Communications Faculty

Kimberley Alcock

BA (British Columbia), Teaching English as a Second Language Diploma (VCC), MFA Creative Writing (Guelph)

Workplace Writing

Email: alcockk@douglascollege.ca

Kimberley Alcock is an award-winning writer and editor who worked in publishing for several years before turning to teaching. She taught ESL for nearly 20 years before teaching business and workplace communication, and draws from her experience as a small business owner and public relations expert. She is an advocate of plain language principles in the workplace and her research interests include the art and craft of the sentence.

Peter Clayton

BA (Honours), MA

Business Communication

Email: claytonp@douglascollege.ca

Peter Clayton has taught a variety of business and media communication courses in the public and private sector. His research interests include educational technology as well as the social and political implications of mediated culture. He favours plain language, particularly as it relates to social, cultural, and communication theory.

Ivana Gotovac

Sophia Han

BA (Concordia), MA Communication (Simon Fraser), MA Journalism (Communication University of China), PhD cand. (Simon Fraser)

Email: hans19@douglascollege.ca

A digital communication specialist with global experience in outreach and program development, Sophia Han has worked with research institutes, public universities, Crown and private corporations in the areas of education, science communication, and arts for social change. She comes from a multidisciplinary background in media production and publishing, beginning her career as a storyboard artist with the National Film Board after graduating from Concordia University in Montreal. In 2018, she completed dual MA degrees at SFU and the Communication University of China in Beijing. Now a PhD candidate in the School of Communication at SFU, she researches the social impact of communication technologies and processes of datafication. Within the SFU Library Research Commons, she teaches workshops and engages in outreach to the university's research community to increase awareness and literacy around the digital humanities. 

Tanya Haye

BA (Honours), Diploma Education (University of the West Indies), Teaching English as a Second Language Diploma (VCC), Cert in International Studies (British Columbia), MEd (English Language Education) (University of the West Indies)

Business, Interpersonal and Speech Communications

Email: hayet@douglascollege.ca

For over 30 years, Tanya Haye has taught academic writing, business writing, and interpersonal and oral communication courses. In her classes, she uses humour, interaction and collaboration to create a comfortable learning environment, which she hopes will facilitate and motivate her students to be active learners and critical thinkers. Tanya has been teaching at Douglas College since 2003. 

Rob Hershorn

Email: hershornr@douglascollege.ca

Ashton Howley

BA, MA, PhD (University of Ottawa)

Written Communication, Rhetoric, Public Speaking

Email: howleya@douglascollege.ca

Ashton Howley has taught at various universities and institutions in Canada and Korea. His publications in The Journal of Modern Literature and with Palgrave Macmillan Press explore issues of gender, psychology, and aesthetics in the works of Norman Mailer, among other American authors. His current teaching promotes the development of workplace writing and public speaking skills for students enrolled in all majors and for those enrolled in selected programs. He has been teaching at Douglas College since 2014.

June Madison

BA (Simon Fraser)

Technical Communication, Writing for the Web

Email: madisonj@douglascollege.ca

June Madison has been teaching and working as a successful web developer, technical writer, systems consultant, and trainer both locally and nationally for the last 15 years. She has run workshops and coordinated projects for Microsoft, Computer Consultants International, Simon Fraser University, and many others. Along with a partner, she launched the first website development and computerized office training program in 1995. The curriculum developed for those programs became the standard for training and is in use in post-secondary institutions today. Additionally, she has published several technical manuals including software manuals and manuals for the production of television dramas and documentary films. Before her career in technology, June wrote feature articles for the North Shore News, North Shore Weekly, Maple Ridge Times, Business in Vancouver, and other publications. In 2021, June completed a certificate in Digital Strategy and Communications Management from the University of Toronto.

Alison McDonald

Holly Munn

BA (Simon Fraser), Certificate Journalism (Langara), Certified Structural and Stylistic Editor (Editors Canada), Certified Copy Editor (Editors Canada), MA cand. (Alberta)

Email: munnh@douglascollege.ca

With over 15 years' experience as a communicator and editor for world-class public, private, and government organizations, Holly Munn believes that the words we use and the stories we can tell can transform our organizations. Holly is a partner in BrandFreek Communications, a Vancouver-based professional communications firm and provides support for publicly traded and privately held companies.

