Ken Shipley, M.A. Management

Ken Shipley is a consultant with extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, aboriginal affairs, relationship building, change management, organizational communications and public affairs.

His clients have included Petro-Canada Oil & Gas, Suncor Energy, Deer Creek Energy, Total E&P Canada, Laricina Energy, Athabasca Oil Sands Corp., ATCO Pipelines, Sunoco, SURE Northern, Albian Sands Energy, Shell International, The Praxis Group, Uravan Minerals Inc., the Athabasca Tribal Council, and the Fort McMurray, Fort McKay, Mikisew Cree, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations. He has also worked for the Governments of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, a regional Métis organization, several not-for-profit organizations and Manulife Financial.

Consultation & Relationship Building Projects:

  • Community engagement plans (developed)
  • Consultation handbooks (co-developed)
  • Stakeholder risk management matrixes (co-developed)
  • Community investment guidelines (developed)
  • Aboriginal business development guidelines (developed)
  • Traditional land users compensation & consultation guidelines (negotiated & co-developed)
  • Multi-stakeholder relationship agreements (co-developed)
  • Socio-economic agreements (negotiated)
  • Environmental agreements (co-negotiated)
  • Initial contact strategies (co-developed)
  • Community sensing programs (conducted)
  • Community-based intermediate organizations (co-designed & managed)
  • Indigenous language videos (scripted & produced)

Community Building Projects:

  • Community Building For Small Communities Workshop (designed & facilitated)
  • Networking Workshop (designed & facilitated)
  • Advocacy Workshop (designed & facilitated)
  • Problem Solving Workshop (designed & facilitated)
  • Communications Workshop (designed and facilitated)
  • Community-based Planning Workshops (designed and co-facilitated)
  • Strategic Planning Sessions (designed & facilitated)
  • Recruitment (designed process & facilitated)
  • Traditional use videos (producer)
  • Community-based environmental monitoring workshops (co-designed & co-facilitated)

Regulatory Affairs:

  • Review of Socio-economic Assessments for stakeholder groups
  • Authored consultation sections of regulatory applications for corporate clients
  • Conducted community sensing programs
  • Participated in a public hearing
  • Managed reviews of Environmental Impact Assessments
  • Participated in open houses

Communications & Public Affairs:

  • Employees sensing programs (co-designed & facilitated)
  • Corporate & community publications (managed, edited, & wrote)
  • Stakeholder relations publications (managed, edited & wrote)
  • Media relations (managed & wrote)
  • Communications & public affairs strategies (co-developed)
  • Corporate culture change communications (co-developed & implemented)
  • Speech writing

Education & Board & Volunteer Experience:

Ken is a graduate of Toronto’s Humber College where he earned an Honours Diploma in Public Relations. He has a Masters Degree in Management (major in Organizational Effectiveness) from John F. Kennedy University in California. He is also an honours graduate of the International Community Development course at St. Francis Xavier University’s Coady International Institute in Nova Scotia.

Ken has served as the only non-aboriginal member on the Board of Directors of the Athabasca Tribal Council and the Athabasca Native Development Corporation. He also sat on the Board of the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association, the Cumulative Effects Management Association, and the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program.

Ken is a former Board Chair of the Wood Buffalo YMCA. He has also served as Chair of a regional detoxification centre, and on the Board of Directors, Fort McMurray United Way. Other volunteer positions include member of the Development Committee of the Fort McMurray chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, and the Keyano College Foundation’s Public Affairs Committee.