Barbara is a communications consultant with over 25 years of experience in the public and non-profit sectors. She has extensive background as a senior program manager and policy advisor, with particular expertise in the area of strategic communications, board governance, policy and program design, public and media relations, and public engagement. Fully bilingual, she is an articulate and experienced public speaker, a passionate arts advocate, a strong writer and a trained editor.

Barbara's recent experience includes the conception and development of one-day workshops on board governance for non-profit boards in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She has also undertaken projects such as the following:

assisting the Prospectors and Developers     Association of Canada to develop a strategy to     improve mobility for Canadian geoscientists;

governance reviews and strategic planning for the     Regional Coordinating Committee to End Violence     Against Women, the Association of Canadian     Publishers and the Royal Canadian Academy of     Arts;

a review of program and governance options for     the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation;

an environmental scan for Culture.ca;

development of a new governance model for the     Canadian Avalanche Centre, a project involving     various federal and provincial funding partners;

development and implementation of     communications and media relations strategies for     the Law Commission of Canada, and assistance     with the Commission’s outreach efforts;

development of educational seminars for Canadian     judges through the National Judicial Institute.

Barbara has a broad understanding of the issues and challenges affecting the non-profit and voluntary sectors from the point of view of different stakeholder groups, including professional staff, board members, funding agencies, media and sponsors. She is frequently called upon to write articles, profiles and training materials. Three current examples include "Governance Works! A guidebook of governance essentials," written for Arts and Cultural Industries Association of Manitoba and SaskCulture Inc. 2006; "From Jeans to Jackets: Navigating the Transition to More Systematic Governance," co-authored with Tim Plumptre, Institute on Governance, Ottawa, 2003; and "Darkness and Light: the Creative Journey of Paul-André Fortier," written for the National Arts Centre's ArtsAlive website.

Firmly committed to community service, Barbara believes in the power and potential of the non-profit and voluntary sectors to significantly improve the lives of citizens. She has contributed to the work of numerous national and community-based boards. She is past chair of the Canada Dance Festival and current chair of 10 Gates Dancing, a company directed by choreographer Tedd Robinson. A former bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, she now serves as a member of Ontario's Consent and Capacity Board.