Karen Snider Leiva Email & Phone Number

Toronto, On, Ca

As a consultant, I provided strategic communications services to non-profit organizations. Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO): Spearheaded the digital #KidsCantWait campaign to position CMHO as a strong champion that can rally supporters. Created a solid network of active parents, influencers and stakeholders that can be called on to support CMHO in social media and participate in Twitter Chats that garner up to 10 million impressions. In leading web developers, graphic designers and content creators, I oversaw the development of creative packages of content and the Family Care Centre.Senior Persons Living Connected (SPLC): Provide executive-level support through the pandemic to help keep this community of vulnerable seniors safe. Support pandemic outbreak response with crisis communications materials. Provide key messaging to keep stakeholders informed of the situation. Develop communications tools to encourage seniors to attend mobile vaccination clinics. Seneca College Alumni and Advancement: Develop strategic messaging and content for digital platforms in support of a large-scale fundraising campaign. In 2021, I was the editor of the alumni magazine, Red, working with a cross-sector of stakeholders, internally and externally. Also in 2021, I was responsible for preparing nominations for the Premier’s Awards, resulting in one alumnus receiving a provincial award.Alinea International: Build a large public speaking training program (including media and social media) to deliver to more than 100 Canadian development workers being deployed around the world through the Technical Assistance Program (TAP).

As senior media manager, my roles and responsibilities included: strategic planning for integrated communications, media relations, training and mentoring, social media strategy and issues management. Achievements:Strategic planning for integrated communications: Communications lead for public awareness and fundraising campaigns, including Emergency Preparedness Week and Volunteer recruitment.Social media strategy development: Developed the organization’s first-ever social media strategy. This included implementing national guidelines and toolkits; establishing a national working group; providing training and development to staff on social networking tools; and offering innovative solutions to help the Red Cross communications team meet its objectives. Effective collaboration with internal stakeholders from across the country was critical to the success of this role.Media relations: Developed and executed media plans; cultivated strong media contacts in Toronto and national media; acted as national media spokesperson in times of disaster; provided leadership in times of crisis; implemented media training and coaching for volunteers and aid workers. Disaster response communications: As part of a team that rapidly deploys with a mobile field hospital, I was trained to support health experts, including doctors, surgeons, midwives and mental health clinicians.

Directed media relations strategy and execution for key Canadian charities in the health and humanitarian sector, including Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Centre, Micronutrient Initiative and Canadian Red Cross. Key achievements include:• Media planning and execution for inaugural Gifts of Light fundraising campaign for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) resulting in extensive coverage in Toronto, including Toronto Star, Sun, Entertainment Tonight, Q107, CBC Metro Morning and City TV. More than 40 percent of donors informed CAMH that they made a donation after hearing about the program in the media. • Create long-term communications plans for an organization that focuses on health and nutrition called Micronutrient Initiative, securing coverage in key media including an in-depth article by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, and feature coverage in Canadian Homemaker’s magazine. Successfully targeted ethnic press in order to raise awareness about Micronutrient Initiative programs in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bolivia, Senegal and Kenya.

As Media Relations Officer, it was my responsibility to handle all national media requests and provide strategic direction to managers and directors in support of the overall brand and specific campaigns, as well as act as press secretary to the CEO. Notable accomplishments include:For the holiday gift-giving program, Gifts of Magic, I developed and executed an aggressive media relations plan that included a celebrity spokesperson and placement of products in the media. As a result, the program garnered twice as many media hits in comparison with previous years, which helped double the amount of money raised for this campaign to more than $1.1 million.