IABC/Toronto’s chapter board is elected each year at its annual general meeting.
Throughout the year, the board meets monthly, to discuss chapter business and new initiatives. All IABC/Toronto members are welcome to attend any board meeting. Please contact IABC/Toronto’s President, Russell Baker, if you are interested in attending a board meeting.
A message from IABC/Toronto President Russell Baker
IABC/Toronto Board of Directors 2020/2021
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Russell Baker President
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Russell Baker is an award-winning communications professional with extensive knowledge of media relations, issues and reputation management, and strategic communications planning. A long-time IABC/Toronto volunteer, he remains committed to the strong, local network of dedicated business communications professionals.
Day-to-day, Russell serves as the corporate spokesperson for Toronto Hydro, where he is responsible for setting the strategic direction for media relations, issues management, and emergency management communications. |
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Lindsay Grillet Immediate Past President |
Having spent her life and career seeking out learning opportunities, Lindsay has continued to challenge herself and those around her to expand existing knowledge, learn to identify process improvements and continuously adapt. Her career in marketing and communications has allowed her to develop relationships with global partners and audiences, while her academic research has provided the opportunity to help improve cross-cultural understanding and collaboration. For the past six years she has been excited to promote and further governance excellence and to encourage young professional engagement on boards, inspiring evolution through diversity of perspectives. As IABC/Toronto President, engagement with members and non-members help further that growth and understanding. As Past President she will continue to evolve, lead and help to move the association forward.
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Mandy Gibson Executive Vice-President |
Mandy Gibson is an enthusiastic, innovative marketing and communications senior leader with more than 25 years demonstrated experience in marketing, corporate communications, public relations and employee engagement. She has extensive results in leading organizational change and creative employee engagement initiatives that effectively support key business goals and deliver successful results for Fortune 500 companies. Mandy is currently working as a Senior Manager Internal Communications for Global Advisory at KPMG International in Toronto.
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Satish Sarangarajan Vice President, Finance and Association Management
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Satish is a communications professional with a background in finance and technology. Satish began his career as a newspaper editor in India and has worked for Thomson Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, as an editor and a reporter. A results-oriented communicator, Satish is all about turning ideas into words, messages into action and using communications to solve real-world problems. In his spare time, Satish mentors newcomers to Canada, helping them find gainful economic opportunities in the GTA and integrate into Canadian society.
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Felicia Empey Vice-President, Communications and Digital Media |
Felicia is a Corporate Communications Coordinator whose experience includes working at a financial insurance firm, non-profit organizations, professional associations, small businesses, public relations firms, and a university.
Felicia currently works at Foresters Financial. She also has a social media consulting business, Caryatid Communications and has been an active IABC/Toronto member by volunteering as Director, Publications and the Editor in Chief of the Communicator. Felicia is also on the Board of Directors at BridgeWay Family Centre, a non-profit organization that has over 40 drop-in early childhood centres in the Region of Peel. In her role on the board, Felicia is a member of the risk management committee as well as the communications and marketing task force.
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Vanessa Holding Vice-President, Membership |
Vanessa Holding is the Co-Founder and Executive Producer at Arc and Crown Media. Having grown up on-set she has always been fascinated by the power of video. Now her company helps corporate communicators, marketers, and learning & development professionals get across their important, complex, and sometimes tedious content in a way that gets attention and compels action. She is excited to be joining the IABC/Toronto board after a wonderful first year of being part of this dynamic community, and hopes to bring her creativity to the position of Vice President, Membership.
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Kelsey Muir Vice-President, Networking |
Kelsey Muir is a communications professional with six years of experience in community engagement, crisis communications, issues management and media relations. Kelsey’s communication experience started in corporate communications for the health care sector, specifically in long-term care and home health care.
In her current role with AECOM, she is a Community Engagement and Communication Specialist where she focuses on a variety of infrastructure clients in the GTA. She is passionate about developing a deep understanding of stakeholder needs and concerns while bringing them to the forefront of each client project. Kelsey is also a long time IABC/Toronto volunteer and she looks forward to collaborating with fellow board members.
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Michael Blackburn Vice-President, OVATION Awards
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Michael is a dynamic, passionate and award-winning communications, marketing and events professional. He has over ten years’ experience in events and public service – leading large-scale, innovative and high-impact initiatives that connect communities and have a real influence on people’s lives.
Michael is a fearless and profound leader for the LGBTQ2 community and is the Past President for a local LGBTQ2 charity. He currently also volunteers for the Friends for Life Bike Rally, cycling from Toronto to Montréal to raise funds for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, HIV/AIDS Regional Services Kingston and AIDS Community Care Montreal. This is Michael’s first year on the IABC/Toronto Board of Directors, but he is no stranger to the IABC family. He looks forward to helping our creative community of comms pros celebrate excellence in communications in the year to come as part of the OVATION Awards program. |
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Katie Boland Vice-President, Professional Development Events
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Katie is a passionate communications leader with more than 12 years of experience working in corporate, agency, and startup environments. She has extensive experience in marketing, social media, corporate communications, and public relations. Katie is a long-time IABC/Toronto member and volunteer. This is Katie’s second year serving on the IABC/Toronto Board of Directors, and she looks forward to creating engaging professional development opportunities for Toronto’s communicators.
