Callista Ryan is passionate about creative communications and has extensive experience in media relations, issues management, and strategy. She served as the Vice President Communications and Public Affairs for the University Students' Council at Western University, where she studied International Relations as a Loran Scholar. She hails from Squamish, BC but has had the privilege to live in many different Canadian provinces/territories and abroad in France and China.

Caroline is an experienced writer and editor, with a decade of in-house publishing experience in acquisitions and development, and a range of experience in comms, from government to supporting small businesses with their messaging, community building, and storytelling.

She’s written for Today’s Parent and Flare, and authored and edited Through, Not Around, a collection of stories of Infertility and Pregnancy Loss (Dundurn 2018). She consults on an ongoing basis with writers on proposals and manuscript development.

Caroline co-owns and manages business, marketing, and communications for The Healing Collective, a therapeutic co-working space and private practice incubator in Toronto. She is currently working on her Master of Economic Development and Innovation at The University of Waterloo. She originally hails from Nova Scotia and goes back whenever she can.

A born and raised Calgarian, Danielle has gained communications experience in a variety of industries including boutique agency, corporate and non-profit. Skill sets include writing, strategic social media planning, media relations and event management. She is currently an independent PR consultant working in the arts/entertainment/media scene across Western Canada.

Danielle earned her Bachelor of Communication, Public Relations degree from Mount Royal University. She has also served on the board of directors for the Canadian Public Relations Society of Calgary in a variety of capacities including, Students and Education Chair, Volunteer Chair and is currently Membership Chair.

Danielle is also passionate about staying connected to the post-secondary realm and helping communications students reach their highest potential. She manages mentorship programs and participates in panel discussions, guest lectures and workshops across a variety of post-secondary institutions.

Gabrielle has over 15 years of experience managing the online presence for businesses, from social media management to content marketing and brand management. She received an MA in Media and Journalism from Newcastle University (UK) with a focus in digital communications and minority studies. Gabrielle thrives in diverse environments and embraces constant learning. She loves taking roads less travelled and is constantly thinking outside the box. Outside of work, you’ll find her visiting farmer’s markets and shopping for local goods. She’s fluent in French and travels frequently to Montreal to visit friends and family.

Jean Kavanagh has extensive communications and media relations experience in the non-profit and government sectors including at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the David Suzuki Foundation and Vancouver Public Library. Before making the switch to communications, Jean was a reporter and covered regional news in British Columbia and Ontario, nationally for the Canadian Press, and internationally from Central America.

A Swiss-army knife of marketing, Liv has accumulated a wide range of marketing communication experience since 2004. She is a connection planner, community manager, marketing strategist, copywriter, entrepreneur, and award-winning digital producer with a passion for the interactive space. Equally comfortable planning the overall vision and executing the details, don’t ask her if she is an account or creative person; she’s happy to do both and media too.

Liv’s experience includes working with some of BC's top brands, including Vancity, WorkSafeBC, ICBC, Preventable, Healthy Families BC, Public Affairs Bureau, Teck Cominco, White Spot, and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. She has worked in various roles in advertising, from digital strategist to planner to copywriter. As a marketing consultant, Liv created Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies’ Interactive Marketing program and taught digital marketing and social media courses at SFU and The Art Institute of Vancouver. Liv also has extensive event management and sponsorship experience from her working with nonprofit associations.

Liv has a BComm, Hons, in Marketing from Sauder School of Business. She is currently enrolled in McMaster’s Master of Communication Management program where her research interests are in diversity, equity, and inclusion and corporate communication and Web 3.0. She also sits on the Canadian Public Relations Society’s (CPRS) National Task Force on DEI as a member of the research committee.

Liv hails from Hong Kong and lived in Bangkok, Thailand before immigrating to Canada as a child. She has no vices except for an addiction to surfing, preferring surfboards to handbags. Liv has dual homes in Vancouver and Tofino, BC, where you can often find her in the water chasing peaks.

Nela is a sought-after consultant and project manager specializing in strategic communications, public education, marketing, multi-media creative, stakeholder engagement and partnerships. Uniquely positioned to serve her clients, Nela fuses her communications expertise with core business innovation principles to drive her clients’ desired results.

