Our
Team
Our team is experienced, innovative and committed to results.
Ascentum’s team includes some of the leading minds in social media and public participation in Canada. From conferences to workshops, to national and international projects and initiatives, our team is asked to provide their experience, perspective and valuable lessons learned.
Our unique work environment combined with high-energy, results-oriented staff makes Ascentum a workplace of choice.
Meet the Management Team
Manon Abud
Partner
Manon is a Partner with Ascentum. She holds a degree in communications and an MBA from the University of Ottawa. In addition to her responsibilities as Human Resources and Service Delivery Lead, Manon is also an experienced public engagement specialist, a skilled and fluently bilingual facilitator, and a highly effective project manager.
Mary Pat MacKinnon
Partner
As a Director at Ascentum, Mary Pat leads public and stakeholder engagement initiatives and is integral to strategic planning. She has extensive background in government affairs, public policy research and community engagement practice. She is a Senior Fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and holds an BA (Hons 1st Class) and an MPA from Queen’s University.
Robert Mariani
Partner
Rob is one of the founding partners of Ascentum. He has an MBA from the University of Ottawa. He brings to Ascentum strong business acumen and a background in Quality Assurance and service delivery. In his role Rob is responsible for collaborating on the future direction for Ascentum along with delivering creative, innovative and tremendously successful public involvement projects.
Joseph Peters
Partner
Joseph is one of the founding partners of Ascentum and is one of the leading minds in how technology and public participation intersect. He helps organizations build sustainable decisions to complex issues through public participation. Joseph is an advisor to the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and is a founding Board member of the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation. He was a 2007 recipient of the Ottawa Top 40 Under 40 award, and holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa.
Colin Smillie
Director, Social Media
Colin Smillie is the Director of social media at Ascentum, specializing in using Social Media to facilitate public participation. He has a broad base of experience with technology and where it intersects with marketing and communications. Previously Colin worked at Refresh Partners, where he ran Social Media campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands, where he won several awards for his work on the Whopper Sacrifice campaign. He has also worked as a Brand Manager for the AutoTrader brand owned by the Yellow Pages Group.
Colin has written several articles on Using Facebook to Build Your Brand, and been quote in marketing publications related to Social Media. He is also the co-Founder of the Toronto FacebookCamp, the largest Facebook focused technology event outside of Facebook’s own F8 Conference. He has also presented at Facebook community events around the world including London, Montreal and New York City.
Ellis Westwood
Director, Project Innovation
As the Director of project innovation, Ellis specializes in research, tool design, analysis, and project management. Ellis has a background in public affairs, policy research and public participation. He has a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University and an MA in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University.
Meet the Rest of Our Team
Holly Clark
Executive Assistant
As the Executive Assistant at Ascentum, Holly is responsible for the administrative side of the office. She handles corporate operations, from special event logistics and coordination, to supporting corporate marketing and communications initiatives. She is well versed in public sector media relations and the important role that communications play in enabling public engagement. Holly holds a Bachelor of Journalism with a concentration in communications from Carleton University.
Tristan Eclarin
Consultant
As a consultant, Tristan’s responsibilities include research, data analysis and report writing. His background is in public administration and policy, political studies and history. He has a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University and is in the final stages of completing his MPA from the University of Victoria.
Heather Fulsom
Project Coordinator
Heather is the Project Coordinator and Payroll and Benefits Administrator for Ascentum. She has extensive experience in providing a full range of project and budget coordination, administrative management and support in the telecommunications industry and in the field of public policy research. Heather is a member of the Project Management Institute, Ottawa Valley Outaouais Chapter.
Christopher Holmes
Technical Consultant
A multimedia web designer and developer by trade, Christopher has focused primarily on static and dynamic web development, currently working with many “Web 2.0” tools and languages to create dynamic and engaging web experiences. Christopher has also spent several years working with Adobe Flash, developing educational software and in-class eLearning tools for use on tablets and interactive whiteboards, most of which are currently being used in class rooms around the world. Christopher is responsible for site development within Ascentum.
Pierre Lacroix
Bilingual Facilitator
Pierre is an associate with Ascentum. He has an extensive background in designing and facilitating learning events in leadership, strategic thinking, influence and collaboration, and public engagement. He has work extensively in the private, public and social sectors and in various cultural international settings around the world. He is a fluently bilingual (French and English) facilitator. He holds an MSOD from Pepperdine University.
Faith Mansfield
Associate Consultant
Faith works as an Associate Consultant, with strengths in process design, synthesis, and facilitation. She holds an MAES (Applied Environmental Studies) from the University of Waterloo. Drawing on her background in international cooperation she seeks to ensure that seldom-heard voices are included in decision making.
Nicole Pollack
Senior Consultant
Nicole is a Senior Consultant at Ascentum with experience in public participation, process design and policy research. Her background is in International Development and Gender Studies. She has a BA Honours from Queen’s University and a MA from Saint Mary’s University.
Salman Shakeel
Technical Consultant
As a Technical Consultant at Ascentum, Salman is responsible for site design and development. He is well versed in web-based programming, site security management and enhancing end-user experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science from Carleton University.
Ellen Spencer
Technical Consultant
As a Technical Consultant at Ascentum, Ellen is responsible for site development, managing and editing site content and technical support. Ellen is well versed in web programming, site accessibility (including GOC CLF standards) and video editing. Ellen has her B.A. in film and video production and a diploma in web development.
Cassandra Tavares
Consultant
Cassandra’s background includes a mix of research, data analysis, marketing and communications. She is well versed in both quantitative and qualitative studies and applies this to her role as Consultant at Ascentum. She holds a Bachelors in Commerce (Hons), specialization in Marketing, from the University of Ottawa.
Stephan Telka
Consultant
As a Consultant, Stephan’s responsibilities include research, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and report writing. Stephan has a background in research and writing in the fields of International Affairs, International Education and 20th-Century History. He holds a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University, and a MA from Carleton University.
Sandra Zagon
Senior Associate
Sandra is a senior associate at Ascentum. She is called upon to provide strategic advice on public participation initiatives and often facilitates large consultation events. She has been working in the field of dialogue and deliberation for over 30 years and has had an extensive career in the federal public service as a Senior Manager. She is a founding Co-Chair of the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation (C2D2).