story and communicate their impact. {Clients have included: Communitech, Social Planning Council Oxford, United Way of K-W, COMDEV, Homewood Health Centre, Geomatrix, Metroland Media, KW Symphony, University of Waterloo, Waterloo-Wellington Community Care Access Centre, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Conestoga Rovers, Sun Life Financial, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada}

Owner

LivingWorks

Certified safeTALK trainer focused on educating the community on the signs of suicide and the importance of critical conversations around mental health and wellness.

safeTALK suicide alertness trainer

Communitech

* Communitech offers a community of support for the Canadian tech sector to help the sector grow and succeed. 
* As a consultant to Communitech, I contributed to the Government of Canada’s Future of Work and Learning Initiative aimed at helping to future-proof Waterloo Region and Canadian workplaces.
* In this role, I collaborated with academic and industry partners on a real-time government research project to inform future industry skills development efforts. 
* Following completion of the research project, I developed and facilitated an ongoing Communications Sprint program for business professionals in collaboration with the Communitech Academy team (design was driven by insights from the research project). 
* Delivered training and supported industry learners during global pandemic.
* Timing and turnaround required rapid skill acquisition, particularly in emerging tech tools (then brand new to most learners and educators).

Program Advisor and Designer

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Waterloo

Founder and conference director for Break Through, a one-day marketing and communications conference that sold out in March 2017. This conference is now a cornerstone event for the Waterloo chapter and was recognized with two International Chapter Management Awards of Excellence.

Conference Director, Break Through

President and 25-year member of the Waterloo chapter of IABC, a dynamic global association for professional communicators. Founder of Break Through, an annual conference for communicators and marketers in Waterloo Region.

President

University of Waterloo

Designed and taught a program in Professional Writing and Communications aimed at business professionals and leaders from diverse disciplines (Continuing Education department)

Program Facilitator

Sun Life Financial

Provided strategic communications counsel to the CEO and executive team. Advised executives on communication strategy and messaging (internal and external). Managed communications projects including campaigns and events in support of corporate strategy.

Director, Leadership & Executive Communication

Clarica (formerly Mutual Life of Canada)

* Developed shareholder communication strategy and managed communications team. 
* Worked directly with the CEO to develop his shareholder messaging. 
* Managed creative development and production of corporate annual report (print and online) with   responsibility for $5 million+ budget. 
* Led a team that managed communication vehicles and events for more than 500,000 investors (deliverables included financial reports, advertorials, investor kits and presentations, IR Website, Annual Meeting, quarterly analyst calls and webcasts).
* Initiated and managed shareholder research efforts (surveys, focus groups).

Director, Shareholder Communication

Clarica

* Established an internal communications team and program to lead the internal communication effort before, during and following initial public offering, resulting in high employee engagement. 
* Developed a comprehensive CEO communication strategy. 
* Introduced an award-winning Internet-based stock market competition to engage employees in IPO and increase business and stock market literacy (led to a measurable knowledge increase and resulted in an IABC Silver Leaf award). 
* Co-developed and delivered a communication training program for managers. 
* Provided communications consultation and support to CEO and senior management team on mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, compensation changes, recruiting, business performance and corporate reputation.

Manager, Employee Communication

Wilfrid Laurier University

Managed marketing and sales for the Management Development arm of WLU's School of Business & Economics. Consulted with corporate clients to assess needs and design in-house management training.

Marketing & Management Development Specialist

I have enjoyed close to 30 years in the field of public relations in a variety of industry sectors including healthcare, financial services and technology. Through my consultancy, Communicating Impact, I help organizations tell stories of impact to engage stakeholders and inspire positive change. I am also incredibly privileged to share my passion for PR and corporate communications with college students preparing for their careers. 

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