Jorge Amigo Email & Phone Number

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

I'm in charge of programming art, performances and cultural events for the Vancouver Public Library, the most-visited major urban library per capita in Canada, with 21 branches.My mission in this role is to establish the VPL as a go-to centre for accessible, responsive, and exciting arts and culture programming in Vancouver.To achieve this, I curate literary events, create new series that respond to current issues, and develop a cultural strategy for performances and exhibitions at VPL. I'm also responsible for building new relationships with cultural organizations and community partners. Between 2021 and 2023, I’ve led the production of more than 160 events and five exhibitions. Here's a playlist with some of the events we've hosted: https://bit.ly/VPLCultureSome highlights include:- creating the Uplift Asian series in response to anti-Asian hate in Vancouver. The first season ran from March to May 2022, and involved producing 12 events. It attracted ongoing attention from local media, and my team got nominated for a City Service Award in May 2022. The series is now one of VPL's main yearly programming initiatives. See here: https://www.vpl.ca/program/uplift-asian- establishing a new partnership with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, which led to hosting an art installation at the Central Library and related talk in 2022, and a participatory theatre show over 5 days in 2023.- establishing a new partnership with the Vancouver Mural Festival to host augmented reality sculptures and artist talks/panels for their Winter Arts festival in both 2021 and 2022. - hosting a traveling exhibition about the Sixties Scoop in June 2022, and producing the opening ceremony, with local dignitaries and Elders as speakers. - producing the first-ever opera performance at VPL, with renowned writer Betsy Warland, in June 2022.- launching Opera Adventures, a new series of musical performances in partnership with Vancouver Opera for their 2022-23 season.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) is the largest library system in North America.My role at TPL was to plan, curate, and produce cultural events across the 101 branches of the TPL, including their largest cultural venue, the Appel Salon. Specifically, I was in charge of programming a new series, On Civil Society, which explored pressing contemporary issues through the lenses of democracy, equality, the media, urbanism, resilience, wellbeing, and justice. See bit.ly/CivilSocietyFall2019 for a sample lineup.I also programmed the eh List series, where I got to curate events on Canadian literature and culture with award-winning authors, poets, and journalists. See tpl.ca/ehlist.In the summer of 2018 I managed a partnership with the Open Democracy Project to create a series of workshops on how to join a campaign and drive political change. See tpl.ca/democracy.I also produced events for the Indigenous Celebrations (tpl.ca/indigenous) and Black History Month (tpl.ca/blackhistory) series. One of my favourite experiences was to curate and produce a music symposium called Black Opera in February 2019, with Jessye Norman as the headliner, in partnership with the Glenn Gould Foundation.I also had the honour to curate the TPL stage at The Word On The Street festival in 2018 and 2019, where we explored how digital technology is affecting democracy and civil society, right as the Sidewalk Labs discussion was the talk of the town: https://thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/wots-plus/

Vancouver, Canada Area

National Observer is an award-winning publication that focuses on news and in-depth reports on under-covered stories in the area of climate, energy, indigenous rights, and politics.As Director of Engagement my goal was to nurture and grow our audience. I did this by creating communications strategies that connected our existing readers to the stories that mattered to them, and devising marketing plans that allowed new readers to discover our publication.I was also in charge of the big goal of making National Observer a 100% reader-funded publication. I did this by managing the digital subscriptions program, executing strategies for increasing the subscribers base. This included implementing software systems, devising sales and marketing strategies, as well as writing communications that explained to readers the importance of supporting journalism. I was also in charge of the members retention strategy, and handling all the data and analytics. Lastly, I also organized and hosted live events and talks to engage our audience with topical issues. On November 16, 2017, I organized the first talk of our inaugural "Urgent Conversations" series in partnership with Mother Jones magazine, on the topic of "Journalism in the Time of Trump."

Vancouver, Canada Area

RADIUS’ fellowship program provides mentorship, network development and support to Vancouver’s social entrepreneurs and innovators.

Vancouver, Canada Area

The HiVE is a community hub for social impact. Its mission is to support and amplify the social impact sector by providing the social cohesion, human capital and resources that enable its members and partners to thrive. As a board member, I had the opportunity to advise the HiVE on operations and growth strategy. I was part of the Futures Committee, where I helped to implement the organization’s strategic plan, and organized discussions on ways to grow awareness of the HiVE as a social impact hub in Vancouver.

