About Us

Jennifer is an accomplished leader in Canadian business, government, and public affairs. She is renowned as an expert in this field, often being called upon by national media for commentary. Additionally, Jennifer has twice been named one of the “Top 25 People in the Capital” by Ottawa Life Magazine, one of Ottawa’s “Top Forty Under Forty” by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, and was a finalist for Ottawa’s “Established Female Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Jennifer has actively taken on many business and community affairs roles, including President & CEO of the Canadian Energy Marketers Association (CEMA), Chair of the Board of the Canadian Transportation Alliance, Co-Host and Co-Founder of The Honest Talk podcast, Chair of the Village of Carp Business Improvement Association (City of Ottawa), Board Member of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees for The Women in Technology Scholarship of Willis College, and Member of the Leadership Council of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

A communications and media relations professional with a long history in the TV and online news industry, Jennifer has a Bachelor of Journalism with combined Honours in Sociology from Carleton University. Over nearly 15 years in TV news, Jennifer worked as a reporter, videographer, and producer locally, and later as the Executive Producer of The West Block with Tom Clark on Global News.

During the years, Jennifer has gained a great understanding of the media maze and possesses a keen ability to spot and solve problems during a crisis. She also knows how to tell a story with impact. Jennifer uses these skills to help clients effectively shape and communicate their narratives. Jennifer provides strategic communications advice, crisis communications and media relations support, as well as media training for a list of clients including Crown corporations, national associations, and non-governmental organizations.

Jake is a public affairs strategist with 13 years of government and public relations experience. Previously working in the fast-paced, highly visible setting of Parliament Hill, Jake has a proven track record of success managing communications for large organizations that earn significant media attention and has held senior roles advising cabinet ministers and corporate leaders. Jake’s areas of specialization include strategic communications, media relations, crisis communications, government relations, and ghostwriting.

Jake continues to be actively involved in federal politics and previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the former Leader of the Official Opposition, Erin O’Toole. Jake also worked as a senior advisor and media spokesperson for former Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose, and the former Minister of Industry James Moore. He has been consistently recognized by the Hill Times as one of the top political staffers in federal politics and is often asked to contribute political commentary for national media outlets.

Catherine Clark is a nationally respected broadcaster, emcee, and co-founder of The Honest Talk, a popular podcast featuring frank discussions with notable women, sponsored by RBC, as well as Host of The Company We Keep, a new podcast which looks at Canadian history through the eyes of the spouses, partners, children, and advisors of the political leaders who shaped our country.

Catherine is also the President of Catherine Clark Communications and Special Advisor to Syntax Strategic, providing communications counsel to individuals and corporations. Deeply committed to community service, Catherine writes the Giving Back column for Ottawa at Home Magazine, sits on the Board of Governors of The Ottawa Hospital and the Board of Directors of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.

Dr. Katharine Smart is an experienced medical leader and advocate who constantly challenges the status quo in medicine. A pediatrician in Canada’s north, her work focuses on innovative and collaborative partnerships between community and government to serve marginalized children in rural and remote areas. An outspoken advocate against misinformation, Dr. Smart regularly uses her voice to bring evidence and facts to the forefront of health communication.

Dr. Smart is the past president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), where in 2021 she became the 10th woman to serve in the organization’s 155-year history. A fierce and authentic leader, she has become a recognized and respected medical voice in Canada. Dr. Smart has been recognized as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, with the Medical Post’s Changemaker Media Engagement Award and the Waterfalls Global Award. In recognition of her advocacy for primary care and family medicine, she received an honourary membership from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She has held many leadership positions including president of the Yukon Medical Association and sits on the board of Ronald McDonald House charities.

Dr. Smart is a passionate communicator and sought-after media expert, keynote speaker, panelist, and podcast guest. She is the host of SPARK: Conversations by Children’s Healthcare Canada.

Originally from Québec City, Geneviève is a seasoned, fully bilingual communications professional with experience working in some of the country’s leading industry associations and private sector organizations in senior strategic, marketing, and sales roles. She has taught at Collège La Cité and some of her marketing projects have earned national and international IABC awards. She has a broad level of involvement at the governance level. Geneviève devotes a lot of her time as a director on several boards and is very involved in her community.

