Advisory Council

The Royal Roads University School of Communication and Culture is pleased to welcome a new Chair, Susan Danard, and a roster of incoming members to the dynamic group as the school experiences growing success. As Chair of the School of Communication and Culture Advisory Council Susan will lead dedicated volunteers to guide Royal Roads policy and to identify opportunities to increase the school profile and promote student engagement. A special thank you is extended to Robyn Quinn for providing invaluable insights and advice as Chair for two years.

Chair and Corporate communications pro Susan Danard  boasts an impressive background as a journalist. Danard is currently managing the team responsible for all of the communications, media relations, issues management, government and community relations for the projects included in BC Hydro's $2 billion a year capital program.  BC Hydro is building the equivalent of a Canada Line or Port Mann Bridge every year.  In her journalism experience, she was Victoria Bureau Chief at Citytv and Senior Reporter for the Victoria Times Colonist.

The new Advisory Council members represent a diverse and exciting slice of Canadian education, media and corporate culture:

In his 20-plus years as a journalist, Mike Crawley has reported for newspapers, radio, TV and a wire service.  He is currently CBC News provincial affairs reporter for Ontario.   His career has taken him to five Canadian provinces and 23 countries, mainly in Africa. His freelance work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, the Independent (UK) and on National Public Radio.  He has also led journalism training workshops in Ethiopia.  He spent much of the 1990s in BC, reporting for the Vancouver Sun and the Kamloops Daily News.

Jesse Ferreras is the Associate News Editor for Huffington Post BC.

Ding Guo is the Producer of OMNI News, Mandarin Edition for OMNI News BC.

Mike LoVecchio is a public relations professional with more than 15 years combined experience providing communications solutions and advice to industry and government.  He directs external relations for Canadian Pacific, a transcontinental freight railroad with revenues of more than $5 billion in 2011 and operations in six Canadian provinces and 13 American states.  Previously, Mike was spokesperson for Canadian Pacific.  He has also been a Communications Manager and spokesperson for the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, an entrepreneur, an aide to federal Cabinet Ministers, a public affairs consultant, a campaign manager, a media coach and a scuba diving instructor.  Mike earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) from Trent University.  He has also earned several recognition awards for public communications.  In 2007, his team won a Telly Award for a government of British Columbia video production promoting the Pacific Gateway.

Jean McRae is the Executive Director of the Inter-Cultural Associate of Greater Victoria.

David Porter is Executive Director of BCcampus.ca.  As a long-time advocate for the benefits of adapting new technology to deliver educational opportunities, David brings extensive experience and leadership in the education and training fields to the Advisory Council, including work in the public and private sectors, and with international development organizations.

Dr. Nancy Rivenburgh is a professor of global communication in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington, Seattle.  She has over 20 years of research and teaching focused on media and international relations.  She also teaches courses in creative problem solving, intercultural communications, and cross-cultural research methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The returning members to the Advisory Council are:

Rian Bowden is one of two Principals\Founders of DailySplice - a social media and podcasting business. His experience starting a high-technology business based on Vancouver Island adds an entrepreneurial element to the council. Rian also brings his knowledge and interest in using social media in higher education.

Dr. Myer Horowitz is considered one of Canada’s most eminent scholars in the discipline of education. Horowitz was President of the University of Alberta for ten years and was honoured with many awards including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Graduate Students’ Association at the University of Alberta. Dr Horowitz was admitted as an Officer into the Order of Canada.

Vancouver Island media and community leader Hudson Mack is the News Director and Senior Anchor at CTV News in Victoria.  He is an award winning member of the Radio Television Digital News Association, which has recognized his newsroom nearly two dozen times with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award.  Hudson served from 1990 to 2008 on the board of directors of the RTDNA in Canada and the U.S., including two terms as Canadian president.  He is BC Regional Vice-Chair of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and is former broadcast chair of the National Editorial Committee of the Canadian Press.

Dr. Bill Muirhead provides strategic leadership in the administration of education. Dr. Muirhead is the Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and brings extensive expertise in on-line education to the Council. He is Founding Co-Director of the Health Education Technology Research Unit and is on the Faculty of Health Sciences. He currently serves as President of the Canadian Association of Distance Education.