Hiring announcement: Communications Associates

After a robust recruitment process for communications associates roles prior to the holiday break, I am pleased to share hiring and recruitment updates for the Strategic Communications team, including our incoming communications associates and news and media analysts.

It is my pleasure and honour to announce the following successful candidates, who will be joining us this month, with the majority starting in their new roles January 17.

The associate roles are frontline communicators who plan, coordinate and implement tactics contributing to the delivery of integrated communications, marketing, digital and creative services. They work with clients and team members across the communications and marketing centres of expertise on the development of projects, project scoping and planning in support of the strategic priorities of faculties and units across campus.

Internal Communications

The Internal Communications team is excited to welcome five new communications associates:

Reporting to Lindsay Bliss, Chantal Delfs joins internal communications from the Office of the Registrar where she was a Communications Strategy Lead delivering communications to staff and students. Chantal has almost 20 years of communications and marketing experience, including almost a decade leading the delivery of internal communications at the City of Edmonton.

Reporting to Julia Jones-Bourque and focused on internal student communication are Jeremy Cherlet and Sarah Bowes. Jeremy brings his experience from several years with U of A International, where he focused on delivering timely and effective communications to prospective international students as they made their university decision. Sarah also comes from U of A International, bringing years of communications experience working with current international students and also having led promotions for major events including International Week.

Reporting to Breanna Mroczek and focused on internal employee communication are Brigitte Rioux and Jeff Klassen. Brigitte joins internal communications from the Office of the Dean of Students where she has worked in a variety of communications roles since 2016. Brigitte brings strong writing skills and a thoughtful approach to communicating with diverse internal and external stakeholders. Jeff has been part of the U of A community for more than 15 years, most recently, as the internal communications specialist in Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment. Jeff brings an extensive understanding of the employee lifecycle, employee communications and user experience to internal communications.

Coming from Augustana's Advancement team, Sydney Tancowny brings her familiarity with Augustana and its stakeholders, as well as her excellent rapport with faculty and staff―both in Camrose and with colleagues in Edmonton―to her new role as Communications Associate at Augustana Campus. Sydney will report to Salena Kitteringham.

Editorial Strategy

Joining Editorial Strategy, reporting to Lisa Cook, are Kalyna Hennig Epp (donor & alumni), coming from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences where she led their stunning alumni magazine, and Adrianna MacPherson (news), coming from the Neuroscience & Mental Health Institute (NMHI) and the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA) where she regularly contributed research discovery storytelling to Folio.

Facilities & Operations (F&O) / University Services & Finance (USF)

Joining Facilities & Operations / University Services & Finance, reporting to Brittany Hurlburt, are Eric Athanas, Ashley Camarneiro (both starting Jan. 10) and Taylor Downing. Both Eric and Ashley are powerhouses when it comes to integrated communications, having played key roles at every stage of the planning, producing, delivering and analyzing results on F&O's award-winning campaigns. Taylor, seconded from IST Comms to the SET Comms team is highly proficient at managing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment and brings her keen eye for detail to a highly complex portfolio.

Academic (VPA) / Research & Innovation (VPRI)

Joining VPA/VPRI, reporting to Matt McCreary, are Kateryna Barnes, Debbie Yee and Shelby MacLeod. Kat comes from the Departments of Elementary Education and Secondary Education where she has been working on multimedia storytelling, social media and engagement-focused strategies for internal-to-the Faculty communications. Debbie comes from the Office of the Dean of Students and brings her strong understanding of the communications landscape at the U of A and the need to build cohesive internal communications strategies mapped to audience lifecycles. Shelby has been coordinating communications with the Peter Lougheed Leadership College with creativity and professionalism. She brings to her new role strong experiences collaborating with units across campus to promote programming for faculty, staff and students.

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

Joining the College Of Natural and Applied Sciences, reporting to Katie Willis, are Dawn Graves and Brad Grier. Dawn comes from the Faculty of Science where she was Engagement Associate (Events) bringing her impeccable project management and highly creative content creation skills. Brad comes from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences where he was an IT professional. His varied career to date includes broadcast journalist, technology writer, digital content manager and developer, video editor and producer and communications consultant.

College of Health Sciences

Joining the College of Health Sciences, reporting to Janelle Morin, are Danica Erickson, Sasha Roeder Mah, Jonathan Pullin (starting Jan. 26) and Tarwinder Rai. Danica comes from the Department of Family Medicine and brings a strong understanding of the unique communication required to support medical education that encompasses learning, research and health-care service delivery. Sasha has been the publishing editor and content writer in FoMD the past two years, superbly leading dean's messaging, executive speechwriting and strengthening engagement with a community of more than 10,000 faculty, staff, clinicians, researchers and learners. Jonathan comes from the Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI) where he has led the social media strategy, organized and promoted events and created digital content to showcase researchers. Tarwinder has been advancing the School of Dentistry's engagement with community partners through publications designed to educate and inform the public on emerging oral health concerns and trends.

 On behalf of the Strategic Communications Directors and Senior Partners, we are sincerely looking forward to working with our colleagues across campus to provide strategic support with our new team members moving forward.

Jennifer Pascoe
Associate Vice-President, Strategic Communications