Devon manages financial strategy, budget, and forecasting while enhancing business processes to foster growth and profitability at Syntax Strategic. Her background in psychology adds a unique twist to Devon’s role as Finance VP. With her insights into human behaviour, she is adept at fostering teamwork and understanding the dynamics within the company. In addition, Devon’s empathetic nature proves invaluable in handling challenging negotiations or resolving conflicts, ensuring seamless operations at Syntax.

A fundraising and business development leader with a passion for strategic communications, Jonelle brings to Syntax a 20-year track record of creating key messages and fundraising campaigns that resonate with various audiences.

Over the course of her career, Jonelle has worked in federal politics, business development, communications, and philanthropy. Most recently, she has played leadership roles at the BGC Ottawa (formerly Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa), Canadian Dermatology Association, Canadian Nurses Foundation, and Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, where she spearheaded a successful $30-million campaign. Jonelle has a degree in Political Science with a specialization in Non-Profit Studies from the University of Waterloo.

With a focus on brand and strategy and a background in design, Liane is passionate about storytelling and communicating. At Syntax, she is responsible for developing and executing effective marketing campaigns, events, and conferences.

A creative thinker and effective marketing and communications expert, Liane has over 15 years of experience in brand marketing roles. She has worked with several national brands creating local and national marketing campaigns and partnership plans from concept to execution. Liane spent 11 seasons working for the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. In addition to her marketing and partnership experience, she has managed several marquee events for the NHL and Ottawa Senators including the Stanley Cup Finals, NHL All Star Game, Heritage Classic, and the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.

Dana is a marketing and communications professional with over 20 years of experience developing and executing unique marketing campaigns and events. She is a passionate and creative marketing strategist who has worked alongside some of the most successful and recognizable brands. Dana has extensive experience in strategic event planning and execution, with a creative vision for capturing audiences. She is a results-driven team player committed to delivering high-quality work.

Prior to joining Team Syntax, Dana worked at the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club where she was the Manager of Brand Integration. There, she developed and executed strategic marketing initiatives and led numerous customer acquisition and customer experience initiatives.

Tavis Nembhard is a passionate expert in digital marketing, communications, and public affairs, with experience in sectors spanning across government, politics, and the mining industry. Most recently, Tavis led digital and communications strategies for Alamos Gold Inc., one of Canada’s prominent intermediate gold producers. Through his time in this role, he successfully expanded the company’s social media presence and engaged key investor and stakeholder audiences.

Tavis has an experienced background, including a previous consulting role where he developed digital marketing campaigns to influence policy changes nationwide. In 2018, Tavis directed digital communications for the Premier of Ontario. He implemented enterprise-level strategy across the Ontario government, launched impactful campaigns, and significantly increased the Premier’s social media reach. Tavis is recognized for his expertise in managing large-scale advertising budgets and developing strategies for search engine marketing (SEM) and social media platforms that drive high-impact results.

Mackenzie brings to the Syntax team over six years of experience in creating communication strategies, developing marketing plans, managing events, and creating lasting partnerships. She has worked with various clients, locally and nationally, within the health, recreation, non-profit, tourism, and entertainment industries. With a keen eye for details, Mackenzie thinks about the big picture and identifies processes to execute any project with maximum effectiveness.

A graduate of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, Mackenzie holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication, Public Relations and two minors in Marketing and Advertising. She completed her education as a scholar athlete and received the Beverly Huschka Communication Leadership award as a junior.

Megan is a marketing and communications specialist with a background in journalism and brand management. For nearly 15 years she worked in newsrooms across the country, most recently as a reporter and TV news anchor in Ottawa. Throughout her career, Megan has covered everything from breaking news to current events and politics.

She specializes in media relations, promotions, content creation, and brand strategies. Megan holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University, as well as an honours BA from the University of Windsor in English & Communication, Media, Film Studies (CMF). She also attended the Broadcast Journalism program at Seneca College. Megan speaks English and French.

For more than a decade, Kate has worked as a journalist and communications specialist in both the public and private sectors. Now, she brings her passion for storytelling, communication expertise, and experience in relationship management to consistently deliver compelling stories, products, and guidance to Syntax clients. Before joining the Syntax team, Kate was a producer at CBC’s The Current — one of the most listened-to radio programs in Canada — where she dove into complex issues and conflicts, delivering segments on stories of national and international significance.