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Alice Namu Vice-President, Programs |
Alice is a seasoned strategic and innovative communications professional with a unique multi-sectoral background in corporate, academic, not-for-profit and faith-based organizations. She is also a dedicated community builder with more than a decade’s worth of experience in supporting community outreach and member engagement initiatives. Alice finds fulfillment in helping organizations meet their strategic goals through stakeholder engagement and driving increased awareness and support for their mission and leadership. She is delighted to work with her fellow 2020/2021 IABC/Toronto Board of Directors to promote the association’s member value and drive increased engagement.
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Nkiru Asika Vice-President, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) |
Nkiru is a marketing strategist, conversion copywriter and coach. She coaches women entrepreneurs to position themselves as authority brands, so they can grow their influence, income and impact. She also works with digital entrepreneurs to audit their online brands and create high-converting marketing funnels.
A former journalist, Nkiru is a National Press Club of America award winner and has been published in over 20 global publications including The Wall Street Journal. Her diverse business experience includes partnership in a leading media and entertainment company in Nigeria, producing major international TV franchises such as Big Brother Nigeria, The Apprentice Africa, Dragons Den and more. She was also a founding partner and one of the original producers of Social Media Week Lagos, the biggest new media and technology conference in Africa. Nkiru founded Enterprise Creative, a social enterprise that launched a co-working space in Lagos, Nigeria, created and managed several high-profile creative economy programs and trained more than 1,700 creative and digital entrepreneurs between 2012 and 2015. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford, the University of the Arts (London) and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Nkiru also serves on the Board of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, leading the Global Affairs portfolio.
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Justin MacLean MBA Vice-President, Strategic Partnerships |
Justin brings a diverse set of experiences in business, politics, academia and public service. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University and has further certification in Corporate Social Responsibility. Professionally he has served as Chief of Staff to a Member of Provincial Parliament and is currently working in corporate policy and strategic initiatives with a local government outside of Toronto. Justin is also an education and training consultant with Lloyd Rang Communications (LRC) and teaches courses within the Faculty of Business at Trent University.
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Diane Bellissimo Vice-President, Data Analytics and Brand Management |
Diane is senior vice-president at Paradigm, a creative communications agency that delivers business results. For more than 15 years, she has partnered with top brands on award-winning marketing communications and media relations campaigns. Diane excels at using data-driven insights to craft brand narratives that translate to digital and traditional channels, and she also applies this approach when developing thought leadership strategies and executive communications for clients. Diane has been an IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards judge for the past two years, and this is her first year serving on the IABC/Toronto board.
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Dan LeBaron Vice-President, Volunteers |
Dan is a senior communicator experienced in different industries including legal, tech, sports media and public relations. He is a jack of many trades but specializes in media and influencer relations, content development and brand strategy. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Ryerson University and is excited to serve on the IABC/Toronto board as its Vice President of Volunteers and Mentorship for the second consecutive year. |
Board Member Responsibilities
- Committing fully to their board role and making every attempt to fulfill the responsibilities of the role.
- Preparing a strategic portfolio plan for the year, a six-month status update and an end-of-year status update.
- Maintaining a comprehensive record of activities, accomplishments, challenges and gained knowledge to share with successor and Board (including the above-mentioned strategic plan, a six-month update and year-end results that will also be used for the AGM/annual report).
- Attending pre-scheduled monthly Board meetings with an upfront goal to attend, ideally in person, a minimum of 75 per cent of meetings. Or, if they cannot attend a Board meeting:
- Selecting a portfolio director to attend the meeting in their place;
- Ensuring a proxy has been given to another Board member for the meeting; and/or.
- Submitting a portfolio report when they have a significant number of updates.
- Familiarizing themselves with all relevant material from other portfolios, as well as Board meeting agenda items so that they arrive prepared to participate fully in Board meetings. This can include reviewing documents and providing feedback between meetings.
- Serving as an ambassador for IABC/Toronto at all times (in person and online), with a goal to attend IABC/Toronto events regularly during the Board year (including AGM, volunteer recruitment and recognition). (Note: some Board roles warrant even more frequent attendance at chapter events to maximize effectiveness).
- Managing, training, delegating and sharing information with portfolio volunteers to ensure a quality volunteer experience, smooth portfolio operation and clear succession planning.
- Monitoring portfolio and chapter budget carefully, collecting and submitting appropriate expense receipts on time and sharing any budget updates/concerns to the President as required.
- Familiarizing themselves with all chapter policies as well as the chapter constitution.
- Responding to member and non-member inquiries in a positive and timely manner.
- Providing relevant input to online discussions and participating in all online voting processes, as required.
- Ensuring all communications related to their portfolio are consistent and correct according to the IABC/Toronto Style Guide before distribution to membership and public via various channels (including e-Lerts, website copy, Communicator and social media).
- Maintaining an up-to-date biography on the IABC/Toronto website.
- Supporting and helping to promote Board initiatives through personal social media accounts, where appropriate.