• LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

IABC/Toronto

  • Home
  • Membership
    • Member Spotlights
  • About
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • 2025-2026 IABC/Toronto Board of Directors
    • Past Presidents
    • Certification/Accreditation
      • Global Communication Certification Council® (GCCC®) Program
    • Advertising/Sponsorship
    • Reports and Policies
    • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA)
      • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility Commitment
      • IDEA Committee
      • Standing against racism
      • IDEA Resources
      • Calendar of Significant Events for Communicators
      • Canada’s PR industry releases first comprehensive diversity & inclusion survey
    • Special Interest Groups
      • Professional Independent Communicators (PIC)
      • The Senior Communicators Circle
      • The Student Communicators Circle
    • Code of Ethics
    • Ethical Use of AI
    • Code of Conduct
    • Career Roadmap
    • Career Assessment
  • Awards
    • 2025 OVATION Award Winners
      • 2025 Awards Ceremony
      • Award Categories & Divisions
      • 2024 Award Winners
      • FAQ
      • Become a Sponsor
      • Evaluation & Judging
      • Important Dates & Submission Fees
      • OVATION Awards – Submit an entry
    • Communicator of the Year (COTY)
    • Student of the Year (SOTY)
    • Volunteer of the Year (VOTY)
    • National and International Awards Programs
  • CareerLine Job Board
    • Post a Job
    • Job postings & alerts  
  • Events
  • Resources
    • e-Lert
    • IABC/Toronto Communicator
    • Volunteer
    • Mentorship Program: Connect, Learn & Grow
    • Member Discounts and Resources
    • OVATION Awards Winning Entries Booklets
  • Login

Communicator of the Year (COTY)

Rebecca Shields against a white background with diagonal orange bands. On the right, a black box contains event details in bold orange and white text. The heading reads, '2024 Communicator of the Year,' followed by 'Felicitation Ceremony and Fireside Chat' in white. Below, 'Recognizing and Celebrating' appears in white, leading to her name, 'Rebecca Shields,' in large, bold, orange text. Her designation as CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, York Region & South Simcoe, is also included. The IABC Toronto logo is positioned in the top left corner.

IABC/Toronto’s 2024 Communicator of the Year: Rebecca Shields

IABC/Toronto is proud to announce Rebecca Shields, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (York Region South Simcoe), as the recipient of the 2024 Communicator of the Year (COTY) Award.

Rebecca is recognized for her leadership and contributions to community development, inclusion, mental health and addictions, cultural competency, and innovation.

Under Rebecca’s leadership, CMHA York Region & South Simcoe has grown into one of Canada’s largest and fastest-growing CMHA branches, supporting over 22,000 individuals annually through 32+ mental health and addiction programs and services. Her achievements include growing agency revenues from $8 million to $42 million and earning accolades like Canadian Non-Profit Employer of Choice for seven consecutive years and Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures.Rebecca is recognised for her exceptional leadership in communication, her commitment to mental health advocacy, and her visionary work in fostering inclusive and supportive communities.

Celebrating Excellence

Rebecca will be honoured at an in-person award ceremony scheduled for April 24, 2025. The event will bring together communicators, leaders, and professionals from across industries to celebrate her achievements.

REGISTER HERE

About the Communicator of the Year Award

Since 1997, IABC/Toronto’s Communicator of the Year Award has recognized a Greater Toronto Area executive whose demonstrated leadership and communications skills drive business results or have had a substantially positive influence on the community. Only one person is recognized as the Communicator of the Year each year.

The Communicator of the Year is not necessarily in a communication role; however, the recipient of the award is someone who uses the power of communication to deepen understanding, inspire action and transform their community.

Past Recipients:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fennella Bruce, veteran television producer, writer and founder of FKB Media Solutions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesse Wente, Ojibwe writer, broadcaster, curator, public speaker and best-selling author (2022)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health (2021)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wes Hall, Founder and Chairman of the BlackNorth Initiative and Founder and Executive Chairman of Kingsdale Advisors (2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jodi Kovitz, CEO and Founder of #movethedial (2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maayan Ziv, Founder and CEO of AccessNow (2018)

Masai Ujiri, President, Toronto Raptors (2017)

Andy Byford, CEO, Toronto Transit Commission (2016)

  • Stefan Sjöstrand, President, IKEA Canada (2015)
  • Alan Middleton, Executive Director, Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC) and Assistant Professor of Marketing, Schulich Business School at York University (2014)
  • Ted Garrard, President and CEO, SickKids Foundation (2013)
  • Jim Grieve, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Education (2012)
  • Catherine Zahn, President and CEO of CAMH (2011)
  • Peter Aceto, President and Chief Executive Officer of ING Direct (2010)
  • Rob Devitt, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto East General Hospital (2009)
  • Philip Blake, President and CEO of Bayer Inc. (2008)
  • Annette Verschuren, President of Home Depot Canada (2007)
  • Mayor Hazel McCallion, City of Mississauga (2006)
  • Malcolm Heins of Law Society of Upper Canada (2005)
  • Wayne Fyffe of Credit Valley Hospital (2004)
  • Edward Marra of Nestlé Canada (2003)
  • David Booth of Compaq Canada Corp. (2002)
  • Paul Tsaparis of Hewlett-Packard Canada (2001)
  • Marguerite Jackson of the Toronto District School Board (2000)
  • Rudy Riedl of Enbridge Consumers Gas (1999)
  • Jeff Lozon of St. Michael’s Hospital (1998)
  • Paul Lucas of Glaxo Wellcome Inc. (1997)

 

Eligibility

The nominee must:

  • Live in the GTA;
  • Have a demonstrated ability to communicate successfully;
  • Have had a positive influence with key stakeholders and the community; and,
  • Demonstrates a strong code of ethics.
How to enter

Submit your nomination today to toronto-programs@iabc.to

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Google+
  • Stumble Upon
  • Email

CareerLine Job Board

Recent Jobs

  • Vice President, Corporate Communications

    • Mississauga, Ontario (Hybrid)
    • goeasy
    • Senior
  • Director, Communications/Directeur des communications; directrice des communications

    • Toronto
    • Ministry of Francophone Affairs/Ministère des Affaires francophones
    • Senior
  • Senior Communications Specialist, Corporate Communications

    • Toronto
    • Sinai Health
    • Intermediate

Contact Us

IABC/Toronto
189 Queen St E, Suite 1
Toronto, ON M5A 1S2
Tel: 416-968-0264
Email: toronto-info@iabc.to
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Minneapolis Web Design by BizzyWeb · Log in

IABC/Toronto Cookie Consent

We use essential cookies to make our site work. With your consent, we may also use non-essential cookies to improve user experience and analyze website traffic. By clicking “Accept,” you agree to our website's cookie use as described in our Cookie Policy.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

Member Login