Manager Management

Expertise at a Glance

T racey Sandilands Strategic Communications Planning

Marketing & Communications

*** - *** *********** ********* ***** York, Toronto M2J 1J9

Community & Government Advocacy

1-647-***-**** ***********@******.***

Building Alliances & Partnerships

COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Campaign Communications Planning

Program Design & Management

Strategic, visionary Communications Strategist with successes building communication

Policy Development & Implementation

strategies to bolster the strategic objectives of large-scale not-for-profit and private

Coalition & Consensus-Building

organizations. Refined and engaging communicator and change agent with persuasive

Policy & Communication Alignment

presentation and negotiation skills, adept at building interest and buy-in for new concepts

and business directions. Brings in-depth understanding of the political dynamics, business Stakeholder Relationship Management

practices and key players in a wide variety of industries, blended with an extensive network Performance Evaluation & Motivation

of contacts among government representatives, business decision-makers, and media

Issue & Crisis Management

figures.

Fundraising & Volunteer Management

Media & Communications Production

Dedicated to the principles of integrity and transparency in public and private partnerships,

fostering trust-based relationships with industry partners, community stakeholders, and Change Management Communications

staff. Blends a collaborative, engaging leadership style with strategic focus and

decisiveness. Motivational coach and mentor to staff and volunteers, empowers teams with

the energy, tools and strategies to deliver exceptional results in tight timeframes.

RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST 2011

MediaWorld Toronto, Toronto, ON

CEO of start-up company providing communications services to clients, including writing and editing services, public relations,

media relations.

Wrote and edited articles for online content sites including eHow, Chron.com, WiseGEEK, and others.

Prepared for independent clients: website content, blog posts, marketing copy, press releases.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2008 2011

Pride Toronto, Toronto, ON

Recruited to this non-profit organization championing Toronto s annual Pride Week celebrations following a 9 month vacancy to

transform a turbulent environment suffering with a projected deficit and complete staff turnover into a highly influential and

internationally respected event.

Marketing & Communications Direction

Revitalized the organization s brand across online and print publications, refreshing

By the numbers

marketing and communications look and feel.

Project-managed Pride Week street festival, parades and peripheral events, etching out a Managed a $3.5M

budget

vision encompassing street closures, obstinate liquor laws, and grant applications while

promoting eclectic performers (e.g. Cyndi Lauper). Realized economic

impact of $136m for

Injected modernized systems and tools into an outmoded website and technology

toronto

network, knitting interactive media into an online database to improve membership

Generated $10M in

participation and volunteer management.

publicity

Married social networking sites (such as twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, FourSquare,

Event attendance of

and Facebook) with Pride-friendly communications to establish a membership database of

1.2M+

10K+ in one year.

Secured 4th World

Pushed boundaries, developing seamless marketing collateral spanning web, print media

Pride with a budget of

images, and promotional material as well as establishing media relationships from-the- $10M

ground-up to secure an increase of $10M in publicity in 2010.

T racey Sandilands 2

RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Continued

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Pride Toronto Continued

Business & Operations Executive Leadership

Directed operations, managed business, staffing, marketing development, government and sponsorship relations and policy

advocacy.

Fronted synergistic relationships with corporate sponsors and funding authorities, establishing trust-based partnerships

founded on fiscal responsibility and respect.

Developed two-year strategic direction, architecting a unified vision with the Board of Directors to refresh annual business

planning processes.

Standardized purchasing and procurement with integrated strategic & operational planning processes, defined &

measurable objectives, and performance metric tools.

Successfully produced two annual 10-day arts and culture festivals that included the three-day street closure of 20 city

blocks in downtown Toronto, drawing attendance in excess of 1.2M.

Financial Management Excellence

Managed a $3.5M+ operations budget: labour costs, infrastructure including power & facilities, festival security, event

marketing, communications and administration, steering fundraising strategies to establish a revenue reserve.

Successfully secured a line of credit while operating with an organizational fiscal deficit.

Forecasted income and expenditure and provided monthly financial reports to the Board of Directors.

Human Resources Governance

Transformed the organizational layout, ushering in improved premises, workflow management and HR processes.

Implemented new recruitment and retention strategies that led to an improved retention rate, taking a hands-on role in

coaching and mentoring managerial and director level staff.

Coached, mentored and developed 2 directors and 3 senior managers, empowering up to 16 permanent and contract staff,

150 year-round volunteers and 1000 festival assistants to achieve economic benefit of $136M in 2009.

