CEPSM - Key Persons
Alex Babaris is a data analyst who works to help clients obtain insights into open-source data. Alex used to work supporting private clients in the former Soviet Union by providing insight and analysis to support their corporate work. In the digital space, Alex works with both data and people. He supports clients' understanding of data through open-source research and social network analysis. Alex uses open-source tools and codes in Python to acquire and process data to help clients find answers to their questions. He has been working in the field of open-source research since 2013. As an associate consultant with the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM), Alex has provided data acquisition and analysis to inform the strategic rollout of major national and regional communications initiatives. Alex received his Bachelor's degree in history from Trent University and a Master's degree in history from Carleton University's Institute for Russian and East/Central European Studies (EURUS) and is a fluent Russian speaker. Alex has previously worked at Nexalogy, a big-data and analytics firm based in Montreal, and ran his own company EdgeWeight. He is currently a data analyst with Global Affairs Canada.
Anne Schroder is a former federal public service communications executive with significant experience providing strategic advice to senior elected officials and senior public service officials. She built an extensive public service career in issues management, organizational structure and public sector governance to help connect Canadians with their national government increasing the value of the communications message. She has led change management initiatives aimed at improving organizational performance and service delivery including developing a modern approach to the communications function. Her corporate management experience includes serving on various Boards of Directors in addition to financial management of significant budgets.
Throughout his 20-year marketing career, Bernie Colterman has facilitated numerous marketing campaigns for the government, consumer and the business sectors. A master at brokering strategic alliances and partnerships, he has facilitated hundreds of collaborative arrangements for both industry and government, spearheading high profile partnership initiatives for Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage, Province of Ontario and Grassroots National Campaign where he raised over $4 million in private sector sponsorships to support on-line learning projects in Canada's classrooms; working with national stakeholders including Provincial Ministries of Education to deliver the program.
Bernie offers strategic advice to a wide range of public sector and non-profit organizations in the areas of strategic marketing planning and program delivery, internal marketing, social marketing, performance measurement, partnership development, exhibit management and face-to-face marketing. This also includes conducting extensive marketing research to determine target markets for a wide range of products and services, developing marketing communications strategies and formulating tactical plans. Current and/or recent government clients include the Public Health Agency of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Public Safety Canada, PWGSC, Ontario Public Health Agency, City of Ottawa, and City of Burlington.
Bernie has a depth of expertise in developing quantitative systems for selecting partners, determining the value of benefits received through collaborative arrangements and establishing performance measurement metrics. This expertise provides client organizations with the information and tools they need to execute effective partnerships. In addition, Bernie played a lead role in facilitating two day-long sessions for the Mental Health Commission of Canada where mental health practitioners from across Canada were brought together to discuss challenges and solutions for achieving a national collaborative effort to reduce the stigma associated with mental health. He also worked on the development of the social marketing and partnership plan for CATSA.
Bernie was the former Co-Program Director and faculty member of Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing where he taught courses on Partnerships, Strategic Alliances and Collaborative Arrangements. His highly acclaimed Designing and Selling Your Sponsorship Program and Revenue Generation Boot Camp workshops we attended by thousands of professionals over many years.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Managing Director
Claire (PMP) is Managing Director at CEPSM where she is responsible for the daily operation of the organization, client liaison and customer service. She has honed her expertise in leading the CEPSM Training portfolio of product and service offerings. She is Director of MARCOM Annual Conference (MARCOM.ca) and manages the national workshop series and other learning offerings. A Project Management Professional, Claire is a 25-year seasoned veteran of the event marketing and trade show industries, she is a confident project manager serving clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in the areas of marketing planning and communications, sponsorship sales, delivery and valuation, face-to-face marketing and exhibit management programs. Her many years working with government and consequently developing and delivering proposals has also enabled her to consult with private sector organizations in understanding and responding to the often complicated RFP process. Her experience managing the marketing of CEPSM has allowed her to provide such expertise to other private sector organizations interested in developing and implementing a customer relationship management strategy within a marketing framework. Above all, Claire is well aware of her path and truly enjoys sharing work-life lessons and straight-shooter advice to marketing and event professionals entering the field.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Partner
- Associate, CEPSM Found & Partner, Brand Clarity
Corien is a Founder and Partner in Brand Clarity, an Ottawa-based marketing and communications firm that specializes in Brand and Brand Management Communications. In that role, she brings over 25 years' experience in developing successful brand strategies and communications programs for organizations in a range of sectors, including education, public sector, technology, not-for-profit, associations and others.