Over her six years at CBC, Kate worked across national current affairs radio and local news, leading the production of a two-time award-winning digital interactive news feature. She also spent two years at Canada’s Department of National Defence, specializing in external and internal communications.

Kate holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Ottawa.

Kayla is an experienced and skilled senior digital media strategist who has worked on a variety of multimedia projects ranging from corporate branding and custom illustrations to social media content, print advertisements, and more. In the past 13 years, Kayla has gained a wide range of experience working with many different industries and has done work for hundreds of clients in the petroleum, health, not-for-profit, and travel sectors, and more.

With five years’ experience in print, she is very knowledgeable about how to see a project to the end. She also brings hand-drawn illustration, photography, and animation skills to the table. In addition to creating logos and signage for Whitewater Region and the Village of Carp, Kayla has worked collaboratively on design for Inspiring Healthy Futures, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, and many others.

Justin, a multimedia and web design expert, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the Philippines. After swiftly transitioning into web design post-diploma, he honed his skills for five years before pursuing a diploma in Interactive Media Design in Canada.

Justin’s versatile skill set encompasses graphic, motion, and web design, evident in his significant contributions to an immigration firm where he managed social media presence and crafted marketing materials. His dedication to quality is evident in his successful track record across diverse projects and platforms.

A curious and methodical graphic designer, Erin is skilled at bringing both digital and print publications to life. She holds a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University, where she developed and ran a publications-focused workshop and worked as a teaching assistant in the Faculty of Design. With a creative background in the arts and extensive experience in customer service and freelance graphic design, Erin has an intuitive sense of how to articulate clients’ ideas in visually impactful ways.

Erin has worked collaboratively with clients to create a wide range of printed communications materials from menus, wayfinding, and other signage to business cards, brochures, and event posters, as well as digital multimedia projects from presentation decks to stunning proposals. Her commitment to building practical skills that facilitate accessible and sustainable design informs every project she undertakes.

A graphic design professional with 20 years of experience managing full-scale print and digital projects from their creative stages to completion, Stacey prides herself on providing clean, polished, cohesive work and meeting tight timelines in a kind and courteous manner.

Stacey is a graduate of the Graphic Design & Communications program at George Brown College and a recent graduate of video motion graphics through the accredited School of Motion. Over the past two decades, she has worked as an independent contractor for clients in retail, food and beverage, internal corporate communications, print and digital advertising, and branding.

Paula applies her keen eye and broad knowledge of the English language to developmental edits and proofreading for a wide variety of print and digital products such as reports, websites, presentations, and social media copy. She also provides background research for a number of Syntax projects.

A writer, editor, and researcher with extensive experience, Paula honed her skills through seven years as a copy editor for an award-winning community newspaper and spent more than two decades as an independent contractor for clients in print media, business, government, academia, the non-profit sector, and the arts.

A digital marketing professional with more than eight years of experience with national and international organizations in the public and private sectors, Farhana specializes in digital branding, advertising, content development, and copywriting. For several years, she has applied her expert knowledge of Google Ads, keyword research, social media ad targeting, and search engine optimization to achieve exceptional results for Syntax clients. Farhana is also an expert in developing digital strategies, monitoring campaigns, optimizing performance, and analyzing data. Prior to joining Syntax, Farhana worked for two leading telecom companies in Bangladesh that serve over five million customers as Loyalty and Partnership Manager and Brand Specialist. There, she successfully developed brand strategies and launched multiple 360-degree customer-centric campaigns.

Farhana has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with specialization in Marketing from North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She also has a postgraduate degree in Marketing Management and Digital Communication Management from Fanshawe College, London, ON

With a decade of dedicated service in accounts receivable, Jamie brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role at Syntax. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a passion for financial analysis, problem-solving, and leveraging technology to streamline processes. She also uses her excellent interpersonal skills to build strong relationships with clients, vendors, and team members.

Jamie’s adeptness at data management and insightful reporting is central to her approach, enabling her to uncover valuable insights and drive informed decision-making. The Syntax team appreciates her meticulous attention to detail, collaborative approach, and commitment to excellence in support of the firm’s financial and operational objectives.