CEC Team
CEC DIRECTORS
|
David
Kardish
David Kardish, APR, is President of the CEC and has over twenty years of experience working in all aspects of communications in Canada and the United Kingdom . He is a partner in BRIDGES Consulting, Ottawa and has particular expertise in strategic, operational, media and crisis communications planning. Mr. Kardish has consulted to federal government departments, non-governmental organizations and businesses on strategic communications and is an experienced trainer. He is past Treasurer of the Canadian Public Relations Society's Ottawa Branch.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Stephen
Goban
Stephen Goban has worked in the public, private and non-governmental sectors in Canada and the United Kingdom . A CEC director and founding partner, he has undertaken marketing and strategic communications for companies, associations and government departments. Mr. Goban is an experienced trainer and instructional materials writer and has designed and delivered a wide range of courses and workshops. He is co-author of Canadian Business Writing: A Structural Approach (2 nd Edition, Thomson Nelson, Toronto ) and a Past President of the International Association of Business Communicators’ Ottawa Chapter.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Josef Jurkovic
Josef Jurkovic is a CEC director and founding partner. He has over 30 years of public and private sector experience across diverse areas of internal and external communications, branding and marketing. In some 20 years as a trainer, facilitator and consultant, Mr. Jurkovic has undertaken projects for well over two hundred government, business and non-governmental organizations in Canada and abroad. He has particular expertise in internal and change communications, media relations, public consultations and citizen engagement, communications research and measurement and in public sector branding and marketing. Mr. Jurkovic is a frequent speaker on internal communications and branding and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Ottawa-Gatineau chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society. He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Canadian Society for Training and Development.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CEC ASSOCIATES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Bob Abell
Dr. Bob Abell is President and CEO of Automated Learning Corporation (ALC), an Ottawa-based company that supplies Government and Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies with global workforce e-training solutions. A CEC Associate, he brings a background in science and research, application of technology in a learning environment, distance and distributed learning, and IT management in a University setting. Intensively involved in both education and technology for many years, Dr. Abell’s expertise in educational technology, training, and/or train-the-trainer has been sought by educational institutions, governments and companies. ALC is the Centre for Excellence in Communications’ e-Learning Partner.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Pierre Bernier
Pierre Bernier est un associé du CEC et le président des Écrits des Hautes-Terres, une maison d'édition de littérature québécoise. Il possède une bonne expérience de la puissance du Web, de son utilisation à titre d'outil de communication ainsi que des exigences de cet outil pour les écrivains et les rédacteurs. M. Bernier est un communicateur expérimenté. Il a été journaliste, conseiller en communication au Cabinet du premier ministre et auprès de députés fédéraux et de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec. Il a aussi été directeur des communications pour Katimavik, région du Québec. Outre d'être un traducteur aguerri, il a une longue feuille de route à titre de formateur, ayant formé des centaines de personnes dans les secteurs public et privé en matière de relations avec les médias, d'élaboration de plans de communication détaillés, de textes clairs, simples et efficaces.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Barbara Campbell
Barbara Campbell is a communications executive with wide federal government experience, including as a Director General in several departments and in policy at the Privy Council Office. A CEC Associate, Ms Campbell is President of Stratco Consulting Inc., a company that provides services in human resource management, strategic planning, writing and editing and training in such areas as briefings, writing House cards, media lines and releases, legal submissions and other materials. She holds degrees from the University of Toronto and a certificado de suficiencia en lengua espanola from the Univerisdad de Madrid.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Don Candon
Don Candon is an expert in customer service, sales, marketing and strategic sales management and the key role and place of technology in business and organizations. Mr. Candon’s experience, gained over thirty years working with IBM , Bell Canada and other companies, encompasses business development, recruiting, personnel, product management, service development and managing high performing customer acquisition sales teams. A CEC Associate, he is currently Managing Director of Web-Insight Inc., specializing in helping organizations measure and develop optimum web user experience and whose services include a new and unique proprietary methodology, “First Impression Assessment”, to measure the web user experience. Apart from university and college lecturing, Mr. Candon has
presented at numerous conferences such as the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) 2001, Telecom 2000, the Atlanta Total Quality Conference and “Sales Process Conference” in Dallas Texas .
