J PHILLIP NICHOLSON CONSULTANTS - Key Persons
The founder and President of Allium Consulting Group Inc. , a specialized communications consulting firm associated with Nicholson Consultants, Ms. Robinson is an expert in the planning, design and execution of public information and communication programs.She and her Allium team are frequently engaged to complement the policy and management expertise of Nicholson Consultants to provide clients with comprehensive support on major policy and program initiatives involving public outreach and communications.
Ms. Robinson has been responsible for the design, development, focus-testing and implementation of numerous communication campaigns, publications, and electronic communication initiatives, as well as the development and implementation of engagement strategies. She has served as project manager and written reports on major national studies, including: an evaluation of public and private sector initiatives in support of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating and a national study on children, healthy eating and body and self-image, in which she planned, moderated and analyzed a cross-country series of focus group sessions with children and their parents. She played a lead role in a major 18-month communications initiative in which she managed all internal and external communications for the Ottawa-Carleton Health Services Reconfiguration Project. She assisted with the development of a series of articles and publications on the Canadian Heart Health Initiative, including development of the Victoria Declaration.
Ms. Robinson was also responsible for start-up and research, writing, design and production of numerous ongoing publications, including Community Health Programs - aimed at encouraging and promoting the development of local integrated health and welfare programs among Canada's Aboriginal populations, and Health Promotion magazine, a full-colour quarterly summarizing projects, policies and resources for health education professionals. She was also responsible for overseeing the development and refinement of a course for young people on tobacco reduction.
Ms. Robinson has made major contributions to a number of projects in support of citizen and stakeholder engagement in "quality of life" issues. With Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), she contributed to the development and testing of a process and products for engaging citizens in a public dialogue on Quality of Life (2000). She also helped develop, and subsequently pre-tested a process for engaging citizens in a dialogue on healthy aging, and developed a "citizen's report card" on quality of life.
Drawing upon her background in public administration, Ms.Robinson developed an evaluation plan and methodologies for assessing a $50 million youth employment program related to environmental protection, conservation and awareness projects for Environment Canada; conducted a review of policies and programs in support of native economic and employment development for the Ontario Native Affairs Directorate; and undertook an assessment of interest group reactions to federal options governing the practice of tax rebate discounting for Consumer and Corporate Affairs. She also carried out a needs assessment for Multiculturalism and Citizenship, and also played a key role in supporting the development of a new governance structure for management of Canada's Parliamentary Precinct.
Ms. Robinson is an active volunteer in the community. She recently served as the developer of key communication products for the Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation (C2D2) and played a major role in developing a national resource kit to engage parents from diverse cultures in discussions about healthy sexuality and teens.She has served on at least one school council in Ottawa every year for the past 15 years - frequently as Chair or Co-Chair.
Ms. Coghlan has more than 25 years' experience as a consultant specializing in the organization of public consultation and focus group processes, and the writing, editing and production of public information and discussion documents on policy and program issues.
In her early professional career at Carswell Legal Publications (Western) Ltd. Ms. Coghlan was the project manager/production editor of Reports of Family Law. She also helped produce most of Carswell's publications, including Western Weekly Reports, British Columbia Law Reports, Alberta Law Reports, Criminal Reports, the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest, 3rd Western edition, and a number of legal textbooks.
While living and working in Japan for three years, she worked on two English-language newspapers: the Japan Times Weekly International, and the Japan Times Weekly, a domestic newspaper dealing with current affairs, business, arts and culture.
Ms. Coghlan has been a regular contributing researcher and writer for a variety of national publications, including: Health Promotion in Canada, a Health Canada quarterly magazine aimed at professionals working in the fields of health promotion and education; and Together, a quarterly newsletter prepared for Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada. She also served as editor and production coordinator of From Akwesasne to Wunnumin Lake, a directory profiling more than 100 Aboriginal communities in Ontario (Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat).
Drawing upon her organizational skills, Ms. Coghlan has served as conference coordinator for major national events, such as: Indian Governments and Tax Conference (with nearly 400 participants) for Finance Canada; and The Whitehorse Mining Initiative Conference (with some 70 participants), for federal and provincial mining ministries. She also coordinated a pilot workshop on women and active living, and participated in a national study on children, healthy eating and body and self-image, for Health Canada.
