About

Meet the Team

Learn more about M&C Consulting

Rooted in a crowd-consulting model, M&C Consulting assembles a unique team comprised of seasoned professionals to deliver on the vision of every client. These include: communications executives, social media experts, former political pundits, an award-winning author and international documentary producer. We have been invited to address Parliament and have been keynote speakers at industry-related events and conferences, participating in forums such as the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Over the years our team has created and executed everything from national awareness campaigns to innovative communications plans and digital strategies. In conjunction with our strategic partners and associates, we have delivered media training to Prime Ministers, Leaders of the Official Opposition, and senior federal cabinet ministers. We specialize in campaigns in the fields of Millennial engagement, Aboriginal affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility across industries.

Our Team

Giovanna Mingarelli

President and Founder

Giovanna Mingarelli is a crowdsourcing expert, public speaker and writer. As the CEO and Co-Founder of M&C Consulting, she brings critical solutions to how companies, organizations and governments can fuse traditional communications with new media. To this effect, she was worked with organizations and companies in Ottawa, New York, Birmingham, Seattle and Helsinki in developing innovative digital communications strategies.

Throughout her career, Giovanna has worked with several federal government agencies as well as for a former Prime Minister of Canada. She has been a Parliamentary witness, a guest lecturer and a keynote speaker at events and conferences relating to women in politics and digital democracy.

She has contributed to and has been interviewed by: Harvard Business School, The Huffington Post, CBC/Radio-Canada, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star for her contributions to various social entrepreneurship and youth engagement initiatives, including Global Dignity Canada. In 2011, Giovanna was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum and in 2015 she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the WXN. She holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from Carleton University.

Peggy Taillon

Vice-President and Principal

Peggy is a courageous and powerful voice who exemplifies a belief that when we are moving in unison, with shared purpose, nothing is insurmountable.

A passionate advocate for equality and social justice, Peggy brings a relentless drive for better to her many philanthropic and community development pursuits, always committed to inclusion and co-design. She pushes boundaries and believes deeply that inequality is not a natural state and that through leading a renaissance of service that connects all of us to a greater life’s purpose we can build strong resilient nations and a better world for those who come after us.

Peggy has served in senior leadership roles in large complex organizations in health care, business and NGOs; worked with and advised governments at all levels to modernize services for marginalized citizens. Her ability to get at the root of the issue and breakdown what stands in front of the right thing, is legendary. She led the Charter Challenge to Save the Long Form Census, she led Mental Health Reform in Ontario and most recently worked with the harm reduction community to bring Supervised Injection Sites to Ottawa. She always finds a way, and brings others together, especially those with lived experience to get there.

In 2008, Peggy founded the HERA Mission of Canada, a Foundation that supports women leading development projects that empower widows and children in Western Kenya. Through this work, Peggy honors the country where her son Devlin was born and where she fought to change adoption laws in order to bring him home to Canada. CTV’s W5 profiled their journey to become a family and the commitment they have made in Kenya in The Love of a Child which aired in March 2014 — on International Women’s Day. Over 1.2 million viewers across Canada and beyond tuned in or watched online. CTV gave Peggy the Amazing People Award for this moving journey in 2012. She has also been honored with Ontario’s Leading Women, Leading Girls Award, The Mandela Legacy Black History Award and Women Working for Others Award for her commitment to community development in Canada and abroad.

Originally from the small northern Ontario town of South Porcupine, Peggy was educated in Toronto and Ottawa and holds degrees in Social Work, Communications and Law, as well as advanced diplomas in Mediation and Negotiation.

