Humber is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelly Jackson as the college’s incoming Associate Vice-President, Government Relations and Strategic Communications.

“This is a milestone role for Humber as we embark on enhancing our government relations activities. Kelly will be responsible for co-ordinating our polytechnic positioning across all levels of government. She will be involved in policy development and review with a focus on increasing our access to public sector funding, all while developing a high-level strategic communications plan that supports the college’s government relations strategy,” said Alister Mathieson, Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs.

Kelly’s first day will be July 12, 2017. Her office is LRC6069 in the Marketing and Communications department.

Kelly has an outstanding background in government and communications, along with a strong knowledge of the postsecondary education sector and a reputation for building collaborative and sustainable relationships.

Most recently, Kelly was seconded from her position at Seneca College to the Ontario Minister of Finance’s Office in the role of Director of Communications. While with the Ministry, Kelly was responsible for developing communications products related to the Minister’s policy announcements. Most notably, she played a lead role in developing strategic communications plans for the 2016 Fall Economic Statement and 2017 Budget.

At Seneca, Kelly was Director of Strategic Planning and Public Affairs. While overseeing a diverse portfolio of responsibilities, Kelly successfully managed the needs of external and internal stakeholders and identified creative approaches to advancing Seneca’s interests at the municipal, regional, provincial and federal levels.

Kelly’s portfolio included Government and Community Relations, Strategic Initiatives, Integrated Planning and Risk Management, and Privacy/Freedom of Information. She provided the Senior Executive Team and Board of Governors with updates on policy changes and the province’s legislative and political environments.  Kelly led several cross-functional teams and co-ordinated and authored major funding proposals and key corporate documents, including Seneca’s Strategic and Business Plans, Annual Reports, Enterprise Risk Framework and Strategic Mandate Agreement. She also helped to secure significant government funding for major capital projects at Seneca’s various campuses. While in this role, Kelly also managed the communications and media relations teams on an acting basis for an 18-month period.

Prior to working at Seneca, Kelly was Director of Policy in the Office of the Minister of Education, Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and Research Project Manager at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo.

Kelly holds a Master of Arts in Political Science and a Graduate Diploma in German and European Studies from York University, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University. Further, Kelly is a board member of the For Youth Initiative and a former Civic Action DiverseCity Fellow.

Please join me in welcoming Kelly to Humber.

Thank you,

Alister Mathieson
Vice-President, Advancement and External Affairs