Mr. Trites is a skilled researcher and policy analyst who specializes in the design and conduct of environmental scans for new policy and program initiatives, and in the research and analysis of social, economic and institutional factors in the design and/or evaluation of public policies and programs. He also lends his training and expertise in interview techniques and in writing and copy editing to the research and development of evaluation studies, policy and program analyses, and public information materials.
Mr. Trites' experience includes: preparing and conducting interviews for inclusion in the report Children's Health and the Environment: Results of an Environmental Scan; editing of issues of the newsletter Expression, focusing on seniors issues; and copywriting, substantive editing and research of public information for the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, including reorganization of the Corporation's website.
Job Titles:
- Certified Management Consultant
Mr. Paquin is a bilingual Certified Management Consultant with extensive experience in the private, public and Aboriginal policy and operational domains, whose practice focuses on business and process planning, group facilitation, and strategic environmental analysis.
His early experience in the private sector includes establishment of his own business in retail and construction industry, and service as a Chartered Insurance Broker and Life Insurance Licensed Agent and Broker. He served as a senior marketing consultant with Mallette, Major, Martin. Subsequently joining the Quebec-based audit and management firm Samson-Belair, he progressed from Principal to Partner within three years, serving as Director of Management Consulting for Region Est du Québec. With the firm's merger with Deloitte and Touche, Mr. Paquin continued as Partner, serving in the National Office until 1993.
Mr. Paquin's private-sector marketing and business development initiatives include development of a plan for pre-competitive research and development in forest regeneration involving the Quebec pulp and paper industry, Université du Quebec and government agencies. He conducted a world-wide study of the peat moss industry to help position the Quebec industry's technology research direction in relation to international competitors. He also examined the R&D needs of the mining industry in Quebec, and elaborated the R&D strategic planning process of Rexfor in forest-related research and development. Other assignments include development of several market and strategic plans for manufacturers in industrial equipment and consumer productsin search of a North American competitive position within a global market place. Applying his management expertise to public policy and program design, Mr. Paquin undertook several high-profile assignments for Health Canada, including a systematic review and proposed renewal of federal processes and capacities for the surveillance of infectious foodborne and waterborne diseases, and the identification and mapping out of means to strengthen national surveillance and monitoring of diseases related to environmental factors and sources ("environmental health").
Mr. Paquin's experience in public policy includes the design and execution of formal policy and program evaluations. For Human Resources Development Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, he conducted expert interviews and assisted with the evaluation assessment of federal literacy programs and partnership arrangements. For Health Canada, he assisted with an "A-Base" review of the Departmental Secretariat, responsible for Cabinet and Parliamentary affairs, Executive Committee support, and the coordination of policy briefings for the Deputy Minister and Minister. Drawing upon his extensive evaluation experience and his expertise in the Aboriginal policy domain, he also served as a member of a senior-level team responsible for the design and conduct of a comprehensive review and evaluation of the communications function within the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
An expert facilitator, Mr. Paquin has assisted federal clients with the planning and implementation of both internal (government) and external (public) planning and consultation sessions including support to Environment Canada on national multi-stakeholder consultations exploring integrated approaches to air quality issues in Canada.
Among his many assignments in the Aboriginal community, are projects for the Atikamekw Nation, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, the community of Manawan, the Abenakis Nation, the Micmac Nation, the Algonquin First Nation, the Mohawk Council of Kanasatake, the Squamish Nation and the Aboriginal Capital Corporations. This experience is complemented by work for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and Industry Canada, on the development of a strategic plan for Aboriginal Business Canada aimed at strengthening Aboriginal Capital Corporations. This assignment led to the creation of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association, offering financial products and services to Aboriginal financial institutions, operating within a regulatory structure.
Active with the Institute of Management Consultants, Mr. Paquin has served in several capacities, including Vice President of Norms; he played an integral part in the merger with Les Administrateurs agrées du Quebec.