During the 2020 Leadership Institute in February, the IABC Foundation trustees awarded five applicants Gift of Excellence grants to allow them to seek certification as a Communication Management Professional (CMP) or Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) through the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC). The grant will cover the costs of the application fee, exam fee and one-year renewal fee, totaling US$600 for each person.
The five 2020 grant recipients are:
Oyindamola Ajibola—Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Oyindamola Ajibola is a communications specialist by day, an immigration lifestyle blogger by night and an amateur lifestyle photographer in her spare time. She began her career in 2010 as the Social Media and PR Analyst at A’Lime Media Limited, Nigeria. She quickly developed a love for digital communications and multimedia storytelling which have become her forte. In 2018, Oyin migrated to Canada and is now the Communications Specialist at the CSS Pension Plan. She gives back to her local community by volunteering her talent to Rosewood Community Association and Dress for Success Saskatoon; and also uses her blog, Immigrant Muse, to document her immigration journey and share important information to help and engage with other immigrants in Canada.
Kristy Christie—Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kristy Christie is a public speaker, entrepreneur and co-owner of TheMalaysian.com, a digital agency. She shares on topics such as Artificial Intelligence & Automation, Digital PR + Communication and Online Business. She helps businesses get the word out about their brand, manages cloud application projects and helps companies streamline & automate their internal processes. She regularly speaks at conferences and workshops, including the “Women in Leadership” Conference in Kuala Lumpur, the “Communicating for a Better World” Panel in Melbourne, and the Leadership Institute in California.
Amanda Fischer-Penner—Independence, Missouri, United States
Amanda Fischer-Penner is currently a public information specialist for an urban school district in Kansas City, Missouri. She is honored to be president of KC IABC and has been a member since 2016. She also keeps busy as an adjunct public speaking instructor. Fischer-Penner is an accomplished marketing and communications professional. She is experienced in non-profit, publishing, health care, and public education industries. Adept to rebranding, she has also led and assisted website redesigns, staged award-winning events, multi-million dollar groundbreaking events, and successfully built the marketing/public relations department from the ground up at a rural hospital in Nebraska.
Mazilifah Mohd Razak—Bayan Lepas, Penang Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Masz Razak is the Communication Specialist/Lead managing the Internal Communications department of Flex Penang, Malaysia. She has a total of 19 years industry experience and in her roles has worked with Senior Leadership of the company to strategize communications for print and digital media, speeches, videos, social media, intranet and newsletters, run internal employee engagement campaigns and creating content & marketing collaterals for internal/external marketing. An IABC Member since 2015, she’s the current Vice President of IABC Malaysia and under her Leadership IABC Malaysia was awarded the Chapter Management Award (CMA) in 2019. She is a volunteer for a local non-profit delivering food supplies and facilitating English Camp for kids in underprivileged rural communities around Malaysia.
Malaya Del Rosario—Taguig, Manila, Philippines
Maya Del Rosario is currently Director for Digital Strategy at BPI MS Insurance Corporation, a joint venture property and casualty insurance company of the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group in Japan. Maya has held various marketing, advertising, branding and communications positions in local and multinational companies (such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Sun Life of Canada Philippines, Chartis, and AXA Philippines), as well as local start-ups she helped build if not turn around. With 20 years of marketing communications experience and having won a number of Gold Quill and Philippine Quill Awards, Maya is ever committed to leveraging our profession for the ultimate good of clients and the sustained success of businesses.
The Gift of Excellence grant is an annual award provided through the IABC Foundation to help expand the availability of certification where currency discrepancies or developing economies may make it financially difficult for members to access. IABC members living and working in areas designated as developing nations by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as those living in areas significantly impacted by a natural disaster, receive the highest priority in the disbursement of Gift of Excellence grant funds. All applicants demonstrating financial need are considered.