Despite her years with agencies, Corien comes from a client-side background that gives her a unique perspective on the client's needs for real, practical approaches that deliver fast and quantifiable results. As a senior strategist, she shares her business expertise and insight with a wide range of clients.
Education clients have included Lakehead University (brand strategy) York University (strategic communications plan), (branding) and Algonquin College (strategic marketing plan). She was also instrumental in working with WorldSkills International on defining a brand for this important organization and continues to provide support to Skills Ontario and Skills Canada on their work in educating the public and students alike on the value of careers in the skilled trades and technologies.
In the public sector, Corien has worked with Corien's clients have included Citizenship and Immigration Canada (EOI Program), NSERC (Key message development for the Canada Graduate Scholarship Program), brand and message development for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a campaign to promote Canada's Economic Action Plan for the federal Department of Finance, planning communications for the National Research Council and providing branding and communications for a number of Canada's HR-focused industry sector councils.
Her International Marketing experience was a primary focus during her CEO and VP Marketing roles in a range of companies including public Canadian and US firms, as well as nimble and innovative start-ups, and included marketing and communications for European and South American markets as well as Pacific Rim markets. Her technology client range includes companies like Mitel, JDS Uniphase, Borderware, Omnivex and PyroPhotonics. Client-side, Corien was VP of Marketing and Product Management for companies such as Simware, NetManage, Buystream and Trigence. Corien was also CEO for ServiceSwitch and FuseTalk, both of which were acquired.
Corien also acts as a mentor to the business leaders of tomorrow. For three years she was the director of the Marketing Certificate Program at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, where she set curriculum and taught. She also spent several years teaching marketing at Algonquin and is currently on the faculty of the private Lead-to-Win, Ottawa's leading program for entrepreneurs and young emerging executive leaders. Corien holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant, CEPSM Senior Consultant, Trainer, Le Clair Consell Inc
Daniel Leclair holds a masters degree in public administration and a business degree in marketing. As an executive in the federal public service for 20 years he has developed practical experience to provide valuable advice and training in the fields of service excellence, governance, public sector marketing, cultural transformation, employee engagement, team building and partnership development.
He is also an international speaker, having spoken about these topics across Canada and internationally in Malaysia, India and South Africa. Daniel also teaches a course on Service excellence for executives at the Canada School of Public Service.
He is bilingual, providing his services in both French and English.
Jacob is a multi-disciplinary researcher and writer with experience consulting for non-profit and public sector clients on projects centred around GovTech, AI, and digital infrastructure. As a digital policy analyst and consultant, Jacob helps federal agencies better understand and respond to opportunities and risks that emerge from technological change. Jacob received his Master of Public Policy in Digital Society in 2022 from McMaster as part of the program's first cohort. He is also a co-founder of Boon, a research and public policy consultancy based in Toronto, ON. Jacob's policy interests extend beyond the digital sphere into alternative economics, substance use and addiction, and housing. In the off-hours, Jacob enjoys solving crosswords with other regulars at his local café, playing squash, and seeing old movies at the Revue Cinema.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Principal Consultant, Dooley Social Change
Jennifer Dooley, PhD., is the Principal Consultant for Dooley Social Change. What began as a career in advertising and marketing research, evolved into a passion for using marketing to effect social change. With over a decade of strategic marketing experience, Jennifer provides her services to a range of clients internationally and within Alberta. After her early years spent working for the United Kingdom-based Institute for Social Marketing, Jennifer returned to Calgary to work as a Senior Associate with the market research company, Environics Research Group, and later managed several health marketing campaigns for Alberta Health Services before returning to her consulting practice. Jennifer's main focus is strategic planning, marketing research, marketing implementation, campaign analytics, new media strategies, and training for new media, market research, and cause marketing. Jennifer holds a PhD in social marketing, specializing in digital media from the University of Wollongong {Australia}. She is a regular guest speaker at the World Social Marketing Conferences in Brighton {England}, Dublin {Ireland}, and Toronto {Canada}. Her work is featured in several academic journals.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Managing Director, CEC
- Founder and Managing Director of the CEC
