Huw Williams

President

Huw Williams is the President of Impact Public Affairs and specializes in government and media relations. With extensive experience in the print and broadcast media, he has appeared frequently as a corporate spokesperson on CBC and CTV national news. Mr. Williams’ government experience is diverse, having served as Acting Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada; as a Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Constitutional Affairs; and as a Legislative Assistant to the Speaker of the Alberta Legislative Assembly. He also served as an intern to a United States Congressman from the Sixth District of Indiana. Mr. Williams authored “A Government Relations Guide For Directors of Non-Profit Organizations” published by the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). He also served on the board of directors for the Government Relations Institute of Canada (GRIC). In 2010, Williams was named worldwide Public Affairs Professional of the Year finalist by PRNews Magazine. Williams’ other accolades include the CSAE Griner Award for outstanding “Business Excellence”, one of The Hill Times’ Top 100 lobbyists in Canada, and the Ottawa Business Journal’s “Top Forty under 40 Award” for professional success and community involvement. Mr. Williams holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Calgary. He has also completed studies at the Université de Tours in France and is bilingual. Contact Huw

Michael Hatch

Senior Vice-President

Michael Hatch is a Senior Vice President for Impact Public Affairs specializing in financial policy and economics. Michael has extensive public sector experience, having served three years as an economic policy advisor on Parliament Hill. He is a frequent commentator on public policy issues on Business News Network and in other major TV, print and broadcast media. He has also been a featured speaker at major events including the Vancouver Board of Trade Economic Growth Forum. Most recently, he worked for a Big-Four accounting firm as a consultant, advising multinational clients on matters relating to multi-jurisdictional tax and compliance issues. Michael holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Toronto and is fluently bilingual.

Contact Michael

Mario Lavoie

Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs (Québec)

Mario Lavoie has been involved in politics and public affairs for the last 30 years. He has worked in government as the former Director of Operations for a Cabinet Minister in Ottawa, and in Quebec where he worked with different levels of governments within Canada and in other countries. His approach in government relations is to understand, simplify and convince, and as a strategic advisor he is recognized for his ability to synthesize complex issues and topics.
Mario served as an advisor to the Premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012, and his responsibilities included working in Canadian intergovernmental relations and international relations. In this capacity, he worked on several major projects such as the Canada health Care Agreement between the provinces and the federal government, the economic partnership between Canada and Europe, the Plan Nord, GST-QST harmonization negotiation and on the creation of the states and regional alliances on climate change.

Over the course of his career, Mario has advised Prime Ministers, Ministers, politicians and business leaders. He now brings his talents to the service of our clients. Contact Mario

Barbara Barrett

Senior Consultant

Barbara Barrett brings over 20-year of high level public affairs expertise to her clients.  Barbara has held senior leadership and executive roles for a Jaguar Land Rover, a leading global automotive company, where she contributed to record sales and record media results. Barbara has worked as the Canadian communications lead with corporate leadership in the UK, and the United States and has implemented and developed communications programs to leverage global sponsorship programs with Formula One Racing, Invictus Games, the Canadian Cancer Society and First Nations groups. Barbara has also led major corporate social responsibility initiatives and acted as the spokesperson for media and public appearances.

Barbara has hosted media events in every major continent including unique media programs in South Africa, Mongolia and Argentina.  She has organized and served as spokesperson at international auto shows and at some of the largest press conferences in Canada.  She has also Chaired the organization of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada Journalist of the Year for over 20 years.  Barbara holds an Honours Bachelor of English from Nipissing University and is proud holder of a Black belt in Karate.

Contact Barb

Michael Powell

Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications

Michael’s professional experience includes campaign roles with the Federal Liberal Party organizing campaign events in targeted ridings and special events with the Prime Minister’s Tour. He has previously worked as a professional researcher in a variety of fields, with his work having been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Michael has managed major advocacy campaigns for Canada’s most prominent trade associations and worked extensively with Canada’s largest corporations. In addition, he has toured the country with major media outlets on behalf of Impact’s clients. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts with combined Honours in History and Political Science from Carleton University.

