calgary

Founded in 2001, Communica has established itself within Calgary as a prominent public affairs firm. Located in Inglewood, the first community formed in Calgary, Communica has worked with top organizations including Enbridge Pipelines, Shell Canada, The City of Calgary, Air Products Ltd., Suncor Energy and EnCana Corp.  

Doug FordDoug Ford, Partner and Chief Executive Officer

With over 25 years experience, Doug Ford is widely known as a leading public consultation resource. He has planned, developed and implemented a diverse number of public consultation programs for some of Canada's largest companies. Doug has extensive Alberta, B.C., ERCB and OGC regulatory experience, participating as an expert witness at two National Energy Board (NEB) hearings regarding public consultation and as an expert witness in a legal review at the Quebec Court of Appeals with respect to pipeline consultation thresholds and practises.

Daniel L.J. Harrington, LL.B and Chief Financial Officer

Dan Harrington has been the financial operations manager at Communica since 2002. Dan was the former vice-president of human resources and corporate affairs as well as the General Counsel for Gainers Inc. His areas of focus at Communica include overseeing accounting, contracts, finance and corporate governance. He brings a wealth of experience and a highly analytical mindset to the Communica team.

 

Jim Rennie, Senior Manager of Operations

Jim Rennie, B.Sc., APR, is a senior public affairs professional with more than 40 years experience in communications in Western Canada as a corporate communicator, consultant and journalist.  He has worked for and with companies active in the pipelines, oil and gas exploration and production and energy service sectors.  He has extensive experience in strategic communications planning and counsel; project management; media relations and training; crisis communications planning and response; web site development; government relations; community relations and community investment and financial communications and corporate disclosure.

Astrid GagnierAstrid Gagnier, Senior Counsel

Astrid Gagnier's experience in strategic communications planning, stakeholder relations and aboriginal affairs is derived from more than a decade of working with resource industries in Alberta and British Columbia.  Her strategic planning experience ranges from managing communications around issue-sensitive regulatory approval processes to First Nations consultation and protocol developments. She brings on-the-ground experience in working with community coalitions and advisory committees as well as at-the-table participation in Land Use Planning and Treaty Tables.  Astrid's background in corporate communications and journalism has given her a deft hand in developing full suites of communications materials.  Her corporate experience has also given her significant expertise in sustainability issue management, triple-bottom-line reporting and reputation management. 

 Michelle Harries, Senior Counsel

For over 20 years, Michelle Harries has worked in a wide variety of industries and roles. She began her career as a journalist and moved into corporate communications. Her experience spans oil and gas and heavy industry, politics, non-profit and environmental communications. She has held management positions in crisis communication, issues management and stakeholder engagement, community investment, internal communications and marketing/communications functions. She has been a corporate spokesperson for a multinational oil and gas company and a project communications lead for another multi-billion-dollar oil sands development. Before coming to Canada in 1998, she worked in Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Her focus is on protecting a client’s overall reputation by leveraging ongoing good work and integrating strategic messaging.

Alastair GrahamAlastair Graham, Senior Advisor

Alastair Graham is a graduate of the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science degree and brings a breadth of communications and consultation experience in the energy and natural resource sector. Prior to joining Communica, Alastair gained valuable experience with CCS Midstream Services in a number of environment, regulatory and health and safety roles. While at CCS, Alastair focused on consultation and regulatory work with Alberta Environment, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, the Treaty 8 Tribal Association, the BC Ministry of Environment, Oil and Gas Commission and Environmental Assessment Office, as well as a number of First Nations.

Pooja ThakorePooja Thakore, Advisor

Pooja Thakore joined the Communica team in 2009, having graduated from the University of Calgary with a double degree in Communications and International Relations. She has worked in the corporate and non-profit sectors in various roles and capacities including investor relations, corporate communications, event planning and fundraising. Pooja's range of skills and experience allow her to meet a variety of needs for Communica's clients.

Karen Rousset, Administrative Specialist

Karen Rousset joined the Communica team in 2009, most recently from Investors Group Financial Services Inc. Karen has extensive experience as an Administrative/Executive Assistant working in such industries as Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications and Oil & Gas. In her role as Administrative Assistant, she provides administrative and clerical services to ensure Communica's offices run smoothly on a daily basis, while providing administrative support to Communica's clients, as needed.