With nearly a decade of communications experience, Nela has a proven track record of excellence and building strong relationships with a wealth of clients, from a small business to government departments and agencies. She has lent her expertise to develop notable federal government communications initiatives, such as anti-racism public education and awareness, International Women’s Day, and strategic marketing to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake. She is known for applying a strong diversity, inclusion and equity lens to her work, as she draws on her 3 years of public sector experience spent working on national anti-racism initiatives. Nela is passionate about the arts, innovation, amplifying the voices of equity-seeking communities, and using communications as a vehicle for driving social change.

Nela holds a B.A. in Media Production from Ryerson University’s competitive School of Radio and Television Arts, and is a candidate at the McMaster-Syracuse Universities’ Masters in Communication Management. She is also poised to complete her certificate in Business Innovation at the University of Toronto. In her spare time, Nela is a singer-songwriter and can be found playing small gigs in the downtown Toronto area.

Scott Rintoul has been a fixture in sports broadcasting for the past twenty years, starting at the iconic Sports Page before weaving Sportsnet and multiple sports radio stations into his resume. In addition to reporting on a vast array of local sports during that span, he's had the good fortune of covering a number of major sporting events including multiple Grey Cups & Super Bowls, a Stanley Cup Final and the 2010 Olympics.

At Coldwater, Scott works on scripting the Coldwater podcast, working closely with the team at Everything Podcasts.

An active member of the community, Scott currently serves on the RunVan Board and spent a number of years on BCIT's Advisory Board for Broadcast Journalism. Scott maintains an active lifestyle and can often be found out for a run, on his road bike or in the North Vancouver trails.

In saving the best for last, Scott is most proud of his family: his incredible wife Fiona, their vivacious daughters Abigail & Emily, and their energetic new puppy, Leia.

Simi is a storyteller who thinks outside the box and has bold ideas. Paired with a well thought-out strategy, she executes and delivers on a high-level. She specializes in proactive and reactive PR, brand awareness, reputation management and media relations. Simi has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in International Studies and a specialization in Comparative World Politics, Culture and Society from Simon Fraser University. She was awarded a three-month funded international internship from the Canadian International Development Agency. Simi also attained a Certificate in Public Relations from Simon Fraser University and was awarded the Pacific Leaders Scholarship from the BC Government. She fulfilled her practicum at Social T. Marketing agency then transferred her skills over to B-TV Business Television where she worked as a Social Media and Public Relations Specialist.

Taking the PR industry by storm, Simi is an independent Public Relations Consultant working on campaigns in a variety of spaces including cryptocurrency, tech, apparel, non-profit and thought leadership. She has reached over 20 million+ audiences in radio, print, TV, blogs and podcasts by successful execution of communications and engagement strategies. Simi has elevated her clients’ brands by securing coverage in notable media outlets such as: The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg Business, IHeartRadio, CTV Morning Live, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Your Morning (Live) Show and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global amongst many others.

As a healthcare professional with ten years of clinical experience, Tarrah utilizes her clinical expertise, combined with her twenty years of scientific writing experience to produce engaging educational and promotional materials in the Greater Toronto Area. She works with organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Public Relations Society to assist with complex projects on both local and national scales.

Thi earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia, graduated from Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio, and in 2018, attended a residency for emerging writers at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

After a decade-long career working in financial sales, she returned to her passion for words and ideas. Today, with extensive sales and marketing experience under her belt and a formal background in creative writing, she’s a copywriter, editor, and public relations consultant. Thi specializes in crafting clear messaging and developing content strategy that aligns with her client’s brand and connects people. She has worked on a number of campaigns for a wide spectrum of clients in varied industries, including e-commerce, arts and culture, finance and real estate, and more.

Yasmine is a Vancouver-based writer and editor, with a great breadth of experience from working in media in a varied capacity for nearly a decade, as well as a deep knowledge of arts and culture.

She graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and has gone on to work as a freelance journalist with a focus on music and pop culture. She has also previously held positions as the CITY Editor and Arts Correspondent at BeatRoute Magazine, for both print and digital versions of the publication.

When it comes to content, Yasmine prides herself on crafting copy that is clean, creative, and engaging. She has worked as a copywriter for companies in a number of industries from hospitality and travel to fashion e-commerce and business marketing.