Speaker
Media Specialist, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
David Coulombe
David Coulombe has worked on both sides of the microphone in the communication, journalism and public and media relations fields for more than 31 years. Over those years, he has worked with national, provincial and local candidates of virtually every political stripe and with a range of leaders in the business, health, research and finance sectors. Fluently bilingual, David is a former press secretary and director of communications for the City of Gatineau, Quebec. He also spent 13 years as a reporter and on-air program host with radio outlets in Ottawa and Montréal. In addition to his experience as a public speaking instructor at St. Paul University in Ottawa and former lecturer in communications and journalism at the University of Ottawa and La Cité collégiale, David now provides executive training and coaching for media spokespersons and public speakers and media relations planning and monitoring for a range of clients across Canada. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, where he majored in Canadian politics, David also studied print journalism at the Cégep de Jonquière. David has been the media specialist at CIHR for the past 11 years.