As Communications Lead, I am responsible for assisting staff members with their member and public communications needs, as well as managing the member and public communications platforms, including website, social media, email newsletters, and other platforms as needed. I help with promoting projects and timely information, create and designs assets including documents and images, and am developing an annual communications plan for the division. One of my first tasks was to help roll out the Division's name change, which was accomplished on August 9, 2022.

I started my own consulting company in Powell River because I saw a niche I could fill in the community. I have worked with large public entities, small private organizations, entrepreneurs, and others to build new websites, create strategic communications plans, refresh marketing campaigns, and learn how to manage their online presences themselves. As a communications generalist, I am uniquely qualified to look at an organization's overall communications and suggest adjustments and improvements. My motto is 'crafting messages with care and attention,' and I am passionate about empowering people to take control of their own communications.

In freelancing for the Peak in Powell River, I have fulfilled a long-standing dream of being a journalist! My assignments have ranged from covering Powell River's soccer team through human interest stories and paid advertisement features. I was able to hone the interview skills I learned from my podcast in this role, and have also gotten better at writing to style and to deadline. I was also asked to provide vacation coverage for the principal editor in 2021, which meant I did the copy editing on all stories for three issues of the newspaper.

Ever since I received my Master Spinner certificate, I've been an instructor for the program. This entails teaching for five days a year, being available to support students as they spend the next 51 weeks completing their workbook, and finally marking their workbook and providing constructive feedback to help them refine their skills before proceeding to the next level in the program. My skills as an instructor and facilitator have been expanded through my work with the Master Spinner program. I have learned a lot about teaching both in-person and virtually, and am able to communicate with my students to quickly determine what their learning style is and how best to help them learn the skills they need to be successful in the program. I was also one of four instructors who worked together to redevelop the Master Spinner curriculum in 2019, with my specific responsibilities being the fifth and sixth years of the program.

I moved within AUPE to focus more specifically on social media communications as part of the Digital Strategies department. I continued to maintain websites and create online content, as well as working to implement a cohesive social media strategy designed to increase member awareness and engagement. This included maintaining presences on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. I also facilitated an in-person course about social media for union activists, including best practices and safety information.

I administered the content of several websites, as well as evaluated and implemented web-based solutions - both internal and external - for the organization. My duties also included writing for the web, writing media releases and member updates, member relations, social media, copy editing, photo archiving and basic editing, and event assistance.

I have described this position as being both CEO and janitor. As one of only two employees during my tenure at the AFA, anything that needed doing, I did. This included grant writing, basic accounting, event planning, member relations, liaising with government and other sport organizations, report writing, human resources, website content creation, tournament and games assistance, and yes, physical labour in creating pallets of equipment to go out to tournaments.

I compiled and wrote manuals for coiled tubing equipment manufactured at Hydra Rig NOV in Calgary. This position required organizational skills, good time management, a working knowledge of AutoCAD to print appropriate drawings, and the ability to distill technical knowledge down into a form that could be understood by the front-line user.

I administered Shaw GMC's website, adding and removing inventory as needed. I also took over as editor of the bi-monthly newsletter, which was created in Microsoft Publisher.