Allow us to introduce ourselves.
Vera Causa is a group of like-minded consultants, rallying around big ideas and excellent execution. We partner with some amazing organizations that help bring our strategies to life.
Katie Phipps - Managing Partner & Director, Client Service
Katie leads the agency and client services team at Vera Causa, bringing over 15 years of experience building brands in B2B and B2C spaces. She is driven by a passion for creative problem solving, building smart and actionable strategies, and investing in her clients’ businesses like it is her own. Always up for a new challenge and something she can sink her teeth into, Katie has a firm distaste for mediocrity or ‘doing what we’ve always done’. Sharp, witty, and according to her family, a terrible singer.
Chris Forrest, APR - Partner & Director, Communications Strategy
Chris brings 25 years of experience leading strategic communications, public relations, and crisis management on behalf of large corporations and associations in energy, agriculture, food and technology. He leads with strategy and builds custom plans fully integrated across earned, paid and owned platforms. His management of high-stakes crises in food and energy has helped organizations move forward through challenging times with their brand and reputation protected. Trained in local consultation and stakeholder engagement through IAP2, he places the highest value on earning social trust and engaging with audiences through shared values. A former journalist and a member of the Alberta Writers Guild, his favourite part of the job is helping organizations discover their greatest asset is their people and the unique stories they have to share.
Calissa Reid - Senior Account Manager
Calissa brings eight years of experience in strategic communications and public relations work to Vera Causa. From stakeholder engagement with the Alberta Government to managing social media and content in the agrifood and beauty worlds, her experience varies but her strategic focus and commitment to results is a constant. As a social media expert, she’s summed up her everything you need to know about her in her Instagram bio: A firm believer that it’s all in the details.
Monica Gutierrez - Lead Designer
Monica is the lead designer at Vera Causa, bringing concepts and visual identities to life for our clients. She has over 25 years of experience in her discipline, and has worked on brands from every industry and sector imaginable. She can jump between logos, websites, collateral and live event visuals without missing a beat, ensuring every touchpoint of a brand is consistent and high-quality. She’s also been known to order chicken at vegan restaurants, but that’s a story for another day.
Carina Ling - Project Manager
Carina joins the team at Vera Causa with a wealth of international agency experience across food, tourism and retail clients. She is the glue that keeps projects on time and on budget, making the ideas reality with solid planning and oversight from start to finish. She’s also an influencer in her own right as a travel and food blogger. She recently moved to Calgary from Hong Kong, and is still adjusting to our Canadian winters.
Alan MacIntyre - Creative Direction
Never one to colour inside the lines, Alan leads the conceptual process at Vera Causa, backed by over 30 years in the business. He’s worked on big brands from Toronto to Calgary and across every single industry you can imagine. Clients on his resume include; Freedom 55 Financial, Bayer, RBC, Nutrien, Alberta Beef, and many more. Alan has never settled for easy or obvious, he is a master of his craft through and through.
When he’s not conceptualizing ad campaigns for his clients he’s sketching his now infamous Hummygoo comic strip, building a temporary tattoo empire or painting.
See his art at LooseCanine.com
Angie Skochdopole - Media Director
Angie brings a wealth of experience to the team at Vera Causa, leading the media planning division. She is the total package of thinking and action, plus a skilled negotiator with publishers across multiple sectors including industrial, agriculture, plastics and chemicals. Angie has been working in this industry for over 35 years, and knows a thing or two about what works, and what doesn’t. She builds integrated packages for clients large and small that help them get their messages and content into the right hands at the right time. She currently resides in Champaign, IL representing our team south of the 49th parallel. She is also our resident Bee Queen.
Kate Ukrainetz - Jr. Project Manager & Admin
Kate is fresh into her career in marketing as ourJr. Project Manager and admin support. She is entering her final year of her BSc (with a major in Zoology) at the University of Calgary, and works part time supporting the team at VC. Kate is a ball of energy, eager to learn and expand her skillset. When she isn’t running projects and keeping the team in-line, Kate trains on the Dino’s varsity cross-country team and is an avid skier and ski coach.
Our Partners.
Vera Causa works with a group of highly specialized and talented individuals and organizations to help bring our strategies and visions to life. We hand select our partners based on quality, fit and value to our clients. The right team; every project, every time.
Market Research.
Street Smart provides highly specialized customer intelligence using proven qualitative methods. Working with Street Smart gives our client deeper connections to their marketplace and more actionable insights to plan from.
Motion Graphics & Animation.
Mountain Fold Studios is a premiere supplier of motion graphics in western Canada. They provide stop-motion film, custom animation, moving graphics and conceptual development to Vera Causa clients.