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Wendy Cherwinski
Wendy Cherwinski helps people excel through speeches and presentations. As President of Echelon Communications Inc., she writes for and consults with senior executives in government, business and the not-for-profit sector. She also leads seminars and workshops on how to write speeches and presentations and design decks to communicate key messages quickly and effectively. She has been a seminar leader and panelist at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference in Washington D.C. She also pens a blog at www.echeloncomm.ca and writes and edits Podium, a monthly newsletter for speech and presentation writers. A former military public affairs officer, Wendy served as editor of Sentinel, the magazine of Canadian Forces for four years. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Claudia
Chowaniec
Claudia Chowaniec, PhD, CMC works with people in the public and private sectors to help identify and implement the organizational and work changes they need to create more productive and rewarding work environments. She specializes in strategic planning and utilizes a number of large systems change processes, including the Future Search methodology, to bring together the broad-based and diverse stakeholder community to share ideas and agree on the common ground from which they can determine what actions they want to take individually and collectively to achieve their goals. Dr. Chowaniec recently wrote a chapter, Supporting the Merger of Two School Boards: The Ottawa Community and Public Education to 2015, published in Future Search in School District Change. Through the University of Ottawa 's Centre on Governance, she has lectured and written widely on the theme of citizen engagement. Dr. Chowaniec is President of Precept Inc. and a CEC Associate.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Jean-Luc
Denat
Jean-Luc Denat is an expert in visual communication and a CEC Associate. He is Vice-President of Kolegram, an internationally recognized design group based in Ottawa-Gatineau, specializing in the development of brand identities, design communication and web design for private and public sector clients in Canada and abroad. Mr. Denat has many years experience in developing and transmitting visual communication techniques in a marketing and communication context.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Peter de
Gosztonyi
Peter de Gosztonyi, PEng., Managing Director of Web-Insight and a CEC associate, is an expert in customer service and web communications. Mr. de Gosztonyi’s experience, gained over 30 years working with Bell Canada , various government departments and private sector clients, encompasses customer service, web management, strategic planning, performance measures, market research and web analytics. Mr. de Gosztonyi has presented at international conferences in England and the United States , and is Chair of the local American Society for Quality (ASQ) chapter. He is certified by the ASQ as a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Nathan
Greenfield
CEC Associate Nathan Greenfield is a journalist, broadcaster, writer, educator and trainer in business communication. He has worked with public and private sector organizations to help develop employee writing and communication skills and teaches English and communications at Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology. The Times of London's Canadian education correspondent, Dr. Greenfield is co-author of Canadian Business Communication: A Structural Approach (2 nd Edition, Thomson Nelson, Toronto ) and author of The Battle of the Saint Lawrence: The Second World War in Canada (HarperCollins, Toronto ) and Baptism of Fire. The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada , April 1915 (HarperCollins, Toronto ).
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Carl Martin
Carl Martin is a fluently bilingual strategic communications and marketing specialist with experience in a wide range of areas including issues management, media relations, special events and brand development and management. A former newspaper and TV journalist, Carl has provided communications services, media training and coaching to senior executives and volunteers in both the public and private sectors. He has worked in municipal affairs, arts and culture, police and law enforcement, as well as in health care and not-for-profit sectors. He has lectured at La Cité collégiale and Algonquin College and is currently an associate trainer with the Centre for Excellence in Communications. Carl is the recipient of several communications awards from organizations such as the Canadian Public Relations Society, the Health Care Public Relations Association of Canada and the International Association of Business Communicators. (français)
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Debrah
Martin
Debrah Martin is the President of the International Coaching Centre Inc. and an expert in interpersonal communication who consults, trains and coaches in the private and public sectors. With an M.A. in Linguistics and Professional Certified Coach credentials from the International Coach Federation, Ms. Martin often “shadows” and then coaches people who want to improve their interpersonal communications. She is the author of Stars in life: Coaching kids to success and several articles on leadership, and is currently working on her Ph. D. specializing in the language of leadership. A CEC Associate, her consulting work is in the areas of strategic communications planning and leadership development, including training leaders to embrace a “coach-approach” leadership style. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Bill Mathews
Bill Mathews has many years experience as a television director and producer for some of Canada ’s major news and current affairs programs, including as originating director of CBC’s “The Journal” and with CJOH Ottawa. He was also a principal director for ABC News in New York and worked on major news broadcasts, including Republican and Democratic National Conventions. He has worked across Canada and around the world and from his Ottawa base produced programs such as Vision’s “The Search for the Sacred”, the CBC’s “Cottage Country”, Rogers ’ “ Canada ’s Main Street ” and “TRASH” on CTV. Productions for business clients range from drama, training, entertainment, and documentaries, to live multi-camera satellite productions for Ford, Stentor, Bell, Radian, CIBC, Telesat, Systemhouse and other organizations. For the federal government Mr. Mathews has produced and directed both videos and live BTV events for many departments and agencies. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Association of Canada and is a lifetime honorary member of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Ian Parker
Ian Parker is a former CBC and CTV journalist and producer and long-time media relations and communications trainer. Mr. Parker, President of PB Communications and a Senior CEC Associate, is well-known as a host of CBC's the fifth estate national public affairs show and has many years of experience across all facets of news and current affairs programming and communications. An expert in media and communications training, he has developed and delivered a wide range of courses for government, corporate and institutional clients in Canada and the United States .
