Alayna Ward, Owner & Lead Consultant
Alayna has worked with clients across Canada, helping them to tell their stories and increase trust, secure millions in housing and infrastructure funding, and open up economic opportunities for communities.
With a communications career starting in health care, Alayna also worked in the non-profit and corporate world before moving to a government role. Here, she quickly advanced to manage the communications function of one of the largest departments in the Government of the Northwest Territories, spearheading communications campaigns, handling crisis and writing speeches for the departmental Minister and Premier. She then became the Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Minister, providing insight on risk and policy recommendations to inform decision making.
Alayna combined her love of policy, communications and community economic development and branched out to open Award Communications in 2015. Since that time, Award Communications has worked with various Indigenous and local governments, non-profits and organizations by providing communications, fundraising and policy expertise and focuses on those that bring economic benefits, improvements and opportunities to local people and communities. She now splits her time between the Northwest Territories and Ontario.
Previous volunteer board roles include: Vice President of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce; Vice-Chair, Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation; YWCA NWT; and International Association of Business Communicators Polar Chapter. She also volunteered as the Communications Director to the Honourable Caroline Wawzonek during her 2019 election campaign and provided communications support to Mayor Rebecca Alty during the City of Yellowknife 2018 Mayoral Campaign.
Education: BA, Saint Thomas University and advanced Public Relations diploma from MacEwan University, with various other certificates and training in speech writing, facilitation and community leadership.
Awards & Recognition
- Breakout New Business of the Year Award, Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce (2015)
- Deputy Minister's Recognition Award, Government of the Northwest Territories for planning and media management of Energy and Mines Conference (2013) and public awareness campaign on water safety (2014)
- Young Woman of Vision Award, Global Edmonton, awarded for commitment to raising the profile of organizations through the use of effective, positive public relations (2007)
Contact Alayna at alayna@awardcommunications.ca.
