SUMMARY

I have over 25 years of experience in marketing, communications, event planning, business development and association management and during this time I have learned the importance of diplomacy when dealing with clients, colleagues, suppliers and stakeholders.  For the last 18 years I have worked with various non-profit organizations in management positions both full-time internally and as an independent consultant in operations, account management and marketing roles.  My diverse management and administrative experience along with my educational background in print journalism has made me a confident communicator with strong writing, research, comprehension and presentation skills.

 

LANGUAGES

Fluent - written and spoken                   English & Swedish

Comprehension - written and spoken   Norwegian and Danish                        

Beginner - written and spoken              German and Spanish

 

MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE

MAVEN Marketing & Communications (2005-present)

Design, Media Relations and Marketing Projects 

Work with corporate and non-profit clients on a variety of marketing, communications and event management projects.  Visit www.mavencommunications.ca to learn more.

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Association Management Clients (long and short-term contracts)

November 2018 - present                    Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors

                                                                 PR/Marketing

• Provide expert consultation on PR/Marketing Committee on re-branding campaign and design of new marketing and presentation material

• Create a Congress sponsorship program

• Develop a marketing toolkit including promotional materials, PowerPoint presentation, etc

• Attend industry and government affairs meetings

• Participate in Strategic Planning sessions

• Develop a comprehensive Congress Communications Plan 

• Develop a student recruitment program

• Media and presentation training for volunteers

• Create, lead and implement a plan to liaise with corporate, education and government sectors as part of CIQS's mission to promote and advance professional quantity surveying and construction estimating

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October 2017 - March 2019                      Canadian Federation of Agriculture

                                                                     Sponsorship Coordinator

• Manage the sponsorship and corporate leadership program portfolios

• Create funding strategies and sponsor prospectus to maximize revenue

• Responsible for corporate leadership program negotiations and contracts

• Act as a liaison between sponsors, corporate partners and CFA

• Develop funding program marketing material; coordinate promotional campaigns with CFA's communications department

• Plan and execute fundraising and sponsor appreciation events and strategic planning sessions

• Participate in parliamentary events such as Lobby Day on the Hill

• Create and present board and sponsor reports

• Build and maintain a prospect database

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November 2016 - August 2017                Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trade Association

                                                                     Eastern Ontario Regional Manager

• Manage the Eastern Ontario chapters and regional staff

• Oversee member and fundraising events such as GreenTrade Expo (largest green industry tradeshow in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec) and Awards of Distinction Gala (raised $68,000 combined); Golf Tournament (sold out sponsorship and hosted over 90 golfers, raising over $11,000 net - the chapter's most successful tournament to date - reaching the $30,000 donation goal for the CHEO Foundation); Living Landscapes exhibit at the Ottawa Home and Garden Show

• Manage the government relations, human resource development and educational programs in Eastern Ontario

• Responsible for designing regional promotional material and creating fundraising and membership recruitment campaigns

• Media spokesperson for Eastern Ontario

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February 2009 - August 2016                  Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada 

                                                                     Chapter Relations:  Manage Ontario Region

• Responsible for the administrative and governance strategy, event management, board member recruitment, speaker bookings, board meeting agenda and minutes, marketing and advertising campaigns and member relations for 12 chapters across Ontario

• Manage the Ontario Regional Council which represents over 800 heating and air conditioning (HVACR) contractor companies in the province on industry and legislative matters; plan 3 meetings each year - create agendas and write minutes

• Create and launch a consumer awareness campaign about the dangers of using Hydrocarbon DIY kits in air conditioning units, gaining interviews with media outlets in Canada, USA and the UK

• Lobby government officials to introduce a change in legislation to prohibit the sale of the Hydrocarbon DIY kits to consumers.  Result: a meeting with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Consumer Services and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities

• Organize an information tour across Ontario to give members the opportunity to meet the leadership team of the newly launched Ontario College of Trades to learn more about how OCoT works and its implications on the HVAC industry

• Manage the Ontario Geothermal Association with a special focus on board relations, branding and marketing and management of their Annual General Meeting

 

April 2010 - July 2016                               Wennberg International LLC (USA)

                                                                     President - Publishing Division

• Manage the publishing division which produced a cookbook for sale to organizations seeking a new and innovative way to raise funds for their association or specific projects

• Negotiate a partnership with Stefan Karlsson, world-renowned master chef, for the use of his receipes

• Design promotional flyers and sales booklets

• Responsible for operations, staffing and divisional finances

• Translate all recipes from Swedish to English, design the cookbook and negotiate pricing with the printing house for printing-on-demand services

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May 2011 - August 2016                           Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada

                                                                     Career Promotions and Skills Competition Management

• Develop partnerships with industry influencers such as the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, BuildForce Canada (formerly Canadian Sector Council), Skills Canada, the Workforce Development Foundation (USA) and educational institutions across Canada to promote the HVACR industry as a viable career opportunity in response to the projected future industry labour shortage

• Design and implement a marketing campaign resulting in a 25% usage increase of the HRAI Career Connections website in one year

