About

DJ is a civic and arts advocate and a marketing and communications professional in Calgary, Alberta.

DJ volunteers with many civic-development-focused organizations. He is the President of the Winston Heights/Mountview Community Association and an active member of both CivicCamp and Reboot Alberta. With Calgary Economic Development, DJ previously sat on the now defunct Quebec City Sister City Committee and the Houston Bi-Lateral Agreement Committee.

As a civic advocate, DJ is a respected blogger and Twitterer who discusses Calgary and Alberta-based political issues with a keen eye toward creating greater understanding and breaking down traditional barriers encountered by the public in this arena.

DJ is also heavily involved in the local arts scene. He is a director of the Calgary Professional Arts Alliance, where he is also chair of the communications committee. DJ sat on the board of the Betty Mitchell Awards, Calgary’s professional theatre awards, for six years – including three as chair and one as past chair.

In DJ’s work as a marketing and communications professional, he has worked for many local arts groups including Lunchbox Theatre and Theatre Junction GRAND (both of which he was brought in to oversee the re-development of the company’s brand as they built brand new theatres in downtown Calgary), as well as GlobalFest and Alberta Theatre Projects. DJ has also done marketing and communications work for the University of Calgary and taught business communications at SAIT – both part-time and full-time.

In DJ’s spare time he has an Alberta-wide column on CBC Radio One’s Wildrose, where he talks about technology advancements and how they can be used to make the average Albertan’s life better. He also sits on the Advisory Committee for PechaKucha Night Calgary, which is presented by Calgary Arts Development. Previously, DJ was an online contributor to the Calgary Herald as well.

DJ has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Calgary and is part of the Leadership Calgary class of 2010. He is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators, and in 2009 he was named one of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40.