Team Category: Staff

Katia is a journalist who graduated from the University of Montreal. In addition to coordinating for Perspectives plurielles, she is a researcher for French-speaking Radio-Canada radio stations. She has accumulated several years of diverse experience in the media sector: production and production of podcasts, documentary research and web writing, in particular. Issues of equality and inclusion are at the heart of her work. With Perspectives plurielles, she aspires to highlight women and gender-diverse experts from all fields and from all backgrounds.

Mabel understands that effective communication is key to any organization’s success. She earned a degree in public relations and marketing from Mount St Vincent and has taken additional training in content marketing and analytics. She brings to Informed Perspectives four years of strategic communications experience in stakeholder relations, crisis communications and digital marketing. Previously employed by a Halifax-based PR agency, she helped a range of clients optimize their digital channels to support their communication initiatives. Her demonstrated capacity to ask smart questions and identify and implement concrete solutions is helping Informed Perspectives re-evaluate and develop its communication practices to advance its marketing and impact goals.

Samantha joined Informed Perspectives in January 2015 offering virtual administrative support, and quickly made herself indispensable. As Director of Administration and Recruitment, she: oversees all financial and technical aspects of our operations; manages the enrolment, publication and promotional aspects of Informed Perspectives’ database, an online tool designed to help journalists, producers and conference programmers find the diverse guests, speakers and expert sources they need; and provides vital programming support for our workshop and keynote clients. Samantha has more than 25 years of experience in office management delivering support for high-level professionals, and a background in editing and communications.

Gabrielle Brassard-Lecours is delivering Informed Perspectives’ vision and mission to francophone audiences through our sister initiative, Perspectives Plurielles. Gabrielle is a journalist and co-founder of Pivot media. She has published in most Quebec publications, is a podcast producer and has done research for several tv and radio shows. She led the Association des journalistes indépendants du Québec from 2018 to 2022, and taught journalism at Concordia University for three years.

An award-winning author and women’s advocate, Shari has spent more than 30 years engaging the media to draw attention to issues she knows and cares about. Now she motivates and trains others to do the same, developing and delivering highly-rated conference keynotes and practical workshops across the country. She established Informed Perspectives (previously Informed Opinions) in 2010 as a project of its predecessor organization, and has served as Catalyst ever since, helping to amplify the voices of thousands of women across Canada, supporting them in sharing their insights with a broader public.

A former newspaper columnist, TV producer and commentator for CBC radio and TV, Shari also served as press secretary to a provincial premier, and as president of MediaWatch. She’s a proud alumna of the University of British Columbia (Theatre) and Simon Fraser University (Communications), where she also taught. She has published two best-selling media literacy books for youth, received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons’ Case, and been named one of Canada’s “Top 100 Most Powerful Women” and a “Woman of Influence”. Royalties from her edited collection, I Feel Great About My Hands – And Other Unexpected Joys of Aging, benefit Informed Opinions. Her most recent book, OMG! What if I really AM the best person? offers inspiration for knowledgeable women whose voices deserve to be amplified.

www.sharigraydon.com