Communications
Public Relations
Media
Journalism
Canada / US / Central Europe
Hi, I'm Elysha
Communications Professional with 12+ Years of Experience.
I believe in the power of storytelling. I honed my skills as a journalist and producer before working in strategic communication, partnerships, and advocacy. In my work, I focus on inspiring audiences to take action — whether in their communities or on a global scale.
What I Do
01
Develop and execute effective communications strategies
02
Create compelling content that resonates with the audience
03
Build strong media relationships to increase brand visibility
Select Experience
01
Partnership Communication Specialist (Global and Multi-Country Alliances)
UNICEF, Private Fundraising and Partnerships, Media and Marketing Section, Geneva
Partnership communications with a focus on supply, transport and logistics partnerships.
03
Communication and Campaigns Specialist
UN Women, New York City
Led communications and campaigns for the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a division of UN Women. Worked with corporate partners to promote gender balance at the C-suite level.
02
Digital Features Producer and Journalist
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Montreal, Canada
Led content diversification strategy across divisions: radio, TV, web, social media. Award-winning journalist for web, social media, TV, and radio.
04
Communications Specialist
UN DESA, New York City
Led communications for DESA's UN-Energy. Promoted work by consortium of actors in the clean and sustainable energy space.
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Some of My Favorite Projects
I get to work on partner communications for UNICEF. Partners help deliver life-saving supplies where they are needed most in the world. My colleagues are inspiring and the work is very meaningful. My goal is to maximize visibility for our transport and logistics partners to showcase their work, and to encourage other companies to join us. More supply partners = more safe, free, healthy children and families.
I was at an indie poetry reading in Montreal the night it was announced Cohen had died. The poets soldiered through their pieces, then everyone went to his house and joined a growing vigil. According to fans, he helped them through their darkest times. So when I was handed the assignment of leading the national broadcaster's digital coverage of his legacy, I had to get it right. I read his books, listened to his albums, watched biographies, interviewed dozens of fans, and met his friends and community in Montreal. I wrote a feature story, took photos for the piece, and developed the page in a new (to me) CMS, Shorthand. It helped CBC Montreal win the National RTDNA Award for Best Large Market Website.
WEP (Women's Empowerment Principles) Awards
With the WEPs team, I helped recognize companies that were focused on ensuring gender equality at the C-Suite level. We decided to award companies for their efforts. By promoting both nominees and winners on our channels, we helped deliver added value to these companies for the important work being done. As a bonus, this advocacy from our corporate supporters delivered a peer endorsement to their networks.
I'm so used to monitoring deliveries on my smartphone that it was shocking to learn that in much of the world, paper-based processes are still used. Large shipments may disappear for weeks or even months in transit. While they've disappeared, delays can cause supplies to spoil, or require emergency funding to release as additional fees accumulate. UNICEF has been working with partners to digitalize these paper-based procedures and address gaps in government coordination in receiving countries. This work is for the entire humanitarian community, as all UN agencies and humanitarian orgs are impacted when their supplies get stuck. To mobilize resources for this work and gain support, I led communication efforts for UNICEF. My work included delivering web and video content to explain the projects, creating advocacy materials, and building capacity to deliver in-country visibility. I also worked to align communication efforts across key offices, including the supply centre in Copenhagen, the partnerships section in Geneva, and the Executive Director's Office in New York.
When there was an inquiry into the province's youth protection system, it was a good opportunity to humanize the situation as the people involved deserve to be at the core of coverage -- not just a "voice" in a larger piece. As an editor who hired freelancers for the CBC, I contacted a young woman who was known to work with the homeless and had herself grown up in youth protection. She agreed to write about her experience and it was eye-opening and heartfelt.
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The motto for journalism is "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." I preferred to do both over the phone as a print journalist, rather than in-person for broadcast. But when staffing was tight at the CBC and editorial leadership started looking at the web desk for potential on-air journalists, I ended up switching roles. It was an interesting opportunity and I appreciated working on video-based storytelling. If only Canada wasn't regularly -20C in winter I might have stayed outside, instead of going back to the cozy web desk to become a digital features producer.