Vancouver, Canada Area

My role at Hootsuite was to build and manage global brand advocacy programs. In summary:I led the Hootsuite Ambassadors program, with over 1200+ brand advocates spread throughout 60+ countries. My responsibilities included establishing the rules and procedures for managing the program, designing campaigns and initiatives to keep Ambassadors active and engaged, and working together with regional community managers to build a strong community of social media experts and Hootsuite fans.

Vancouver, Canada Area

As the Account Manager for Skyrocket, I had the opportunity to do what I love best: meet and understand people. My mission was to shift the agency towards working with cause-based organizations, public institutions, and advocacy campaigns. A sample of my proudest moments: - Working with Vancouver Foundation to create strategy for "Fostering Change" campaign for youth in foster care, and build a site that allows 40+ organizations to share experiences, policy ideas, and build a community of knowledge.- Convincing Coastal Jazz to redesign their website... and deciding with my team to use an advocacy campaign platform, NationBuilder, to build the most spectacular and powerful jazz festival site that allows the organization to better nurture the relationship with its audience and fans. - Developing the new brand positioning language for OpenMedia, helping the organization communicate the complexity of their advocacy activities in simpler terms.

Toronto, Canada Area

My role at Free The Children was to create engaging digital content and craft strategies for online campaigns. Specifically, I managed a team of writers and designers to develop content and create the brand identity and voice of a new social platform called We365. Managing We365 involved writing daily challenges and producing monthly campaigns for the app, implementing impact metrics, negotiating sponsored content, and determining brand guidelines. Furthermore, I wrote scripts for promotional videos and worked closely with our main sponsor, TELUS, in planning promotions and activations. In short, this role allowed me to combine my talents as content editor and writer with my ability to plan and strategize campaigns and create the voice of a new brand/app. Some highlights:- Responsible for all content strategy for a new social platform/mobile app: We365- Oversaw the growth of the We365 community from launch (zero users) to an international audience of 60,000+ in less than 4 months- Part of the team that planned and executed social media campaigns on all organization’s channels (over 3.8 million followers on Facebook, 1.1 million followers on Twitter)- Provided direction, leadership, and coordination on PR and digital communication strategies involving multiple stakeholders, such as sponsors and major corporate donors (TELUS, RBC, General Mills, Globe & Mail)

Vancouver, Canada Area

In February of 2012, following a city-wide discussion on whether Vancouver is a lonely and disconnected city, I decided to launch an initiative called #bemyamigo. My intention was to address my community’s sociability deficit by encouraging strangers via social media to meet and share conversations in real life. Over the course of 18 months, I organized 26 events where groups of between 30-60 strangers got together to share a conversation. I’m proud to say that it was a wildly successful experiment in using Twitter and Facebook for meaningful online and offline community-building.My role here was conceptualize the initiative and bring it to life. This included establishing relations with venues and sponsors, hiring designers to create the branding and visual concept, managing the online community, promoting the events, and finding and nurturing an audience. Moreover, I hosted all the events.

Vancouver, Canada Area

McAllister Opinion Research is an opinion research consulting firm. As project manager, my role was to produce opinion research studies for a variety of political/non-profit clients. This included creating and launching surveys, processing and analyzing survey data, interpreting the data, and writing reports on survey findings. Ultimately, the objective was to allow organizations to make better decisions when planning a campaign strategy, by helping them better understand their audience and the way different demographics respond to specific issues and language.Some of the clients I worked for: PEW Charitable Trusts, Tides Foundation, BC Real Estate Foundation, WWF-Canada, the University of British Columbia.

Vancouver, Canada Area

Worked closely with client Institute B to create a "social value" tool to allow companies to adhere to social and environmental responsibility best-practices. This led to the company deciding to become a certified B Corporation. I helped the client understand what this certification would imply (in terms of modifying their business practices and structure), and assisted in initiating the certification process.

Vancouver

In charge of distribution and outreach campaign for the documentary "65_Red Roses" (www.65redroses.com). This involved creating a database of hundreds of diverse organizations (medical, educational, film) and contacting them to spread the word about the film and help them organize screenings to raise awareness about organ donation and cystic fibrosis. I also physically promoted the film at a booth during the Epic! Sustainable Living conference in Vancouver.

Vancouver

I liaised with filmmakers and production companies and helped them submit films to the festival, as well as answered their inquiries about the event. I also wrote the festival's press releases and newsletters, and wrote letters for grant applications. Lastly, I promoted Projecting Change during screenings at DOXA Documentary Film Festival.

Ma, Political Science - Environmental Policy

Ba, International Relations

Photography Diploma, Visual Arts

High School

Activities and Societies: Student Council, 1998 - 2001