Diane Bahati
Director of Business Development for Western Africa
Diane Bahati has extensive experience in youth civic leadership, working to empower African youth and promote youth agenda in major development issues in Africa. Her areas of focus include: Climate Change, Social Entrepreneurship, non-profit, SDGs. She has traveled extensively in over 10 countries across the world to learn and share best practices on the above. She co-founded in 2011 Rwanda YACA (Youth Alliance for Climate Actions), the biggest youth movement promoting climate actions, youth and community resilience in Rwanda. Diane has also been involved in other continental initiatives such as the project Pakati with the African Leadership Institute which seeks to harness the collective influence of Africa’s young leaders. She has represented Rwandan youth and served as a volunteer to various international fora including the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow and Sochi in October 2017 with the invitation by the Russian government, and the Model African Union Summit that took place in May 2018 in Cairo, Egypt where she had a chance to deliver a speech in front of HE Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt.on critical issues facing youth across the continent. Diane has a bachelor degree in Logistics and Information Management from Mount Kenya University and various professional certificates. She is also an alumnus of Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership program named after the late president of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Olivia Bechthold | Strategic Partner
Social Media and Marketing
Olivia is a communications professional and engagement expert. She has developed and managed numerous digital communications strategies for publications and organizations in the public and private sector, including government bodies, crown corporations, start-ups, post-secondary institutions, not-for-profits and NGOs. Olivia’s recent experience is primarily focused on community building, crowdsourcing, and action-based engagement, providing her with a fresh perspective on comprehensive communications and design thinking. Olivia holds a BA from the University of Guelph, an honours diploma in Public Relations from Algonquin College, and a graduate certificate in Digital Marketing from the Telfer School of Management.
Michael Corbett, P. Eng. | Strategic Partner
Procurement and Project Management
Michael Corbett, P. Eng. has 30 years of experience in infrastructure management, procurement, outcomes measurement, project management, cost estimating, project implementation, data analysis, and federal government executive management. Prior to branching out as a private consultant, he was the Director General of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Library and Archives Canada. Before this, Michael was the lead Executive operating and procuring the Government of Canada Travel Management systems. Michael holds a Masters in Science in Engineering as well as a Bachelors in Science in Civil Engineering from the University of New Brunswick. He is fluently bilingual (English/French) and holds a Government of Canada Secret Security Clearance.
Derek Ferguson | Strategic Partner
Partner, Dawson Ferguson Strategies
Derek Ferguson is sports fan who can help you put your message in the end zone. A results-oriented communications strategist, Derek has more than a decade’s experience as an award-winning leader in the federal public service and 20 years as a provincial and national political journalist. Derek has served as the Director of Public Affairs for Export Development Canada, and as General Director of the National Liberal Caucus Research Bureau. Previously, reporting for Canada’s largest daily newspaper, The Toronto Star, he served as Prairie Bureau Chief and national political reporter specializing in financial and investigative journalism. When he isn’t advising clients using sports metaphors to explain communications strategies, Derek can be found cheering for the RedBlacks, Roughriders and Raiders.
David Fodrek | Strategic Partner
Founder, Heroa Media
David Fodrek is a film director, writer, and marketing consultant. He graduated with honors from Vancouver Film School and has since put his efforts towards building a production company dedicated to the creating inspiring media. After facing a life-threatening situation in his youth, he found support in the stories of others who had faced similar circumstances. He saw the motivating power of sharing stories of transformation and it was at this point he began working in film. From David Evram’s struggle came his desire to help youth transform their own personal challenges and by doing so become the hero’s of their own lives.
Mick Gzowski | Strategic Partner
Senior Film Producer
Mick began his career as a newspaper reporter, winning the Jack Wasserman Award for best journalist in the province of B.C. He moved on to become the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin's official videographer. After the 2006 election, Mick remained in politics as Senior Broadcast Communications Consultant for the National Liberal Caucus. Here, Mick refined his editing skills and set YouTube records in the News and Politics section. He has written for magazines, radio, television and films. As a filmmaker, Mick's documentaries have been broadcast by CTV, Global, the Discovery Network, the History Channel, National Geographic US, CBC TV, the Life Channel, CBC Newsworld, the Documentary Channel, and Vision TV.
Lynne Hamilton | Strategic Partner
Government Relations
