2013 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS
Outstanding Alumni Award
Outstanding Alumni Award
Liz Hannah
Mark Seland, APR
In a communications career spanning more than 30 years, Liz Hannah has established herself as a role model and mentor who leads by example.
An accomplished communications practitioner, Mark Seland’s strategic leadership and crisis management skills have established Canadian Pacific (CP) as a leader in community relations and conflict resolution.
Professional Achievement
Journalism Diploma Program, 1980
After graduating from Mount Royal, Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree in Communications from the University of Calgary. She has been leading internal and external communications for Cenovus Energy since it began independent operations in 2009. As Vice-President, Communications, Hannah is responsible for establishing and building Cenovus’s brand and reputation among industry, employees, the general public and other constituents. In 2011, Alberta Venture magazine recognized Hannah as one of its 50 Most Influential People and highlighted the success of Cenovus’s innovative More than Fuel campaign. Other accolades include a Hermes Creative Award (Platinum) for the company’s annual reports and Best in Class in the Oilweek ATB Financial Annual Report Awards. Hannah’s connection to Mount Royal has remained strong. In the 1990s, she developed the curriculum for and taught the first Advanced Writing course in the Bachelor of Applied Communications — Public Relations program. She visits Mount Royal as a guest speaker and welcomes numerous students to Cenovus through Mount Royal’s work term program. As part of her commitment to education, Hannah has also taught at SAIT and in the City’s Continuing Education Management program. She is an active volunteer with her children’s schools and activities as well as non-profit organizations including the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Flowers for Hope.
Professional Achievement
Public Relations Diploma, 1990
Prior to joining CP in 1998, Seland built a progressive career in strategic communications planning, issues management and labour communications, working for PWA Corporation/ Canadian Airlines International, Foothills Provincial General Hospital, the Calgary Regional Health Authority, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Department of Health, and FWJ Advertising. Today, Seland is CP’s executive communications lead, overseeing all aspects of corporate communications including international community and media relations as well as issues management. Seland believes in giving back and volunteers as a guest lecturer at Mount Royal and the University of Calgary on strategic communications. He has also served on the boards of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Canadian Public Relations Society, Canadian Health Care Public Relations Association, Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, and STARS Air Ambulance. He has received two CPR President’s Awards for Leadership and Rail Safety Act Review (2007); a Canadian Recording Industry Association — Gold Record (2008) for the CP Holiday Train CD; numerous communications industry accolades and, most recently, an Emmy Award for Rocky Mountain Express, a documentary tracing the original route of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
View videos featuring each of the 2013 Legacy Award winners @ mtroyal.ca/legacyawards
summit – FALL 2013
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