- Member of the International Association of Business Communicators
Josef Jurkovic is a founder and managing director of the CEC. He has over 35 years of public and private sector experience across diverse areas of internal and external communications, media relations, stakeholder and public consultations, branding and marketing. In over 20 years as a trainer, coach, facilitator and consultant, Mr. Jurkovic has undertaken projects for well over three hundred government, business and non-governmental organizations in Canada and abroad. Mr. Jurkovic is a frequent conference speaker on internal communications, employee engagement and on public sector branding and positioning. He regularly delivers professional development workshops and coaching sessions on:
Communications Skills for Non-Communicators;
Client Service Excellence
Effective Messaging;
Effective Presentations;
Employee Engagement;
Government Branding and Positioning;
Internal Communications;
Issues, Risk and Crisis Communications;
Media Relations;
Oral Briefing Skills;
Personal Branding Strategies;
Portfolio and Horizontal Communications;
Professional Communicators Competencies;
Public Consultations and Citizen Engagement;
Public Sector Marketing;
Stakeholder Communications;
Strategic Communications Planning;
Writing Briefing Notes and Memorandums for Senior Managers
Writing Effective Notes, Minutes and Records of Proceedings; and
Writing Effective Media Lines and Press Releases.
Mr. Jurkovic is an active member of the International Association of Business Communicators. He has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Public Relations Society and of the Executive Board of the Canadian Society for Training and Development Ottawa-Gatineau chapters.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Senior Consultant & Facilitator, Intersol Group Ltd
Kathleen Connelly has facilitated change in organizations for over 20 years. She provides management consulting services to federal and provincial governments, the non-profit and private sectors. Ms. Connelly has extensive experience in strategy development, group and conference facilitation, stakeholder consultations/engagements, the design and facilitation of senior management meetings and retreats, governance and change management. She provides training in the areas of leadership, communication, change management, stakeholder consultation and facilitation.
Kathleen is fluently bilingual. She holds a Master of Business Administration Degree (Major in Governance) and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Ottawa (Major in Marketing). Kathleen is a Certified Professional Facilitator by the International Association of Facilitators. Kathleen is certified in the Prosci Change Management Methodology (Prosci is a world leader in change management research and training) and has the Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing from the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Principal, KNeuman Survey Insights
- Principal at KNeuman Survey Insights
- Senior Associate at the Environics Institute for Survey
Keith Neuman is one of Canada's most accomplished survey research professionals, with an extensive background and skill set spanning a broad range of topics and applications, including public opinion surveys, market research, program evaluation, audience research, and community studies. Keith's professional life has centred on survey research, and how it can be used effectively to support organizational goals and the broader public interest. Since the 1980s, he has worked in senior management and/or project lead capacities with organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
As Principal at KNeuman Survey Insights, Keith offers customized consulting services on all aspects of survey research and public opinion, including project scoping and research design, data analysis and report preparation, secondary analysis and literature reviews, and customized presentations on public opinion and social trends.
Keith also serves as Senior Associate at the Environics Institute for Survey research, a non-profit research organization that conducts public opinion and social research on important issues of public policy and social change ( www.environicsinstitute.org .). Keith has a Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the University of California, and holds the credential of Certified Analytics and Insights Professional (CAIP), the Canadian professional designation for survey research professionals. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and an Honorary Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). Keith is a frequent media commentator on social trends and public opinion in Canada.
Job Titles:
- Professional Marketing Coach
Kensel is a professional marketing coach with 30 years' experience in marketing, advertising, communications and partnership marketing. As a former Managing Director of Byward Marketing Group, (Ottawa) Managing Director of Octagon Communications (Toronto) and Acart Communications (Ottawa), Kensel has setup and/or managed various creative shops and has carried out a cross section of advertising, marketing, communications and sales promotion campaigns for a variety of branded retail companies and products, private sector organizations, tourism and events, public sector and association clients.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Marketing and Communication Specialist
Kristin Jones is a marketing and communication specialist with a focus on health and social change.