Lynne Hamilton is a creative, results-oriented government relations professional with a track record of designing successful solutions to diverse issue and communications challenges. Her extensive communications background ensures an integrated approach to stakeholder outreach, strategic planning, issue & crisis management and media relations. She has a history of securing significant regulatory change and investment in the high tech and healthcare space for clients such as Netflix, TekSavvy, The Heart & Stroke Foundation, and Merck Frosst. Lynne holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. She is the President of the Internet Society, Canada Chapter. She is the former Chair of the Board of Equal Voice; an organization dedicated to encouraging more women to get involved in politics and was named several times as one of Canada’s Top 100 Lobbyists in the Hill Times.
Nitin Jaiswal
Full Stack Developer
Nitin is a Junior Applications Developer skilled with Android, iOS and Cross-Platform mobile development. He is currently studying computer programming at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada and is a recent graduate from Bavaria Institute of Technology in India. He is a regular volunteer with International Students Mentor at Algonquin College, helping with international students’ academic orientation and EXPOSE: aiming to create a smoke-free campus and decrease social tobacco use. In his spare time, he likes to build home automation tools and robots – such as a gesture and voice controlled robotic hand that he built in two weeks over the holidays.
Duane Kennedy | Strategic Partner
President, Pondstone Communications
Duane built a strong foundation in graphic and print design before moving to the web in the late 90s. His experience spans programming, web video, quality assurance and testing, and user-oriented interface design. Duane has run national campaign web operations in two federal elections and headed the IT department of a federal Parliamentary research bureau. In 2009 he co-founded Pondstone Communications to help clients make effective use of web technologies to better target messaging, engage customers and reduce their environmental impacts through reduced dependency on print materials.
Sid Lee | Strategic Partner
Creative Director, Earthlore Communications
Sid Lee is an award winning senior Creative Director for EarthLore Communications. He has decades of experience in overseeing national and international projects most especially in the field of communication, new media, advertising and social awareness. He is a dedicated creative professional and combines his talent with a strong technical proficiency in current media technologies. Sid continuously strives to be a driving force behind adopting immersive new media strategies engaging Aboriginal Peoples. He has been the creative lead for challenging social communication assignments affecting Aboriginal Peoples: Youth Suicide, LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS and community health issues.
Krista Murphy | Strategic Partner
Art Director
Krista Murphy brings over 15 years of experience in the graphic design industry. Graduating with honours from the Graphic Design Program at Algonquin College (where she also now teaches), she has worked her way up from production artist to art director at a fast-paced advertising agency in Ottawa, Canada. She has branded and designed for many businesses within the city, all while growing her own stationery company for weddings and events. A multitasker at heart, you can find Krista coaching new designers wanting to get into the wedding scene, raising two little humans alongside her number-loving husband, and learning new skill sets to better help her clients soar and fall in love with their brand.
Qaiser Nawab
Director of Business Development for the Middle East
Qaiser Nawab is an award-winning strategic communications expert with nearly 10 years of experience as an advocate for social change. In 2014, Qaiser founded a global youth organization “THE” Society International (Together for Health and Education). By utilising his training, leadership and development skills, he aspires to help youth work on their aspirations and realise their potential for Sustainable Development. He also advocates for marginalized members of community particularly Transgender and was endorsed by the Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. In addition to his international leadership roles, Qaiser is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals expert and advocate. He has collaborated with the United Nations, Commonwealth, OIC and European Union on different occasions. He was a speaker at both the World Investment Forum (WIF) and UNCTAD Youth Forum at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland as well as at the Commonwealth Youth Forum, CHOGM 2018 London, where he represented issues around youth, women and gender minorities’ empowerment, trade and emerging technologies.
Mylene Paquin | Strategic Partner
Senior Digital Content Strategist
Mylene Paquin is an award-winning film director, producer and marketing consultant. Her works have screened on national television which garnered her the opportunities to pitch and/or produce for national brands such as Coco-Cola, Deloitte, MBNA Mastercard, and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. She has also worked with and/or pitched for musical artists such as Lights & Motion, Alt-J, and Delerium. Mylene connected with Heroa because she saw the unique approach and its potential impact. She strongly believes that we can use media as a force to drive positive change in the world.