Contact Michael

Cynthia Waldmeier

Senior Communications and Public Affairs Manager

Cynthia has extensive experience in working with some of Canada’s largest non-profit organizations and leading business groups.  This includes leading national and international award winning public relations and government advocacy campaigns for clients in the health and sports sectors.  She has travelled across the country coordinating public affairs initiatives in several different provincial capitals and is extremely well versed in organizing events on Parliament Hill. Cynthia has worked as a media spokesperson for a variety of different organizations, specifically in the tourism and hospitality sector where she appeared in Newsweek, Fox News and NBC News.  She currently serves as spokesperson for a women’s addiction centre and regularly appears on television and on the radio in support of the organization’s many initiatives.  Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Sociology from Queen’s University, and a Masters of Arts in Communications from the University of Ottawa.

Contact Cynthia

Kalene DeBaeremaeker

Manager of Strategic Communications

Kalene specializes in delivering effective communication and government relations strategies for national organizations.   Her ability to provide creative communication resulted in a 2013 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award.  In addition, her advocacy work contributed to recognition from the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) with the “Associations Make a Better Canada Award.”  Kalene has extensive project coordination and events management skills. She has worked on many high profile client events including the Champions of Mental Health Awards and, A Campaign For All Canadians.  Her project coordination experience has been primarily focused in the arts and she has worked on many successful film and theatre projects in Canada and internationally.   She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree from York University and is bilingual. Contact Kalene

Rob LeForte

Director, Government Relations and Campaigns

Rob’s professional background includes government relations, communications, and policy roles at leading national industry associations where he has a track record of achieving results and building relationships with decision makers. He has been responsible for the logistics behind some of Ottawa’s largest and most successful annual advocacy days. Rob is a seasoned advocate with a keen understanding of message development and delivery. He has demonstrated effective skills in media relations through numerous television, radio, and print interviews while serving as a not-for-profit spokesperson. He brings his experience in preparing executives for interviews and parliamentary committee hearings. Rob is a proud alumnus of Dalhousie University where he was awarded the Governor’s Award for exceptional contributions in the extracurricular realm in 2011. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie and has a Masters in Political Management from the Clayton H. Riddell program at Carleton University. Contact Rob

Christian A. von Donat

Strategic Advisor

Christian has extensive experience working in the public sector on Parliament Hill, with a proven track record of delivering results. Through this time, he specialized in communications, policy development, navigating the parliamentary process, and stakeholder engagement. Christian is a well-travelled political strategist, having worked in senior roles on Federal, Provincial, Municipal, and internal leadership campaigns. He also regularly liaised with national and local media, coordinated major events, and planned tours. Christian is proud of his accomplishments in Indigenous affairs, advancing the case for government to government dialogue and working to expand business opportunities with Indigenous partners.

Christian also previously worked at the Liberal Party of Canada as well as at Queen’s Park. He graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Arts with combined Honours in Political Science and German Language and Literature. Contact Christian

Ashley Rensler

Public Affairs Associate

Ashley brings her background in public policy, strategic communications, and politics to her work at Impact. Previously, Ashley worked at Queen’s Park as senior political staff to a Member of Provincial Parliament. Ashley excels at legislative management, and has extensive experience with legislation and policy development, stakeholder engagement, event-planning, and community outreach. Ashley has extensive experience working on various federal, provincial, and municipal electoral campaigns; most recently assisting on the 2015 campaign of two newly-elected Liberal Members of Parliament. Ashley also has experience with municipal politics, previously working for a Toronto City Councillor.

She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and has a Masters in Environmental Studies and Urban Planning from York University.