Her career has focused on a strategic approach to marketing which promotes health while achieving organizational goals. She is an analytical, innovative, solution-oriented marketer who has developed and implemented marketing strategies for multinational health organizations. She has delivered advertising, marketing and health education campaigns over her 10 years' experience in brand and portfolio management and community health. Her work has spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors. She also works with small businesses and startups to provide strategic marketing direction. Kristin's work encompasses multisectoral partnerships, internal and external stakeholder engagement, brand positioning, marketing strategy, research and data analysis.
She holds a Master's in Public Health specializing in Health Promotion from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and certificates in Project Management and Digital Marketing from University of Toronto SCS. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biology with Microbiology.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Marketing and Branding Consultant
Linda believes that buy-in trumps the 100% solution as this allows projects and plans to exceed objectives. Adept at facilitating contributors of all stripes toward a common end, she brings extensive facilitation, market research, brand, communications and marketing experience.
Linda started her career in brand management, moved to category management and merchandising, then landed in consulting where she developed a facilitated branding and strategic communications methodology for a full service agency. Her practice spans start-ups to multinationals in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She recently launched a Personal Branding Workshop Series to help professionals define and activate ‘working at their best'.
Linda holds an MBA from the University of Toronto, a Certificate in Facilitation from the JIBC and an IAP2 Certificate in Public Participation. She is a CPF (Certified Professional Facilitator) through the International Association of Facilitators. She received the Award of Excellence, Strategic Brand Management from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
Linda is an active volunteer in the community. She has served on non-profit boards, facilitated strategic planning for Centrepoint Management Consultants and led board governance workshops for the Alberta Ministry of Culture. She currently sits on the board of Calgary Learns (Communications Committee, Governance Chair) and HIV Community Link (Board Retreat Lead, Strategic Planning Committee).
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Ottawa 's Telfer School of Management
- Associate, CEPSM Professor of Marketing, Ottawa University
Dr. Mulvey is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management (2003-present). Previously, he held research and teaching positions at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (1996-2002) and Penn State University (1993-1996). He has also served as a visiting professor at Rutgers Business School (2005-06) and the Bucharest School of Management (2006-2010). At Rutgers, Dr. Mulvey was named GE Teaching Fellow in 2000 for his innovative use of technology in the classroom and he was a three-time finalist for the Paul Nadler Award for Teaching Excellence and a finalist for the Thomas H. Mott Teaching Excellence Award. He was nominated for TVO's 2010 Best Lecturer Competition and was a finalist for the University of Ottawa Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Dr. Mulvey's research focuses on how products, brands and behaviours gain personal relevance to consumers. He is an expert in using qualitative research methods such as metaphor elicitation, means-end theory and the laddering technique to uncover how customers think. His recent research examines branding and positioning strategy, advertising design and testing, and perceived value and consumer choice. Dr. Mulvey's articles have been published in journals including The Journal of Retailing, The Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Leisure Research, NMIMS Management Review, Qualitative Market Research, and Innovative Marketing. He has presented his work at many international conferences and often shares his expertise as a commentator in the media.
Dr. Mulvey has provided marketing consultation and expert witness services to clients in the financial services, tourism, consumer-packaged goods, retail, and not-for-profit industry segments. Past clients include Bank of America, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Harrah's Casino, Hilton Hotels, Motorola, New York State, Panasonic, ShopRite Supermarkets, Toyota, and United Way. He has also provided expert testimony to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Superior Court of Quebec, Federal Court of Canada and Competition Bureau Canada regarding brand confusion, trademark infringement and price deception.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Senior Consultant
Mike Kujawski has over 20 years of experience as a management consultant, trainer, and professional speaker for government, non-profit, and association clients in Canada and around the globe. He's the Managing Partner & Senior Consultant at the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM), where his specialty areas include citizen-centred strategic marketing, social (behaviour change) marketing, strategic communications, social media strategy development, social network analysis, organizational branding, and strategic planning. He primarily works with public sector and non-profit organizations that are trying to achieve positive societal outcomes. Mike is frequently asked to speak at major conferences and events covering various topics ranging from the latest disruptive digital trends and the evolution of digital culture to ethical social marketing (behaviour change) techniques and best practices.
