About Us
The Canadian Public Relations Society of Vancouver Island (CPRS-VI) is a vibrant and growing community of public relations practitioners, leaders and scholars.
We are part of a federation of 14 member societies across Canada, comprised of men and women who practice public relations in Canada and abroad. Together under the umbrella of CPRS, we work to maintain the highest standards and to share a uniquely Canadian experience in public relations.
CPRS is a member of the Global Alliance, an organization created to promote and represent national associations for public relations and communications. Over 60 countries are Global Alliance members including Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, the United States, India and New Zealand.
Your Leadership Team
President
ALLI BOYD
Alli Boyd (she/they) has been volunteering with the Canadian Public Relations Society since 2020 and is honoured to have the responsibility of being the chapter’s President. Alli spent over ten years working in medical sales while honing her communications skills through special projects and volunteering. Her interest in connecting with people through communication led her to become a lead organizer of Veg Fest Vancouver. When it came time to pursue higher education, Alli knew communications was the right field to study and she has since completed the Diploma in Public Relations from the University of Victoria and the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communications from Royal Roads University where she was awarded the President’s Scholar Award.
Alli is currently completing the Master of Arts in Professional Communication at Royal Roads University. She is on a hiatus from work to complete her thesis project which was awarded a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship. Alli is studying authenticity and representation in pop culture and its effects on audiences using the Canadian television program Degrassi as a case study.
Treasurer
ALEECE SCHUBERT
Aleece is a marketing and communications professional with over 14 years of experience. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and certificates in sales, marketing, and the Hootsuite social media platform.
She has been fortunate to pick up many skills over her career including project/events management and budgeting, social media management and content creation. She has prepared marketing and communication plans and led several rebranding projects.
What excites Aleece most is using her breadth of experience and love of creative problem-solving to produce positive, tangible results for her clients or organization.
When not working, she enjoys participating in the arts, such as attending live performances or checking out a new art or museum exhibit. She also enjoys water painting and sketching in her free time.
Secretary
MICHELLE HARRIS, APR
Michelle has over 25 years of experience in strategic communications and public engagement. As the City of Victoria’s Strategic Planning and Communications Advisor, she has had the opportunity to work with just about every department over the past 16 years. Some highlights include the award-winning Prepare Victoria recipe for disaster public awareness campaign, the Victoria Reconciliation Dialogues series, public engagement for the Government Street Refresh project and engaging local equity-seeking groups to help inform the City’s annual budget.
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Michelle has her APR Accreditation in Public Relations from the Canadian Public Relations Society, has previously served on the CPRS-VI Board as a Member at Large, volunteered on local chapter events and has served as an APR grader for the CPRS national office.
Michelle also holds a Certificate in Public Participation from the International Association of Public Participation.
Communications Chair
BECKY HAYTON, MA
Becky Hayton (she/her) first found a love for digital communications when she created her first over-the-shoulder box for an in-school news assignment. Since that day, she has witnessed a digital revolution within the world which has created exciting new methods of messaging to reach audiences and amplify messages in more ways than ever before.
She has worked in both marketing and communications, starting out in advertising by creating commercials, and advanced her skills and education to focus on higher-level strategy and tactics. Her work within all three pillars (corporate, non-profit, and government) and her previous experience with owning her own communications consulting agency, gives Becky a big-picture perspective and a more holistic outlook on implementing and evaluating communications tools to achieve goals.
Becky graduated from the Master of Arts in Professional Communications at Royal Roads in 2023 and is currently employed as Communications Advisor for Cowichan Tribes.
Membership Chair
CAROLINE SMITH
Caroline has been working in communications for the past five years. In 2018, she completed her Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Marketing, and began working for the City of Langford on Southern Vancouver Island. As their Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Caroline has experience with government communications, public engagement, business development, destination marketing, and event planning.
Caroline has volunteered with the CPRS Vancouver Island chapter for the past few years, managing job posting requests and assisting with event planning. As the 2022 CPRS-VI National Conference Grant recipient, Caroline attended the 2022 conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This experience inspired her to volunteer as Co-chair of Sponsorship on the 2023 National Conference Local Advisory Committee.
In her down time, Caroline enjoys hiking with her dogs, camping with her family, and attending yoga and fitness classes
Director
NICOLE SENDEY, APR
Nicole Sendey is the Communications Manager of GPMC | NMC . Nicole brings to the table over 25 years of proven experience in strategic communications and stakeholder relations and has worked with clients in various industries that include real estate development, government relations, aviation, telehealth, and biotech sectors. She has managed stakeholder engagement campaigns, crisis communications and investor relations for both public and private sector clients, focused on creating innovative campaigns to engage with audiences.
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Nicole received her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) and has attended and presented at several conferences and PR events. Nicole has been recognized for her volunteer work with numerous non-profit organizations and has served as a jury leader for the national CPRS awards.