Contact Ashley

Charlotte Webber

Government Affairs Associate

Charlotte brings to Impact a strong background in policy, business analytics, and communications from various federal departments such as the Department of Global Affairs Canada, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, and Public Services and Procurement. Along with her public sector experience she brings a strong understanding of politics. Her experience includes work on federal and municipal electoral campaigns, most recently playing a leadership role on the 2015 campaign of a newly-elected Liberal Member of Parliament. She is well-versed in strategic communications, campaign management, government relations, and executing political events. Charlotte holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Political Science from the University of Ottawa and a Masters in Political Management from the prestigious Clayton H. Riddell program at Carleton University. Contact Charlotte

Kyle Larkin

Government Affairs Coordinator

Kyle specializes in government relations, public affairs and policy research. Prior to joining Impact, he gained valuable experience by working at firms in Ottawa that dealt in a variety of different policy areas. He has supported the creation of comprehensive in-depth research reports tailored to the needs of national and international clients. He has also managed the planning and facilitation of numerous digital policy events, most notably one on online voting. Besides research and event planning, he has facilitated the development of public affairs strategies by communicating with elected officials, political staff, and senior levels of the public service.

Kyle has also worked in numerous offices on Parliament Hill, most notably for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. During his time on the Hill, he drafted correspondence, caucus meeting reports and remarks for the House of Commons and media panels. He also prepared briefing documents as well as aided constituents in resolving issues with Federal Government programs and services through research and engagement with government contacts.

Kyle holds an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Studies and Modern Languages, with a minor in History and is fluently bilingual.

Contact Kyle

Emily Gale

Public Affairs Coordinator

Emily brings with her a background in government and stakeholder relations, policy development and community outreach. Prior to joining Impact, | Emily worked heavily at the provincial and federal levels with government officials and stakeholders to further the post-secondary agenda.

Emily has first-hand experience with the Parliamentary process having worked for a Member of Parliament and the Chair of the House of Commons Health Committee. She has also worked on national campaigns and has a proven track record in media relations.

Emily is a proud alumnus of St. Francis Xavier University where she graduated from with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Development Studies.

Contact Emily

Kate Lardner

Media Strategist

Kate brings to Impact a background in social media campaigns, as well as digital advertising, working with advocacy, labour, and political clients. Prior to joining Impact, Kate worked as a Digital Advertising Strategist, planning campaigns from national to local levels.

Kate has first-hand experience working with U.S. political campaigns having been part of the digital advertising team for the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, which earned Gold at the 2016 American Association of Political Consultants’ Pollies.

Kate earned a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, with a minor in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University, where she spent a year and a half studying abroad in Europe.

Contact Kate

Matthew Wallace

Web Designer

Matthew is a versatile award winning designer who provides clients with services in both the web and print medium. His distinctive approach to every project and style allow him to provide his clients with exceptional creative solutions, valuable consultation and outstanding products always on time and on budget, even under the most demanding circumstances.

Throughout the last 18 years Matthew has been lucky enough to work with a variety of clients from government agencies including, Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Treasury Board, Environment Canada, the Passport Office and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Matt has also had the opportunity to work with the Lung Association, VISA, Diageo, Molson, Nike, Lockheed Martin, NHL Hockey Archive, International Universal Studios, Alliance Atlantis and the Air Transport Association of Canada.

Matthew is a product of the very best education in this field and, of rich and diverse professional experience. A native of Ottawa, he holds a Graphic Design Diploma (with Honours) from Algonquin College. In 2010 Matthew’s work was recognized by the Summit Emerging Media Awards for his website design for the Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre.

Contact Matthew

Peter Woolford

Senior Advisor (Toronto)

Peter joined Impact’s team in December 2009 following a distinguished 20-year career as Vice President of the Retail Council of Canada responsible for government relations, and public policy. The Retail Council of Canada is one of Canada’s largest associations and the country’s largest retail association. Prior to joining the Retail Council, Peter served as a senior public servant in Ottawa in the departments of Finance, Industry and the Privy Council. While at the Retail Council, Peter worked closely with Impact clients on a number of government relations issues including the HST and other retail tax issues. Peter is bilingual and very experienced working with small and medium sized businesses. Peter has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Peter provides Impact’s clients with advice on advocacy strategy and leverages his extensive network of government contacts to advance issues with government. Peter also provides insight and advice on matters of economic policy.

Contact Peter