PAAC - Who We Are - President & Directors

	Profile

	President & Directors

	Ethical Principles

	Award of Distinction

Our leaders

PAAC is fortunate to have the expert guidance and counsel of some of Canada's preeminent public affairs professionals.

John Capobianco, President

John Capobianco has been involved in the political process for over 20 years and has built a solid reputation and an extensive network in all three levels of government. As well, John has spent close to 10 years in the financial sector. In 1995, John moved to the provincial government serving an Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Minister of Education. For the past nine years, John has worked in the government relations and public affairs industry serving clients in all the major industry sectors. He is currently Senior Vice President & Partner, National Public Affairs Practice Lead for Fleishman-Hillard Canada where he works in both the Toronto and Ottawa offices. Prior to joining F-H, John was Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Edelman Canada. John's penchant for federal politics and his recognition across the country as a leader in the conservative movement led him to be recruited from the National Blue Committee to serve both on the Steering Committee of the United Alternative, and as a National Councillor for the Canadian Alliance Party. His activism has made him a well-known figure in Canadian politics and as a regular commentator and political analyst in the media. John ran unsuccessfully as the federal Conservative candidate for the Toronto-area riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in both the 2004 and 2006 elections. John earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics at York University. He continues to speak at various political and public affairs conferences, as well as at Campaign and Election seminars in Washington, D.C. He currently sits on the Board of the Albany Club of Toronto, is the Immediate Past President of The Canadian Club of Toronto, and Chair of the Board for the National Broadcast Reading Services Inc. John can be reached at john.capobianco@fleishman.ca.

Bernie Morton, Vice-President

Bernie Morton is a public affairs and communications strategist serving as Vice President with Sussex Strategy Group, a government relations and communications firm with offices in Toronto and Ottawa. He is also involved in campaign and political strategy at all three levels of Canadian government. In the public sector, Bernie accumulated seven years of experience in government heading the political office of a Toronto City Councillor who he joined in the 90's after attending the University of Guelph as a political science major. He has served on a variety of political and government advisory panels and has been a political commentator in print media, television and radio. In 2006, he was invited by the City of Toronto, as an expert panellist, to help develop and implement Canada’s first municipal lobbyist registration program. On the election front, Bernie has chaired, managed and volunteered on numerous campaigns for a variety of candidates over the past 20 years. He was recently selected by the U.S. based Campaigns & Elections Politics Magazine to launch the Canadian edition of the magazine and run the Canadian operations as their Associate Editor. Bernie can be reached at bmorton@sussex-strategy.com

Chris May, Secretary-Treasurer

Christopher May is Director of Government Affairs with the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Ontario. He provides government affairs counsel to both the Executive and other departments of the ICAO. A graduate of the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Social Science, Mr. May has served in several key roles within the Ontario and Federal governments between 1989 and 1998. He is also the co-author of chapters on federal/provincial training programs and employment insurance benefits for Employee Benefits in Canada (third edition). Mr. May is an active member in numerous professional organizations, he is as a director on the Board of the US Public Affairs Council, and is a participant in its Public Affairs Institute. Outside of the profession, he is a member of the Toronto Board of Trade and a director on the Board of the Canadian Club of Toronto. Mr. May remains active in the community including The Canadian Mothercraft Society, where he served as chair from 2002 to 2004. In 2006 he was appointed to the Ontario Roundtable on Fair Access to Professions by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He is the recipient of a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his community service. Christopher May resides in Toronto with his wife and son. Chris can be reached at cmay@icao.on.ca.

Erika Mozes, Events Chair

Joe MacDonald, Past President

Joe MacDonald is the former Partnerships & Public Affairs Manager of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area, the most successful BIA in Canada with more than 1,800 members located in the heart of Toronto’s downtown core. There, Joe was responsible for managing member relations and all public affairs and government relations activities with officials and decision makers at both the City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario. • As lead media spokesperson for the BIA, he was particularly involved in developing and managing BIA media relations during the 2010 G-20 meetings and their aftermath in Toronto. He has appeared on Canada AM, CBC Toronto’s Metro Morning, Global News, City TV and CP24, as well as Live Drive with John Tory on NEWSTALK 1010. • A graduate of the University of Waterloo (Hons. BA, MA), and a doctoral candidate at York University (ABD), Joe was Special Assistant to two provincial cabinet ministers. His 30 years in public affairs have included positions as Senior Partner with FPR Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, President of The MacDonald Group, and Senior Counsel, Public and Corporate Affairs for The Innovative Research Group Inc. • An experienced organizer, Joe has been a provincial campaign director, a federal leadership campaign director, director of organization on a provincial leadership campaign, and a federal candidate. He managed more than 20 riding campaigns in eight provinces, at all levels of government. In the fall of 2010 he ran for Toronto City Council in Ward 18 – Davenport. • Joe taught Canadian Government, Labour History and Business Statistics at Seneca College in Toronto, Canadian Politics at the Labour College of Canada in Ottawa and, most recently, Advocacy and Government Relations at Ryerson University in Toronto. • He is a Director, four-term President, Past President and “Life Member” of the Public Affairs Association of Canada, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Ossington Old Orchard School Council in Toronto. Joe can be reached at joe.macdonald@sympatico.ca.

