DOING WELL COMES FROM
DOING GOOD.
We impart the timeless power of storytelling
In a literal sense, the apostrophe can bring two words together.
For founder Marsha D’Angelo, this small-yet-impactful symbol is deeply meaningful, paying homage to both her lifelong love of writing and her family name.
And so, Apostrophe was born. Driven by an internal mandate to communicate for good, Apostrophe honours Marsha’s magnetic pull towards the written word and her unshakable belief that safe spaces built on kindness, accessibility, inclusivity and understanding have the power to create positive and lasting change.
Meet The People Behind Apostrophe
Marsha D’Angelo
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Marsha D’Angelo is passionate about helping clients tell their stories, and building inclusive, accessible and strategic programs of communications. With 18+ years of experience, she’s worked for top communications agencies in Canada and the U.K. In partnership with consultancy teams, she’s designed and directed research projects, training workshops, international media campaigns, and communications plans for organizations in technology, government, education, non-profit and finance.
As a university lecturer, she’s won Canadian and international awards for her engaging and impactful instruction of communications, public relations and business presentations. She’s also the former Associate Dean for Kwantlen University's School of Business, a published writer, and an accomplished facilitator and speaker.
Marsha received UNICEF’s Dorothy McKinnon Award for her communications and PR work. She is a former Board Director at The Children’s Foundation and, most recently, served as the Director of Mentorship for the Canadian Public Relations Society. She holds a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto.
Robin Cook Bondy
SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
A passionate educator and professional communications consultant, Robin facilitates learning in public relations and applied communications courses within the School of Business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
She has over 20 years of communications experience over the agency environment, including Nature's Path, Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, BC Lottery Corporation, Coast Capital Savings and Starbucks Coffee.
As an accredited public relations professional (APR), Robin has demonstrated the skills, experience and strategic thinking necessary to practice public relations at the highest level of competence and ethics. Robin holds a Bachelor of Professional Communication from Royal Roads University and a Master of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University. She also completed the provincial instructor diploma, specializing in adult education.
Robin has a passion for communication, education, and having fun! She is an avid volunteer with her local soccer association. She is the director of accreditation with the Vancouver branch of the Canadian Public Relations Society and a member of the national Board of Education Committee for the Canadian Public Relations Societies.
Catherine Mazurenko
SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
Catherine has over 10 years of experience in strategic communications and public relations across a variety of industries, including agencies, local government, and international corporations. She graduated from Thompson Rivers University with a Bachelor of Journalism, Communications, and New Media and a focus in Public Relations.
Catherine also has experience instructing public relations at the School of Business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
She believes in using communications for the greater good and prides herself on her ability to make deep-rooted connections while creating strategic and engaging work. When she isn’t working, you can likely find her catching up on all things pop culture or training for her next triathlon.
Robyn Stubbs
CONTENT STRATEGIST & COPYWRITER
Robyn Stubbs is an award-winning former-journalist with a passion for social issues and environmental stewardship. Her experience as a reporter-turned-copy-editor at a Vancouver daily newspaper fine-tuned her natural instinct for humanistic story-telling. Today, Robyn is a trained conversion copywriter who uses analytics, in-depth market research, voice-of-customer data, UX/UI design considerations and current studies in human decision-making behaviour to drive copy creation for forward-thinking companies.
Robyn graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature with a minor in psychology. She earned her Certificate in Journalism at Langara College.
Dedicated to using her writing and communication skills for good, she delivers clean, on-brand personality-driven content and copywriting to engage, delight and motivate consumers to take action. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Plain Language Studies at Simon Fraser University. When she’s not writing, she’s reading historical non-fiction, listening to podcast or serving as a bonafide taxi driver for her two kids
Lisa Cowell
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Lisa Cowell works as a Communications Consultant with a focus on helping non-profits to define their vision, build their brand recognition, and explore new ways to deliver quality programs and services. Lisa worked in fundraising and communications in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years. She joined the team at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice in 2000 and has worked with several organizations in the healthcare and social service sectors.
Most recently, Lisa was the Manager of Fund and Community Development for Aspire Richmond (formerly Richmond Society for Community Living). In this role, Lisa was responsible for fundraising revenue for program development and capital projects. She also managed Aspire’s awareness initiative to expand the organization’s profile in the community to promote a vision of supporting individuals - and their families - to lead thriving, connected, happy lives.
An active member of the Richmond community, Lisa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Lisa lives in Steveston with her husband and two children.
Lindsay Wood
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Lindsay Wood brings more than 15 years of experience in career education, coaching, and facilitating to the Apostrophe team. She helps individuals discover their potential, communicate their value, and become successful business professionals. Her passion stems from a genuine interest in leadership, education, and making meaningful connections between people. She is approachable and enters a learning environment with curiosity and compassion. Having empathy for learners ensures that individuals who enter her classroom or workshop feel respected, included, and understood.
She respects that people learn and engage with material in an individual manner and consistently strives to adapt her teaching style and delivery to meet their needs. As a Business Instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), Lindsay also sits on the Board of the Association of Co-operative Education and Work-integrated Learning (ACE-WIL BC) where she engages in research and scholarship in emotional intelligence and is a champion for equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
Lindsay has completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia and has a Masters of Arts degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University.
Akanksha Thakur
CONSULTANT & FACILITATOR
Akanksha Thakur (she/her) is an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) educator and consultant who embodies the spirit of a life-long learner. She earned an MEd. in Equity Studies and is a trained facilitator, consultant and educator, specializing in social justice, equity, inclusion and transformative change.
Akanksha immigrated from Mumbai, India and resides on unceded Indigenous territories of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nations lands in BC. It is her education, combined with her lived experiences as an immigrant settler, able-bodied, woman of colour that fuels her passion for issues surrounding anti-racism, equity, reconciliation, accessibility and inclusion.
In her past role as EDI Program Coordinator, she led a provincial project developing an EDI Resource Hub for post-secondary institutions across BC. She has also worked with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to offer workshops on anti-racism and intercultural communication to practitioners and businesses across Canada. At present, Akanksha works as the EDI Program Manager at TransLink where she is leading Accessibility focussed strategic planning and policy work. In every role, she applies intersectional, decolonizing, and anti-oppressive approaches to embed EDI content, frameworks, and practices within institutions.
Maria Marcakis
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Maria comes to Apostrophe as an associate with a Bachelor's Degree in Policy Studies. Following an intriguing squiggly-line career, she has worked in People and Culture since 2015. Maria is a passionate communicator interested in data-driven decisions.
Communications for Good resonates with Maria, as an advocate for social justice issues, mixed with a love of clear concise communication backed by data, there is a lot of good that can be done when we listen to what's being said.
When she's not freelancing, you can find her making miniatures, watching tv series and tending to her indoor plants. She lives in Vancouver with her two young children and husband.
Laura Abbott, Laura Abbott Consulting
CONSULTANT & FACILITATOR PARTNER
Guided by her core values of equity, collaboration, trust and impact, Laura helps teams and organisations achieve their strategic objectives and build stronger relationships with their key audiences. She has extensive experience delivering clever and considered communications and engagement strategies.
Laura has had the privilege of partnering with diverse public and private sector organisations and Indigenous communities to plan and implement strategic and effective communications and engagement programs. She has more than a decade of industry experience in a variety of consulting and in-house roles.
