In her first official speech as the new Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities at the Annual ACPA Conference, which took place in Hamilton recently, Wendy Zatylny outlined her top priorities for the Association.
Membership engagement topped the list, to ensure that ACPA reflects the views of its port members about opportunities and challenges. Her second priority will be working with members to communicate effectively to the government and the Canadian population at large about the economic impact of the ports through the continuous significant investments in port facilities which benefit communities through the sustenance and creation of numerous direct and indirect jobs. The third priority will be to focus on ensuring ACPA delivers strong value to its members.
Ms. Zatylny and ACPA members are faced with some necessary changes to their Association, from a new governance structure to developing a strategic plan to guide it during the next five years.
Transport Canada is seeking stakeholder input as part of its marine policy review, which is presently underway, and Zatylny pointed out this provides ACPA with an excellent opportunity to articulate and present the shared vision of member Ports possibly through a white paper on Port Authorities’ policy issues and recommendations.
Wendy Zatylny is a seasoned bilingual communications professional with over 25 years of experience in all forms of communication. She ran her own communications firm for over 15 years serving clients in the federal government, and for the past seven years ran various departments at Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D), the industry association representing brand-name pharmaceutical companies.