Communications Coordinator – CAGIS
Please consider me in your search for a Communications Coordinator. I believe my varied experience in education and communications makes me an ideal candidate.
My education includes a B.Ed. from the University of Alberta with a major in Visual Communications and a minor in English. At one point in time, I considered becoming an optometrist. As a result, I completed a year of pre-medicine, studying courses in chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, zoology, physics and higher-level mathematics. During my course in comparative vertebrate anatomy, I worked as part of a team4b attempting, for example, to find nerves in a cat cadaver that was rapidly deteriorating into a pile of mush.
While serving as a Communications Officer at The University of Calgary, I completed courses in Canadian Art and Architecture, Western Canadian History and Communication Research Methods. More recently, I completed the first year of the Hearing Aid Practitioner Program at MacEwan University and successfully passed the Rental Property Licensing Examination offered by the Sauder School of Business at UBC. For me, education never stops.
In Canada, as a supply teacher, I taught a variety of subjects, including web page production and computer coding, although I must admit my students were ahead of me on the latter. In 2002, I accepted my first international teaching position as an art instructor for ISM International School in Libya. Ten years later, I returned to Canada having taught primarily art and mathematics to mostly junior high and high school students in Libya, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the UAE and Japan.
I believe I am an exceptional teacher who developed classroom materials and programs that gave students the opportunity to explore their creativity and potential. In Saudi Arabia, I used my children’s book, The Apple of Albert’s Eye, for students to create illustrations of the story that were used to make a video. In the United Arab Emirates, I worked with my adult students to create another video, God is Love, with a simple moral message of redemption. My vocational mathematics teaching in the UAE included the development of a series of mathematic workbooks and assessment materials.
My communications experience is equally varied and relevant.
As a Communications Officer for The University of Calgary, I worked with the Public Affairs Office and senior administration officials to develop and implement communications strategies1 for staff, media, stakeholders and the public. As co-editor of the bi-weekly Gazette, I wrote editorial, news and feature pieces on all aspects of the university’s activities.
I also have experience as a reporter, writing for BC Business Examiner and The Nanaimo Free Press, among others. In Vancouver, I served as Western Editor for Canadian Forest Industries Magazine, writing about all aspects of the business, including harvesting, milling and safety.
Sample articles3 of relevant interest include: the exploration of digital mapping at The University of Calgary, the development of a submersible camera for The Business Examiner and innovative safety for logging trucks for Canadian Forest Industries Magazine.
While serving as the Marketing Manager for T-MAR Industries, Campbell River, I initiated the production of a company newsletter3, produced brochures, surveyed customers and designed and supervised the installation of trade show booths4a, to name just a few of my duties. While with T-MAR, I also coordinated the company’s involvement in DEMO 20004a, a “live demonstration” of forestry in the BC interior.
Since my return to Canada in 2012, I have worked in a number of fields, including volunteer work4b for the Food Recovery Program with the Salvation Army. I also developed my website www.jamesmillercreative.com to promote my art and express my belief in a world based on love and equality. In addition to my twitter account2 and blog2, my website features pages of my work in writing, art, photography, video, design (using Illustrator and Photoshop) and music. I also served as team-leader4b for a proposal to build a Holocaust Memorial in Ottawa. More recently, I created a webpage on Covid-19 that includes a video, a cartoon series and a t-shirt design
My oral communication skills3 are demonstrated through my video application for the position of traveling ambassador for Air Transat.
I have never been convicted of a criminal offence.
You mention that communications firms are welcome to submit expressions of interest. In that vein, I have contacted Marty Howe, the proprietor of Circle Digital Media, who developed my website and provides me with technical support. He is willing to provide support where required, for example, to secure your website, which it currently is not. His hourly rate is $80/hour.
While I demonstrate the skills required in visual, written and oral communications, I believe the greatest talent I offer is my creativity6, which allows me to “think outside the circle.” Accordingly, I would suggest we arrange a virtual meeting to discuss how we could work together to further the admirable goal of supporting girls in the exploration of their quantum existence.