Board members bios

Joanne Woodward
Paula Kaye
Chris Parkin
Karen Polansky
Beverly Betts
Parker Hughes
Stephanie Stewart

Joanne Woodward - President

I graduated from Mount Royal College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Applied Communications in Public Relations. Upon graduating, I decided to move to Toronto for work opportunities and while I miss the Rockies, the big skies, Grasshopper on tap and the opportunities to have chance conversations with complete strangers (nobody talks to anybody here!), it was a good move for me both professionally and personally.

Immediately upon arriving, I landed a job with Weber Shandwick Public Relations Agency, where, within the first year; I met my husband when I hired him as an actor for an event I was organizing. After working at the agency for 18 months, I moved to the communications department at Mount Sinai Hospital for five years, and I currently work at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as Senior Communications Advisor for the media team.
I’m looking forward to being part of the first branch alumni association to start up outside of Calgary. It will be a challenge, but I think we can bring a little western fun to the big smoke.

Paula Kaye- Past President

I'm originally from Saskatchewan and graduated with a Broadcasting Diploma in 1991. After working at various television stations across Canada, I settled in Toronto and the life of freelance. I currently work as a professional actor and teach communication skills to International Medical Graduates (IMG's). (These are doctors who come to Canada from all over the world to get Canadian certification to work in Canada.)

Chris Parken - Vice-President

Vacant - Secretary

Karen Polansky - Treasurer

I am originally from Montreal and moved to Calgary in 1981 during the height of the original boom. After completing my diploma in Nursing at Mount Royal in 1988, I worked in Calgary and then again in Montreal in Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Vascular Surgery. As well, I taught Nursing and Women’S Studies at the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College, after completing my post RN-Scan and Masc (Specialization: Women’S Studies) at the University of Ottawa.

Currently, I work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist on the Wound Care Team at St. Michael’S Hospital in downtown Toronto. I also hold an Adjunct Clinical Appointment at the Lawrence S. Bloom berg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. I am thrilled to be a part of TAB as I have very fond memories of Mount Royal and value the education I received there.

Beverly Betts- Director-at-Large

I first became involved with MARC in 1988 as an employee at a satellite library called Resource Island B for three years prior to enrolling into the two year Public Relations Co-Op Program.

After finishing my formal education, I tried to find a position that fueled my passion in my new field. This did not happen till the World Wide Web made its defalcate. I have been employed in various web based positions ever since 1995.

Currently, I am the Web Editor/Ministry Web Coordinator for the Ontario Government’S, Ministry of Transportation. I have been with the Ontario government since 1996 in various web related positions.

Parker Hughes- Director-at-Large

Originally from Calgary, I graduated the Public Relations program in 2008 and I moved to Toronto in early 2009 to further my career as a public relations practitioner. Upon arriving in Toronto, I was fortunate to find a job at National Public Relations, one of Canada's largest public relations agencies. Recently I move to a smaller boutique PR agency to continue my growth and development.

As one of the founding members of the Toronto Alumni Branch, I have had the great pleasure of meeting and getting to know a variety of other Mount Royal grads and participating in a variety of association events.

Stephanie Stewart - Director-at-Large

I recently became Publisher for Fifth House Publishers, a Citizenry & White side Limited company. I joined Red Deer Press in 2004 as the Marketing and Promotions Manager in Calgary, Alberta. I then moved to Toronto to become the U.S. Sales Manager for Citizenry, Fifth House and Red Deer Press.