Stephen Andrews, Director

Dr. Stephen Andrews joined BLG’s government relations practice after having served most recently as the Government Relations Director of a large Ontario based utility. At BLG, Steve provides advice and counsel in the areas of Government Relations, Strategic Communications and Issues Management. Earlier in his career, Steve served in the Ontario government as both a policy advisor within the civil service (Ministries of Community and Social Services and Energy) and as a senior political advisor for the Honourable Jim Wilson, Minister of Energy, Science and Technology. Stephen can be reached at sandrews@blg.com.

Harvey Cooper, Director

Harvey Cooper is the Manager of Government Relations for the Ontario Region of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. He has worked, both in Canada and internationally, in the non-profit and co-operative sectors for over a quarter of a century. Through his employment and volunteer activities Harvey has developed deep roots in many community organizations. In Harvey’s work with administrations of the day of all political stripes, he tries to ensure that the third sector has a strong voice and solid impact in the formulation of public policy. Harvey can be reached at hcooper@chfcanada.coop.

Nathan Hyde, Director

Andrew Pask, Director

Andrew Pask is presently the Manager of Municipal Affairs with Bell Mobility and has over 20 years of public policy and political experience. Prior to joining Bell, Andrew was Political Staff at Toronto City Hall for almost a decade and has also served in a Cabinet Office on Parliament Hill and with Provincial Government members. He has held many different management roles in political associations in addition to leadership positions in campaigns at every level in five provinces. Andrew is also a Director of his ratepayers association and Past Chair [and current Director] of his local Community Police Committee. Andrew can be reached at andrew.pask@bell.ca

Jennifer Dent, Director

Jennifer Dent is the National Director of Marketing & Communications for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the world's largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research. Jennifer is a public affairs professional with over 12 years experience in corporate communications, cause marketing, issues management, strategic planning, and media relations programs in the public and private sectors. Her career in the private sector included senior consultant roles with two of Canada's leading public affairs firms, where she provided communications and government relations counsel to public and private sector organizations, representing a range of sectors including telecommunications, agriculture, insurance and financial services, and crown corporations. Jennifer worked as a Senior Advisor, Corporate for a major provincial government agency, focusing on strategic planning, issues management, policy development, and internal communications. At the federal level, Jennifer worked as a media and legislative assistant in the Senate of Canada. She received her Honours BA in International Politics at McMaster University, and Masters of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Jennifer can be reached at jdent@jdrf.ca.

Michelle Wasylyshen, Director

Michelle Wasylyshen is a Senior Associate, Government Relations and Strategic Communications at Sussex Strategy Group. Having worked in both the private and public sectors, Michelle offers extensive knowledge and insight into the areas of political and community advocacy, policy development, stakeholder relations, strategic communications and corporate governance. Prior to joining Sussex Strategy Group, Michelle worked for a large pension fund in Ontario where she built and maintained key relationships with all three levels of government as well as managed effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholder groups. She also served as Senior Policy Advisor to Ontario’s Attorney General and Solicitor General, where she was responsible for implementing a number of the province’s counter-terrorism and emergency management initiatives in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Active in the community, Michelle is on the Board for a variety of charitable organizations focused on youth homelessness and canine rescue. She has also been involved in numerous election campaigns at both federal and provincial levels. Michelle completed her Masters of Business Administration Program (MBA) at Wilfrid Laurier University. She also holds a BA (High Honours) in Law and Criminology from Carleton University and a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations and Communications from Humber College. Michelle can be reached at mwasylyshen@sussex-strategy.com.

Past Presidents of PAAC

PAAC salutes the efforts of its past presidents - twelve in number since the organization was formed in 1984 – to build PAAC membership, enhance its services and contribute to the advancement of public affairs and the betterment of their fellow public affairs practitioners in Canada.

Ed Arundell – (1984-1987)
John Wright – (1987-1989)
Norm Cheesman – (1989-1991)
Christopher Du Vernet – (1991-1992)
Graham Murray – (1992-1994)
Ian Connerty – (1994-1996)
David Yudelman – (1996-1998)
Kevin McGuire – (1998-1999)
Chris Ballard – (1999-2001)
Joe MacDonald – (2001-2003)
Chris Benedetti – (2003-2005)
Elaine Flis – (2005-2007)
Joe MacDonald – (2007-2009)