Mike's consulting, training, and speaking stretches across four continents and has involved a variety of industries ranging from health and education to justice and the environment. The scope of his work also includes organizational restructuring, governance, risk management, staffing, and policy recommendations to help organizations embrace a digital-first, audience-centric mindset. Some of Mike's consulting clients include Public Safety Canada, Elections Canada, the Office of the Auditor-General, Treasury Board Secretariat, Health Canada, Justice Canada, Lakehead District School Board, the Government of Kazakhstan, the Government of Tanzania, and the Government of Sharjah, UAE.
As a trainer, Mike has delivered public and in-house training workshops across Canada and internationally to thousands of public servants and non-profit workers. His workbooks have been translated into six languages to date. He has developed and instructed multiple university certificates courses, including the Professional Certificate in Public Sector Marketing Program (Carleton University), the Certificate in Digital and Social Media Strategy for Social Good (Carleton University), and the Social Media Engagement Certificate (Brandon University), all geared specifically at the public and non-profit sectors. Mike holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Carleton University with a dual concentration in Marketing and International Business and various supplementary certifications in strategic marketing, behaviour change, communications, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the digital space. He is an Associate Consultant at Think Digital and actively volunteers as a board executive for the Social Marketing Association of North America (SMANA), the International Social Marketing Association (iSMA), as well as various community-based boards in Ottawa, Canada (his home City). Mike is an avid reader, runner, skier, guitar player, photographer, and committed life-long learner.
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant
- Director of Marketing Services for Algonquin College
Sandra Markus is a proven, strategically minded marketing and communications specialist with more than 20 years of experience. Sandra has helped a wide range of clients in a variety of competitive sectors including technology, retail, government and not-for-profit-both here and abroad. Sandra has great instincts and is committed to making sure that strategy, creative and client culture work in tandem to deliver measureable results.
As Director of Marketing Services for Algonquin College, Sandra spearheaded a brand re-vitalization program, leading the College's web site re-invention strategy, which consisted of the deployment of an enterprise-wide CMS, employee-training program and analytics reporting. Sandra also managed and launched numerous recruitment campaigns which, increased web traffic by 39% in 2010.
Prior to her work with Algonquin College, Sandra was VP, Client Services at one of Ottawa's largest and most successful marketing and advertising agencies, HBS Marketing. There she led business development within the public sector portfolio at all levels of Government, National Associations and Educational institutions. Sandra has worked closely with CATSA, CRA, Parks Canada, The Royal Canadian Mint, CMHC, Canada's Chemical Producers', The Appraisal Institute of Canada, Carleton University and The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation.
Sandra's senior-level experience as both a client and a marketing and communications supplier is unique, and allows Sandra to offer a perspective that supports clients, peers and supplier relationships with highly contextual analysis of processes and execution. This in turn helps ensure that client goals are met, work is completed on time, and maximizing a client's ROI against their marketing spend is always the highest priority.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Principal, Sharon Hunter Communications
- Independent Strategic Communications Consultant
Sharon Hunter is an independent strategic communications consultant and professional facilitator with more than 25 years of experience across the private, public and non-profit sectors. She has extensive non-profit association leadership experience, including as Global Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) where she served six years on the executive board. She holds the Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) certification from the IABC.
Sharon's experience across marketing and communications spans external and internal stakeholder engagement, volunteer management, facilitating enterprise-wide change and training. A member of the International Association of Facilitators, she employs the ToP™ Method of participatory strategic planning to help clients co-create outcomes aligned to purpose. As a trainer, she is the exclusive delivery partner for Archetypical's Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders® business simulation program in Canada. A native Montrealer, Sharon speaks English and French.
Job Titles:
- Associate, CEPSM Founder & Partner, Jester
Susan Murphy has been working in media and communications for 30 years. She has produced award-winning national television shows, web sites, videos, and a multitude of presentations and marketing/promotional materials.
Susan helps people use media to create and communicate their stories through any combination of video, audio, print, web, social media, or the creation of specialized products. Her goal is to capitalize on the strengths of all forms of media to create customized solutions and set organizations up for success. Susan has been a part-time professor and course developer at Algonquin College since 1998, and has taught in the Interactive Media Design, Social Media Certificate, Public Relations and Professional Writing programs.