“There are no cheap tickets to mastery. In the end, it seems that power has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go.”
Kim Hyshka, Principal
Dialogue Partners owner Kim has been a leader in the field of civic engagement and public participation for over a decade, amassing a list of clients that spans the corporate elite and the highest levels of government. Alongside her team of Associates, each an expert in fields from land use planning to corporate-Aboriginal relations, Kim has made Dialogue Partners an indispensable asset to leaders across North America.
Experienced in both large and small-scale projects, she has has facilitated conversations on topics such as land use, energy, healthcare, government strategy, large-scale budgets, and private sector mergers. She is passionate about building communities’ capacity to participate in meaningful dialogue and finding opportunities for organizations and stakeholders to work together in mutually beneficial decision-making processes. She draws on her education in political science, collaborative conflict resolution and continuous learning as a licensed IAP2 Foundations trainer.
In everything she does, Kim embodies gratitude and excitement. Her aptitude for organization, combined with background in performing arts, enables her to intuitively incorporate structure, process, and flow into the messiness of human differences. From here, she ignites and fosters the beginning of new and beautiful futures.
Our Associates
The Dialogue Partners team can scale to fit your needs. Our freelance associates align with our values and offer as-needed support.
Michelle Deacon - Associate
Michelle is a highly motivated and self-starting communications specialist with diverse experience in project management, stakeholder engagement, facilitation and event management with a passion for engaging others in collaborative, consensus building experiences.
Jao Dantes - Associate
Jao is a planning, engagement, and communications wizard curious about how equity and culture intersect with urban planning and design systems. Jao is passionate about a multitude of things including culture, diversity, inclusive place-making, climate equity and community resilience.
Jaime Calayo - Associate
Jaime Calayo has been a communications practitioner for the past decade building his expertise in visual design, public engagement, community organizing and strategic communications. Jaime believes the answers to our most complex problems lie within communities and that the best way to surface those ideas is through public engagement that inspires people to tap into their creativity.
Jennifer Burgess - Associate
As people-first communicator and leader, Jennifer has worked in industry, government, and post-secondary on major infrastructure and social policy projects all over the world. Jennifer brings a focused approach to thoughtful and productive stakeholder relations with a strong professional background in infrastructure, city building, governance, and municipal policy.
Danielle Salmon - Director of People & Process
Danielle is a bilingual creative specialist with over 15 years of experience in project coordination, digital & print communications, managing & advising live/virtual events across Western Canada and internationally.
From collaborating on project logistics and managing client communications to technology implementation and C-level support, Danielle is adept in her ability to anticipate team needs while balancing a complex hybrid position with shifting goals. Danielle has proven versatility in working with diverse organizational tools, remote teams and marketing solutions.
Tanis Kolenc - Support
Tanis is a dedicated administrative and technical support professional at Dialogue Partners. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for problem-solving, she ensures smooth operations by managing administrative tasks efficiently and providing adept technical assistance to the team.
Rowan Zouboules - Training & Event Logistics Coordinator
With meticulous attention to detail and a passion for organization, Rowan orchestrates seamless logistics for training sessions and Dialogue Partners events. Rowan's expertise ensures that every aspect of the event, from venue arrangements to participant accommodations, runs smoothly.
Lindsay Humber - Associate
Lindsay is a certified Public Participation Professional (CP3) with a passion for participatory decision-making. She uses her 12+ years of public engagement, communication and research expertise to help organizations learn from those in their communities to build relationships and achieve their goals. Lindsay brings an academic background focussed on understanding people and how we shape our environments to her work. With more than a decade of work in the utility sector (power and water), she is skilled at ensuring engagement initiatives effectively balance participant expectations and program objectives. Lindsay is an active member of IAP2 Canada and currently serves on the IAP2 Wild Rose board as Director of Membership and Volunteering.
Visit Lindsay’s website: Tilia Consulting
Anne Harding - Associate
Anne has worked with over 50 Indigenous communities and organizations since 2005, has a Master’s degree in Corporate-Aboriginal Relations and is an IAP2 Certified Public Participation Professional (CP3). With over a decade of experience working in all parts of the energy sector – upstream, midstream, downstream, and renewables – she knows that organizations are better off when they build meaningful relationships with communities. Anne is passionate about reconciliation and her role as a bridge-builder between Indigenous and all Canadians. By listening to and understanding stories – yours, mine, and ours – she believes we can make our communities and countries better for us all.
Visit Anne’s website: Forum Consulting
Tannis Topolnisky - Associate
Based in Edmonton, Alberta Tannis has 15 years experience working as a public engagement practitioner and 6 years experience as a licensed IAP2 Foundations trainer. Bringing people together to make a difference both in the individual, the organization, their relationships and beyond into programs, policies and decision making is what she has dedicated her career to. Tannis has worked in a diversity of areas such as heritage conservation, policy, program and legislation development, health, contaminated sites management, affordable housing, surplus school sites, environmental justice, municipal budgeting and public education.