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Expert is Principal and Chief Magnifier of his consulting company. He is the driving force behind its success. He is an experienced event planner, public and media relations expert. He is able to call upon close to thirteen years of experience in these fields. With thorough research skills, his broad experience in government, the private sector, and in the association world have allowed him to take complex issues and communicate them to media and stakeholders alike. His accomplishments include doubling and tripling attendance for annual events for two of his association clients, laying the groundwork for new sponsors to a growing association, and building government advocacy capacity of various non-profits.

Expert conducts communication audits to ensure the messages organizations wish to convey are in tune with their internal structures and present stock of materials. Fully trilingual (Spanish, French & English), Expert has written for various commercial websites, trade journals and newsletters. He has been sought out to develop eye-catching sales copy and news articles. His successes have included coverage for clients on Fox Morning News, Bloomberg Business Newswire, the Atlantic Business Journal, Macleans Magazine, CTV and the Toronto Star to name just a few. His work with trade publications made the Canadian Construction Association a regularly quoted source for information on the industry.

Involved in his community, Expert has sat on community health boards, political campaigns, and was heavily involved in philanthropic efforts in his university years. All of this gave him an exceptional ability in community-based fundraising. A consummate follower of current affairs, Expert has trained a variety of clients in the private and non-profit sector on using the media to build promotion and publicity campaigns. He has also acted as a publicist to various authors and speakers.

A graduate of both the Government Relations Institute of Canada and of Political Science at the University of Ottawa, Expert lead the way for research into public policy issues at the Canadian Hydropower Association into Natural Resource and Energy issues. His experience on Parliament Hill also gives him a unique ability to draft policy papers on a wide range of issues.

Expert is a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society and a certified APR professional.

Social Media Positioning
Experience in Social Media and Online Promotion for Non-Profits

Expert's company has been recognized by the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) for online promotion of associations and non-profits. Expert is a published author on social media in their journal and invited speaker to their annual conference. In the fall of 2009, “Social Media for Non-Profits and Associations” will be published with Expert as the co-author.

Charitable organizations such as the Success Factory Employment Centre have benefited from leveraging Expert’s experience to grow followers and supporters through blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. Expert continues to use this experience to successfully grow his online following of supporters to his profiles as well. Arthur Childs Heritage Museum
Training Museum Executives for Media Relations Success

The Arthur Childs Museum provides visitors to the 1000 Islands region with an inviting setting to reflect on the history of the area. The organization identified key areas of growth to promote the treasures and the value the museum holds.  Although the desire to build an extensive communication plan was deterred by tight fiscal restraints, the board remained committed to developing a communications campaign.
Focusing on media training, Employer trained the Executive Director to speak directly with the media. This resulted in a full page article in the Kingston Whig-Standard. This coverage had previously eluded the organization for years.Special Olympics Ontario & the Education Quality Accountability Office
Media Relations Leadership

Special Olympics Ontario (SOO) is a community-based program that organizes competitions for athletes with intellectual difficulties. SOO leadership determined their current way of communicating to key stake holders was sporadic. During its annual September event, the "World’s Largest Truck Convoy" it became evident their communications plan was ineffective. Media coverage was limited to local reach, missing its intended target of provincial-wide coverage.

Expert determined that a media relations training program was required to reach their desired audience. His needs assessment determined a public relations and training program was required for audience reach. Integrating the media training techniques provided by Expert, media coverage was gained on national television networks and on Toronto’s leading news talk radio network garnering media coverage previously denied Special Olympics.

In a posting with Ontario’s Education Accountability Office, Expert succeeded in placing 85% of the articles pitched to the francophone media in Ontario. Media coverage occurred within the first two weeks of his assignment. Canadian Construction Association (CCA)
Bringing a marketing paradigm shift within the association sector

The voice of Canada's largest industry, representing interests of the non-residential sector of an industry that employs over 1 million Canadians, CCA speaks to the federal government and the public on a wide range of issues.

Facing a chronic labour shortage within 10 years, the industry was very receptive of the need to conduct ongoing marketing and communications efforts to Canadian women and youth to consider careers in the trades. However, CCA had a number of competing marketing programs, all with different brands. Various participants in the organization were also reluctant to cede the brand they had developed for their programs in favor of an overall CCA trademark.

As the Director of External Communications, Expert was charged with coordinating a special task force to examine the situation. After intensively reviewing the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, a two year marketing communications plan was developed demonstrating the case for a common brand.
As a result of the audit and review, the association’s brochure was distributed through government networks to the country’s guidance counsellors and media coverage included articles in the Atlantic Business Journal, Maclean’s Magazine, and the Toronto Star. Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA) Success with convincing corporations to engage in an association’s cause & coordinate stakeholders The Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA) is the national association dedicated to representing the interests of the hydropower industry. Its principal mandate is to promote hydropower nationally and internationally as a source of renewable energy. Starting in this role as the Manager of Public Affairs, Expert was charged with investigating the viability of increasing the association membership of firms working in and serving the industry. With a large portion of Canada’s hydro-electric corporations already members of CHA, there was skepticism about the possibility of convincing the remaining corporate executives of the value of CHA membership. As a result of the audit and review, Expert went on to convince two new companies to join the association within a six month period. Later in this role, the relationships he built between first nations peoples, Fisheries and Oceans officials, and industry meant improved dialogue and greater message penetration for the CHA. As a strategic relationship builder with sponsors, government and partners, Expert coordinated the first ever coalition of renewable energy associations between the Canadian Hydropower Association, the Canadian Solar Industries Association, and the Canadian Wind Energy Association. These successes were the result of implementing his awareness and outreach plan.