About Us

Executive Director and CPRS Relationship/Governance

Sara Rafuse, Guelph, ON

Chair

Michelle James, MA, APR, Regina, SK

As a Communications Consultant - Digital Strategist for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Michelle is responsible for the digital strategy including the website, social media and its intranet. Michelle is also the Secretary for the National Board of CPRS. While not a native of Regina, she considers it her home base.

Michelle holds a Master's in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University and has earned her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). Her research and professional interests include social media, social and digital identity, stakeholder relations and communications in a digital space. She also has Bachelor of Arts in English, Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and a Certificate in Public Relations.

Vice-Chair

Johanna Ward, MA, APR, Vancouver, BC

Johanna Ward, MA, APR is a Senior Communications Strategist with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives. Her role includes media relations, issues management and providing strategic counsel to senior leadership. Prior to joining the College, she worked as a journalist, copy editor and PR strategist. Through her career, she's provided thought leadership and powerful storytelling for clients in a broad range of industries.

Johanna earned a Master's in Professional Communication from Royal Roads in 2017, and received her APR in 2020. She is a big believer in the value of a strong professional association and of the value in giving back. A Past President of CPRS Vancouver, Johanna has served as a CPRS National awards judge, jury coordinator and mentor. She currently sits on the CRPS National Programming Committee and Nominating Committee, chaired the advisory committee for the 2021 CRPS National conference, and co-chaired the Local Advisory Committee for the 2023 National CPRS Conference, ELEVATE. She joined the CPRS Foundation board in 2023 as vice-Chair.

Secretary

Stephanie Fung, Winnipeg, MB

Stephanie Fung Stephanie Fun is a senior public relations and communications practitioner.

She advises executives on issues and reputation management as well as how to use PR and marketing to build strong brands. Her clients look to her to develop communication initiatives and strategies that resonate across North America in a wide range of industries. She’s aided and taken lead in public relations strategy development, media training, events management and online marketing initiatives for multiple local and national organizations, including Dynacare, Efficiency Manitoba, Travel Manitoba, Assiniboine Park Conservancy and others.

Treasurer

Rae-Flavien, CPA, Toronto, ON

Rae-Ann Flavien is a graduate of Brock University, holds an honours Bachelor of Accounting (Co-op) degree, a Master of Accountancy degree and is a qualified Chartered Professional Accountant. Rae-Ann has over 5 years of public accounting experience, providing quality auditing, accounting and tax services to a wide range of clients in various industries. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and is an avid wine connoisseur.

Board of Directors

Molly Cormier, MPR, Moncton, NB

Molly Cormier is a former journalist, former civil servant, and current Director of Brand and Communications for Atlantic Lottery Corporation, a publicly owned gaming and entertainment company that contributes 100 per cent of profits back to Atlantic Canadian communities each year. She currently serves as a member of the CPRS Atlantic Council.

Molly holds a Masters of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University. Her research specialties focus on corporate reputation theory and reimagining capitalism by building social purpose-driven brands. She believes in using marketing and communications as a tool to tell stories about social purpose, and in 2019 she won a Gold Quill Award for Marketing, Advertising and Brand Communication from the International Association of Business Communicators for a PR campaign called Atlantic Canadian Holiday Memories.

Board of Directors

Lori Maclean, Greater Halifax Area, NS

Lori MacLean is a specialist in strategic communications encompassing project management, stakeholder engagement, community relations and media relations. She has more than 30 years experience in public affairs and the media, with her public affairs roles spanning the public and private sectors.

Her roots are in journalism and as a journalist, she worked at news organizations including The Kingston Whig-Standard and The Ottawa Citizen before turning her attention to public affairs with roles at the Nova Scotia Department of Health and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, and in the energy industry where she has led communications for Encana Corporation's Deep Panuke development offshore Nova Scotia, Sempra Atlantic Gas and AltaGas.

Board of Directors

Wayne Knorr, APR, Fredericton, NB

Wayne Knorr, APR, retired as Communications Manager for the City of Fredericton in December 2023. With over 30 years experience in the fields of tourism and communications, he is now providing support to several clients as the Principal Consultant with Knorr Communications.

In addition to volunteering with local church and community activities, he is a National Board Member of the CPRS Foundation and a member of the CPRS National Governance Committee. He is a Past President of the Canadian Public Relations Society (2020-21).

Accredited in Public Relations, he has an Honours degree in English from St. Thomas University and a Certificate in Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick. A proud husband, father, and grandfather, he is finding some time to travel now that he is retired.

Board of Directors

Rashpal Rai, APR, Vancouver, BC

Rashpal Rai, APR, is an accredited public relations professional with 24 years of experience in strategic internal and external communications planning, stakeholder relations and issues management. Over the course of his career, he has provided guidance and counsel to senior leadership teams and various departments and business areas on sound communications approaches and best practices in managing various issues and change initiatives.

Rashpal is likely the first turbaned Sikh to practice public relations in Canada (1999) and to serve on the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) Board at both the local and national levels. He has a long history of service with CPRS. He currently leads the CPRS National Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and is a member of the Board of Directors for CPRS Vancouver, the CPRS National Society and the CPRS Foundation.

Board of Directors

Richard Tea, Montreal, QC

Richard Tea is a highly experienced professional with over 20 years of experience in data & analytics, marketing, management consulting, and IT. He currently leads the analytics and marketing performance team at BD, where he develops and deploys marketing & communication measurement programs and partners with technology teams to evolve data & analytics capabilities. He has a proven track record of delivering results for demanding clients in various industries and is recognized as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to senior executives. With a wealth of experience in the financial services industry, he has helped established players innovate and create value. He is also a public speaker and has presented at events in Canada and the United States on these topics. Richard holds an MBA from HEC Montréal, where he focused on finance and corporate social responsibility.

Board of Directors

Fionn Yaxley, Victoria, BC

Fionn Yaxley has over 15 years of experience working in the communication field with most of it focused on working for non-profits. She fell in love with wordsmithing early and charted an educational path into the field of marketing and communications. Fion received her bachelor's degree from the University of Victoria and completed her Master of Arts in Professional Communication at Royal Roads. Writing and a strong interest in advocating for non-profits have taken precedent in her career choices. Always keen to learn, project management, business administration, sustainability management, leadership, and event planning were added to her educational achievements. Wholly committed to championing causes she believes in, Fionn has spent her career finding innovative ways to share information with the support of her interests in photography, film, design, writing, and social media. Fionn has served on multiple boards including DACHI Co-op, VIDEA, and Cinevic.