Emily Carr University of Art + Design is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexandra Korinowsky as Executive Director, Communications, Marketing + Public Affairs.

Reporting to ECU’s President, the Executive Director, Communications, Marketing + Public Affairs, is responsible for the university’s overall communications strategy including public relations, internal communications, issues management, strategic marketing, brand and reputation management, government relations and community engagement. Alex’s appointment comes after a robust national search and competition process led by PFM Executive Search.

“Alex brings her grit, integrity and wide-ranging experience to this role at a crucial moment for the university,” says Trish Kelly, ECU’s Interim President + Vice-Chancellor. “This community is busy reshaping the way art and design education is understood across the country and beyond. Alex, with her deep roots in the public sector and the arts, has the expertise and vision to support that extraordinary work, and help us share it with — and remain accountable to — our students, faculty and staff,, neighbours, external partners and broader communities, wherever they might be. We are incredibly lucky to have her.”

Alex takes on the executive directorship after serving as Interim Executive Director, Communications, Marketing + Public Affairs, and as Communications Manager, both at ECU.

“Joining the team at ECU has, in many ways, felt full circle for me, having focused my early education and career on the arts and then branching out to multiple sectors that provided amazing learning experiences, to now return to my first love at one of Canada’s foremost arts institutions,” Alex says. “I’m both proud and humbled to accept this challenge and opportunity. Reflecting on the last year – which has been a whirlwind of change – I realize that what’s pushed me forward are the incredible, passionate people who make ECU great, along with a determined desire to contribute to this exceptional community brimming with optimism and opportunity.”

Alex is a seasoned communications professional, bringing extensive experience in communications, public affairs, and event and project management to the position. She has worked in diverse sectors including cultural, government, non-profit and healthcare.

She is recognized for her empathetic, inclusive leadership style. In the year that she has been with ECU, her influence has renewed the Communications + Marketing team’s professional dynamic, expanded their range and ability, and emphasized operating under the values of respect, trust and collaboration.

An accomplished wordsmith, Alex has worked as a speechwriter for John Horgan, former Premier of British Columbia, Carole James, former Minister of Finance, and has ghostwritten for high profile CEOs and political leaders throughout her career. Among the many skills she brings to ECU, Alex specializes in crisis, issues and reputation management, and narrative storytelling.

Alex has worked as Senior Public Affairs Officer in the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions where she managed complex communications for BC’s drug toxicity public health emergency; as Senior Public Affairs Officer in the Ministry of Finance where she led communications for BC Budget 2019; as Senior Communications Officer, Writing & Content Strategy where she wrote strategic communications content for the Premier of British Columbia; and as Manager, Priority Projects & Policy, in British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure where she project managed large-scale public transportation initiatives in partnership with TransLink.

Prior to joining the public service, Alex dedicated several years to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind where she advocated for disability rights through various positions, including Communications Manager in both Ontario and BC, and as Manager of Internal Communications where she spearheaded the organization’s first cohesive internal communications strategy on a national level.

In the early stages of her career, she worked as Corporate Events & Internal Communications Advisor with Cancer Care Ontario; as Campaign Coordinator, Development, with the Toronto International Film Festival; as Development Coordinator with the Canadian Cancer Society; and as Executive Assistant to Richard Bradshaw, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company.

Alex holds a bachelor’s degree in cultural studies and art history from McGill University, and a post-graduate certificate in corporate communications and public relations from Toronto’s Centennial College. She has aspirations to pursue a masters degree as part of her commitment to lifelong learning.

During the year Alex has served at ECU, she has worked on numerous organizational priorities including strengthening ECU’s government relations practices, improving budget communications, supporting strategic planning and collective bargaining, and, primarily, seeing the Communications + Marketing department through a challenging period of change and transition.

Alex begins her appointment immediately as she looks to deepen the work she has begun while serving in the interim role, in addition to filling critical vacancies in the Communications + Marketing department to bring the team back up to operating at full capacity in the coming months.