Jenna Potter | Strategic Partner
Vision Vloggers
Jenna Potter is a customer experience and video marketing strategist based in Montreal, QC. With over seven years of experience in the digital marketing space, Jenna has collaborated on online social campaigns with international brands including Boston Pizza, Ko-fi and CHS Group UK. She co-founded Vision Vloggers in 2019 to help SaaS companies fight churn and boost retention with customer onboarding videos.
Roisin Reid
Communications Executive
Roisin brings strategic communications experience from a 15-year career that has spanned the government, private and political sectors. In her career, Roisin has been an award-winning civil servant at the Department of Finance, she has been a senior analyst at Export Development Canada and an Associate of the Boxfish Group. She believes that clear messaging is the key to making complex subject matter accessible and memorable to a range of audiences. Roisin also has a background in writing and editing, encompassing speech-writing, magazine pieces, and a broad range of print and web-based communications. She holds an honours degree in English Literature from Campion College.
Don Runge | Strategic Partner
Founding Partner, Earthlore Communications
Don is a motivated and results oriented senior marketing professional with over 35 years experience leading teams on communication assignments and pioneering purposeful and meaningful strategies for engaging and communicating with audiences across Canada and the North. He is a leading resource for research and sharing of expert knowledge as it pertains to Aboriginal languages, cultural sensitivity and creative strategic messaging and campaign strategy. As Executive Producer, he led the team that created a series of highly praised, culturally appropriate and informative videos for the Canadian Human Rights Commission in multiple Aboriginal languages.
Kristy Strauss
Lead Copywriter
For nearly 15 years, Kristy has worked closely with communications agencies, universities and other not-for-profits to deliver compelling and accessible content - helping clients to communicate their stories and reach wider audiences. Her career has spanned a variety of sectors including business, finance, trade, technology and print media. She specializes in news-style writing, blogs, personal profiles and website content creation. Prior to her communications and public relations work, Kristy was a journalist in the Ottawa area and wrote for the Metroland Media chain of newspapers. She covered a variety of beats, including education, municipal politics, health and the arts. Kristy attended Carleton University for her Bachelor of Journalism degree.
Amanda Sussman | Strategic Partner
The Art of the Possible Consulting
Amanda Sussman is a Canadian author, speaker and strategist. Over ten years, Amanda's Art of the Possible method has bridged the gap between Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, multilateral and non-governmental organizations and the people they represent to drive change and improve lives through policy change. To this effect, Amanda has worked with dozens of organizations in Canada and around the world such as: The Global Partnership for Education, The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Plan International Canada, and The Canadian Cancer Society, among others.
Elyssa Teslyk
Director of Operations
Elyssa Teslyk brings a unique combination of cross-sector experience, focusing on strategic research and reporting for impactful decision making, communications and engagement, policy and program development, training, and performance management. These combined enable her to tactically navigate and build rapport with interest groups, businesses, and citizens to create sustainable private-public partnerships. Principal strengths Elyssa brings include consensus building, negotiation, conflict management skills, and the ability to communicate technical knowledge using business communications, as well as economic returns on social impact. She has managed and facilitated research projects and software development integrated training programs in partnership with Alberta Labor, the University of Alberta, SAIT, and Manpower Services, and worked with various organizations such as the City of Edmonton to develop public policy recommendations. Elyssa holds a BBA in Finance, Marketing and Human Resources from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Her most recent experiences have focused on government relations and digital transformation to improve civic services.
Chirag Vedullapalli
Research and Marketing Intern
Chirag Vedullapalli is currently a passionate student at the University of Washington studying Business and Political Science. With more than six years of experience running a youth foundation with a mission to inspire youth to donate their time and talent for a social cause, he has led unique programs that have engaged over 7,500 kids and teens and raised over $25,000 for various causes. He has expertise in event planning and execution as well as in designing creatives.
Ana Maria Zurita Delphin
Graphic Designer
Ana Maria Zurita holds a BA in Graphic Design, as well as a Marketing and Mobile/Social Media Management degrees from Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. With more than six years of international experience in Printing and digital (UX and Marketing) design, Ana Maria has the skills and personality to develop, implement and manage different kind of Graphic Design projects for M&C Consulting and Mcrowdsourcing Canada, Inc (MC2).