Communications
Media
Journalism
Hi, I'm Elysha
Communications Professional
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
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 global foundations, US-based partners, and 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
Paper-based processes are still used in supply chains. 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 them from ports as additional fees accumulate. UNICEF has been working with partners, like the World Economic Forum, to digitalize these paper-based procedures and address gaps in government coordination in receiving countries. To mobilize resources for this work and gain support, I led communication and advocacy efforts for UNICEF. 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. The communications products I led helped secure additional millions in funding for this important work.
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.
Around the world, education is under attack, affecting millions of children. The UN General Assembly made 9 September the International Day to Protect Education From Attack. UNICEF was named to lead messaging and advocacy for the day -- and in 2025, I was leading for UNICEF. We hadn't done large-scale visibility for the day in years, but it seemed like a very important opportunity. More visibility helps put this grave violation of children's rights back on the agenda for governments, and applies pressure to groups that attack schools with impunity. Working across global and country offices, and with experts in our programme group and emergencies, I drafted scripts for UNICEF's Executive Director and Partnerships Director and developed posts for their channels. I also coordinated with global colleagues on messages to the 15M social media followers of our main accounts that day.
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.