Government & Industry Advocacy

Fostered relationships with InterPride and International Pride organizations by employing an expansive world view to

balance local demands with international best practices.

Nominated as a Vice President of InterPride global umbrella organization.

Recognized by stakeholders at provincial, federal and municipal levels for ability to re-establish connections spanning

corporate sponsors, community leaders and multiple levels of government.

Delighted event goers and critics alike and awarded 2009 s Best Festival in Canada Star Award.

Championed arts and culture initiatives, driving Pride Toronto to the forefront in national and international media.

Secured the rights to host the Fourth World Pride in Toronto in 2014 with a budget of $10M.

SENIOR MANAGER : EDITORIAL 2005 2008

Property 24

Hired to industry-leading online property news publication with international readership, to develop the strategic direction of the

editorial division, shepherding change management initiatives to drive drastic increases in revenues and readership.

T racey Sandilands 3

RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Continued

SENIOR MANAGER: EDITORIAL, Property24 Continued

Selected achievements

By the numbers

Catapulted website traffic from 50K to 300k unique monthly visitors, driving

improvements spanning content, designs and strategic direction.

Increased traffic to

Managed an annual budget of $500K with forecasting and monthly reporting to ensure

300K unique monthly

expenditures aligned with projections. visitors

Improved editorial policy, expanding web portal to include lifestyle and homeowner

Expanded daily published

sections, increasing readership and advertising revenue. material by 1000

percent

Expanded capacity to build a four-person strong staff writing team, as well as eight

freelance contributors and 15 guest columnists, to improve and retain expertise. Sourced & on-boarded

15 guest experts

Managed article syndication with News24, drawing on sister organizational readership

to increase market reach. Built up editorial team

to 4 full time members

MEDIA AND EVENTS MANAGER 2004 2005

The Triangle Project

Joined this non-profit organization supporting the LGBT community in a newly created position to build up public image and

internal infrastructure through brand and marketing creation and event management.

Revitalized web materials and marketing collateral, improving image and corporate brand through the development of

educational materials, photographic campaigns, and clothing and promotional materials.

Spearheaded event budgeting and creation for industry recognized, innovative pageants including the sex and culture

festival, drawing interest and awareness of LGBT community.

Tapped into new markets, developing insightful collateral that expanded the reach of niche services.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST 2002 2004

Green Planet Marketing and Communications

Successful start-up of agency providing consulting services to independent clients.

Consulted and advised clients on research, marketing and PR strategies

Wrote extensively for government, property and private clients, including press releases, magazine articles, profiles,

website content, marketing material (copies available)

Edited and produced in-house magazines for clients, including content compilation, writing and editing, as well as

conceptualization and management of graphic design, printing and distribution processes

Designed and managed websites and intranets for clients

Organized and managed corporate and marketing events

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER 1991 2002

Metropolitan Life Insurance

Multi-national life assurance company with 7000 employees, providing financial services to clients.

Consulted and advised business divisions on research, marketing and PR strategies. Wrote, edited and produced internal

and external communications. Managed graphic design studio and printing facility with 40 staff

Organized and managed events including corporate events, product launches, exhibitions, information tours, press

conferences

T racey Sandilands 4

RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Continued

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Professional Certificate in Business Management, York University, Toronto, (Current)

Bachelors Degree, Communications and English, University of South Africa, 2008

Competent Leader Programme (One-Year Mini MBA), Kagiso Business Leadership School,1999

Public Relations Diploma, Damelin Management School, 1981

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Board Director, Church Wellesley Village Business Improvement Association, 2009 - 2010

Chairperson/Administrator, Joburg Gay Pride Festival, 2006 2008

Board Director, Cape Town Gay Pride Festival, 2002 - 2005

New Homes Assessments, Domestic Animal Rescue Group, 1990 2005

Editor of National Magazine, Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees), 1983 1989

Chairperson/ Secretary, Victory Toy Dog Breed Club, 1996 2003

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS (Past and Present)

Advisory Board Member Pride Alliance Long Island (PALI), New York

Member Major International Festivals and Events of Ontario (MIFEN)

Member Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA) working group on Arts and Culture

Member - Women s Executive Network, Toronto (WXN);

Member - Economics Club of Canada

Member Toastmasters

NOMINATIONS

Nominated, Canada s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, 2010

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