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Rob Parkinson
Rob Parkinson has over 30 years of experience in using the written word to achieve management objectives - gained as a consultant, an instructor, a manager, an editor and a writer. He specialized in briefings and correspondence for senior executives for 10 years, including six in the office of the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources. In that capacity, Mr. Parkinson developed departmental standards for executive briefings and correspondence that remain in use today. He is the author of Writing for Results, a textbook on how to prepare executive briefing notes, briefing books and correspondence.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Esther Schvan
Esther Schvan is a fluently bilingual consultant, trainer and facilitator with some 15 years of experience facilitating diverse groups within public and private sector organizations. She has delivered diversity and employment equity training to federal government departments including, on an on-going basis, Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office as well as to the Canadian Museum of Nature. Ms. Schvan has also delivered diversity-related training to new Canadians and speakers of English as a Second Language in various employment and self-employment initiatives. She has designed, developed and delivered hundreds of workshops, speaks seven languages and has lived on three continents. She is a graduate of McGill University and of the Advanced Facilitation Program of the Institute of Cultural Affairs and is a member of the International Association of Facilitators.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
David Sherwin
David Sherwin is an expert in the visual interpretation and expression of Brand. He is a co-founding partner of Sherwin Kaldeway, Ottawa which specializes in Brand development, management, audits and strategy for both the private and public sector. Mr. Sherwin is an experienced trainer who has designed and delivered a wide range of courses and workshops through the Continuing Education Program at Algonquin College.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Joseph Thornley
Joseph Thornley is CEO of Thornley Fallis and 76design. He writes a personal blog, www.propr.ca, where he explores the impact of social media on organizations and its potential to connect with and establish long term beneficial relationships with communities. Mr. Thornley has been a driving force behind the establishment of the Third Tuesday events which bring together social media enthusiasts and communicators to explore new developments in social media and their impact on society, organizations and citizens. Third Tuesday represents an ongoing experiment in the power of social media to build online communities that manifest themselves in real world relationships. Mr. Thornley has been providing organizations with communications counsel since 1983. He speaks frequently on social media topics to conferences and seminars.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Denis Vézina
Denis Vézina is a communications executive with over 30 years of experience in the federal public service. He has held senior communications management positions with the Canada Revenue Agency, Elections Canada, Canadian Heritage and other departments. Drawing on his experience, Mr. Vézina provides broad communications expertise and counsel with particular focus on strategic planning, public sector marketing, issues management and reputation stewardship. He is president of D.V.-CO, an Ottawa-based consulting firm offering training, executive coaching and strategic communications services in both official languages and a CEC Associate. Mr. Vézina is also active in the Communications Community Office, a functional community fostering professional development among federal communicators. He holds degrees in Translation, Public and International Administration.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CEC STAFF
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Chris St.
John
Chris St. John is the Centre for Excellence in Communications’ Marketing Coordinator. A graduate of Carleton University in International Business, Mr. St.John brings a hands-on approach to the CEC’s marketing needs. Be it through traditional forms or e-Marketing, he implements various new approaches to make CEC’s services easily accessible to its constantly growing client base.
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Ryan McCurdy
Ryan McCurdy is the Centre for Excellence in Communications’ Workshop Registration Coordinator and Administrative Officer. A graduate of the University of Ottawa in History and Political Science, Mr. McCurdy brings a highly methodical approach to the CEC’s administrative needs. He facilitates the careful planning and implementation required to schedule and deliver the Centre’s wide and growing range of courses and activities.
|