• Build a national network of volunteer career ambassadors to speak about the benefits of a career in the HVACR industry at school events across Canada

• Manage the HRAI "Heating Systems Technician" Skills Competition as part of the Ontario Technological Skills Competitions.  This event is held at the CMPX tradeshow (Canada's largest HVACR industry show) in Toronto every other year and at the OTSC competition site in non-CMPX years.  Responsibilities:  Recruit and manage planning committee members and onsite volunteers; plan committee meetings, set the agenda and take minutes; design separate competitions for secondary and post-secondary students as well as an elementary workshop and a career promotions booth; raise funds to cover the cost of the event ($20-26,000 per year)

• In cooperation with BuildForce Canada, create informational videos to promote various job opportunities within the HVACR industry as part of a national social media campaign highlighting all trades

• Member of a US/Canadian career promotions committee tasked to create a labour market report analyzing the current job market, forecasted labour shortfall and subsequent communications strategies for the North American HVACR market

 

April 2007 - May 2008                               Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists

                                                                     Marketing & Communications Manager

• Develop the company's marketing department; responsible for department staff, budgeting, public relations, internal communications and Annual Reports, marketing & advertising strategies including a corporate re-branding campaign 

• Plan and execute the 50th Anniversary Annual General Meeting and Gala Dinner as well as the 50th Anniversary BBQ reception at Fort York in Toronto for 250 OACETT members

• Create a strategic partnership program to generate a new non-member revenue stream; manage the launch, marketing and sales strategies - Brought in the first 5 corporate partners

 

May 2005 - September 2006                    Real Estate Institute of Canada

                                                                     Manager, Marketing & Communications

• Promote REIC at all levels (corporate, designations, training) to the industry and the public from a National perspective via the creation and launch of various PR, marketing and advertising campaigns

• Design all national marketing and communications material as part of the national re-branding campaign

• Manage the marketing department (operations, budget and staff); member of the Executive Team

• Tradeshow management - design corporate booths; research and book appropriate tradeshows; recruit and manage onsite booth staff; plan follow-up sales strategies

• Develop new business marketing and strategic partnerships with NPO's and businesses involved in the real estate industry to diversify the association's revenue stream

 

February 2003 - February 2005               Hellenic Heritage Foundation 

                                                                     Executive Director

• Responsible for all corporate communications campaigns; lead media liaison and corporate spokesperson

• Manage fundraising galas (annual budget: $500,000), golf tournaments (annual budget: $250,000) and various corporate events (responsible for supplier and vendor negotiations, budget, sales and marketing, registrations, onsite management and post-mortem reports)

• Develop, launch and execute corporate marketing plans and fundraising campaigns which raised close to $1 million net in two years in support of community projects such as the endowment of the first Chair in Hellenic Studies at York University

• Responsible for the operational budget, accounting and annual audits

• Recruit and manage the Board of Directors; schedule board meetings; create meeting agendas; take minutes; write and present reports

 

August 2000 - February 2003                  Swedish Canadian Chamber of Commerce

                                                                     Executive Director

• Facilitate international trade relations between Sweden and Canada through the successful merger of the Swedish-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Canada) and the Canadian Swedish Business Association (Sweden), resulting in a 45% increase in membership in one year

• Launch branch offices in Halifax and Montreal; manage the National Executive Team

• Events planning, execution and post-mortem (golf tournaments, industry & trade conferences, business seminars, client appreciation events, product and branch launches)

• Design corporate PR and marketing campaigns; lead media liaison and corporate spokesperson

• Responsible for operational and event budgets, accounting and annual audits

• Recruit and manage the Board of Directors; schedule board meeting; create meeting agendas; take minutes; write and present reports

 

1997-2000

My career started with coordinator positions in the communications departments at Canadian Living Magazine and AIRMILES, as a PR coordinator for a PR Agency and as the Marketing Manager - Internal for a marketing agency.  I also worked as the stage manager, public relations and promotions assistance and food and vendor liaison for the Oakville Waterfront Festival (an annual community event that attracted 200,000 visitors over 3 days).

 

EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

Editor and writer

Exchange, The Hellenic Tribute, SCCC-CSBA News, Kalendern, Sheridan Sun's Editorial Page

Contributing writer

Waterlines, The Ontario Technologist, The National Review Magazine, HRAI E-Insight, Mechanical Business Magazine

Monthly columnist

The Swedish Press

 

VOLUNTEERING

Current

• Event manager: HRAI National Capital Region Chapter

Past

• Event manager: Westport Green Street Challenge (part of Come Alive Outside)

• Secretary and marketing specialist member: Westport Harbour Advisory Committee 

• Board member: Literacy North Halton and Swedish Women's Educational Association

• Marketing committee member: Oakville Waterfront Festival

• Editor: SWEA's monthly newsletter

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AWARDS

• Nominee (2016 & 2017): The Ben TeKamp Memorial Award for Entrepreneurs 

• Volunteer of the Month:   Village of Westport, February 2017

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REFERENCES

See the Testimonials page for references.  Reference contact information available upon request.