Terry Neiman

SB (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), MS (University of California, Los Angeles), Certificate in Conflict Resolution (Justice Institute of BC), PhD (Simon Fraser)

Communication, culture, and conflict; interpersonal and business communication; negotiation and dialogue

Email: neimant@douglascollege.ca

Terry Neiman worked as a materials scientist in the US aerospace industry before entering the communication field. He has over 20 years of consulting experience, working with communities, organizations, governments, families, and individuals on conflict resolution, harassment and bullying, technical design and problem-solving, negotiated agreements, and public and private policy consultation. His research focuses on the special role of dialogue in everyday life. His teaching is interactive, blending classroom experience with the study of science, technology, culture, and art. 

Maureen Nicholson

BA, MA (Simon Fraser), Certified Professional Copy Editor (Editors Canada), Certified Professional Proofreader (Editors Canada)
Business Communication, Language Studies, Professional Experience

Email: nicholsonm@douglascollege.ca

Maureen Nicholson coordinates the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication. An editor by trade and a former president of the Editors' Association of Canada, Maureen is an elected municipal councillor for Bowen Island. Her current research interests include editing and attention, and local government and communication.

Andrew Osborne

Bachelor of Arts in History (University of Regina), Master of Arts in Intercultural and International Communication (Royal Roads University)

Intercultural Communication 

Email: osbornea@douglascollege.ca 

Andrew Osborne has enjoyed a career in international education abroad and higher education in Canada for over 15 years. After living and working in the Republic of Korea, Andrew completed a Master of Arts in Intercultural and International Communication from Royal Roads University. Andrew has applied his passion for intercultural communication in his roles as an international student advisor, academic advisor, and manager of faculty and graduate student mobility and customized programs at the University of Regina and Simon Fraser University. It is as a facilitator, however, that Andrew most enjoys supporting students through the process of self-exploration and development in the intercultural communication learning environment.

Jamie Rennie

BAH (Queen’s), MA (Simon Fraser), PhD (University of Toronto)

Media Studies, Critical Technology Studies, Pop Culture Studies, Literacy, Political Economy

Email: renniej@douglascollege.ca

Jamie Rennie has been teaching communication courses across Canada since 2006. His background is in film and communication studies, and he completed his PhD in Social Justice Education through the University of Toronto. His research explores internet technology and its educational role in our lives. He shares his own enthusiasm for pop culture and new media with his students, while helping them to develop the skills of critical thinking, scholarly research, and academic writing. He uses various media forms in his classes and encourages students to bring their own cultural and technological experience to the classroom. 

Sam Schechter

Diploma Business Administration (Capilano), MA Professional Communication (Royal Roads)

Workplace Writing, Professional Communication

Email: schechters@douglascollege.ca

Sam Schechter is the Chair of the Communications Department at Douglas College. Following a decade of working primarily in government and politics, Sam Schechter has been teaching in post-secondary education since 2009, including at Vancouver Community College, Royal Roads University, and the University of the Fraser Valley. Sam has taught courses in professional writing, media and public relations, social media, and public speaking. In addition to teaching, Sam also offers private consulting services, mostly focused on public affairs and communications.

Janice Sestan

Roberta Staley

BA (Calgary), Diploma Journalism (Grant MacEwan), MA Liberal Studies (Simon Fraser) 

Writing for Magazines

Email: rstaley@shaw.ca

Roberta Staley is an author, a magazine editor and writer, and a documentary filmmaker who has reported from such places as Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, El Salvador, Haiti, Colombia, Cambodia, South Africa, Israel, and New Zealand. She is the former editor of two national magazines and contributes to Corporate Knights, BC Business, Broadview, the South China Morning Post Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Trek, the Canadian Chemical News, and Sculpture, among others. She is a columnist for Just for Canadian Doctors and Just For Canadian Dentists magazines. Her first book, Voice of Rebellion, a biography of Afghan-Canadian human rights activist Mozhdah Jamalzadah, was released in Fall 2019 by Greystone Books.

Heather Tobe

BGS (Simon Fraser), Teaching Certificate (BC College of Teachers), MA Intercultural Relations (Antioch)

Intercultural Communication, Interpersonal Communication

Email: tobeh@douglascollege.ca

Heather Tobe has taught in higher education for over 25 years. In addition to teaching at Douglas College, her experience includes teacher education at SFU and ESL instruction domestically and overseas. She has traveled and worked in a variety of international settings. She is also a qualified administrator of intercultural sensitivity instruments (idi, GCI, IES). Heather's research areas are international education, intercultural communication, teacher education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her teaching style is very interactive and student-centered.

Hardman, Amanda

Faculty Emerita

BA (honours), Teaching Certificate, MA (British Columbia)

Workplace Writing, Academic Writing

Wegner, Diana 

Faculty Emerita

BA (honours) (Manitoba), MA, PhD (British Columbia) 

Rhetoric, Workplace Writing, Research Writing, Language Studies